Well, I think the answer to that is “Yes.” The better question may be if it should matter.
When I first heard the song by Muse below, I didn’t know its title. I just thought it was a very eerie, beautiful song (like much of Muse’s stuff) dealing with fearing death. In order to not turn this blog into a Xanga, here’s just the most relevant excerpt:
And I know the moment’s near
And there’s nothing you can do
Look through a faithless eye
Are you afraid to die?It scares the hell out of me
And the end is all I can see
And it scares the hell out of me
And the end is all I can see
After deciding that I really liked it, I did some Googling to figure out the title.
“Thoughts of a Dying Atheist”
My first reaction was annoyance. A song I liked was saying the same BS about atheists that you hear all the time: we’re depressed, we fear death, we’re going to hope we’re wrong on our deathbed… I felt guilty liking a song that seemed to be perpetuating the same stereotypes I try so hard to fight.
That was, until I did a bit more Googling and found out Matthew Bellamy, the lead singer of Muse, is an atheist. I hate to say it, but everything seemed okay now. He was expressing his own fears, not necessarily badmouthing atheists. And hell, the whole reason I liked the song in the first place is because I can relate to it: death DOES scare the hell out of me. I find it morbid thinking there’s nothing after death, and I can see how comforting the afterlife is to religious people. I just can’t force myself to believe in it because I’d like it to be true.
Does this make me a bad person for doing such a mental flip flop? Or is it just more “acceptable” to criticize your own group?
I think it’s normal to be annoyed by something you can identify with when it’s cast in a negative light, but to do a complete role reversal and find comfort in it when viewed from a shared perspective.
I think it’s normal to be annoyed by something you can identify with when it’s cast in a negative light, but to do a complete role reversal and find comfort in it when viewed from a shared perspective.
Hah! I had the same issue over this song… only I never googled it. I just resigned myself to liking a song that had a viewpoint I didn’t care for.
Hah! I had the same issue over this song… only I never googled it. I just resigned myself to liking a song that had a viewpoint I didn’t care for.
I find that context matters, and I think it should. The context can completely change the meaning of something. I don’t know exactly how to express it, but, like black people using the “n word” themselves but being offended when others use it, it makes a difference that it’s an atheist singing about what atheists feel and think, rather than a theist saying the same thing.
I find that context matters, and I think it should. The context can completely change the meaning of something. I don’t know exactly how to express it, but, like black people using the “n word” themselves but being offended when others use it, it makes a difference that it’s an atheist singing about what atheists feel and think, rather than a theist saying the same thing.
Funny, before I got to your reaction, my first one was assuming he WAS atheist. Maybe I'm just an optimist. Then again, I TOO fear death. Ugh.I must download this song now! Thanks!
But anyway, nothing wrong with your reaction, theists DO spout that stuff about atheists all the time.
Funny, before I got to your reaction, my first one was assuming he WAS atheist. Maybe I’m just an optimist. Then again, I TOO fear death. Ugh.I must download this song now! Thanks!But anyway, nothing wrong with your reaction, theists DO spout that stuff about atheists all the time.