FAITHteen | Issue #19

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Suffering from “I-Syndrome”
By Deacon Jim Corder

Sometimes artists sing about the injustices of the world as a way of bringing out issues, so people begin to notice them. The popular song Why?, by Jadakiss, starts off sounding this way, but ends up falling victim to the same thing that many of us do -- the “I-Syndrome.”

All that I been givin’
Is this thing that I’ve been living
They got me in the system
Why they gotta do me like that
Try’d to make it my way
But got sent up on the highway
Why, oh why
Why they do me like that?

Why Me?
This is the chorus for Why? by Jadakiss. What does this song have to teach us about living in today’s world? Well, the first time I heard it I thought to myself, “Yea! There is a lot of truth to what he is saying. Why do all of these things have to happen?”

But... after listening to it a couple more times, I started to think differently. If you really listen to this song, you’ll hear that most of the issues he is singing about are important issues of our time. But the way these issues are dealt with has me scratching my head.

Aha
It’s dat real
Yo, why is Jadakiss as hard as it gets
Why is the industry designed to keep the artist in debt
And why them dudes ain’t ridin’ if they’re part of your set
And why they never get it poppin’ but they party to death
Yea, and why they gon’ give you life for a murder
Turn around only give you eight months for a burner, it’s goin’ Down.

It’s All About Me
It is valuable to sing about the difficulties faced by other people. In this song, however, it seems as though all of the lyrics are meant to point out to us, as indicated in the chorus, all the difficulties that affect the singer.

We can’t use too many of the lyrics because of some of the language and choice of words, but if you listen to the song, you begin to see the problem with the world through the song’s self-centered lens. It’s easy to see that the singer is bitter and fairly self-serving.

Why they ain’t give us a cure for aids
Why my diesel have fiends in the spot on the floor for days
Why you screamin’ like it’s slug, it’s only the hawk
Why my buzz in L.A. ain’t like it is in New York
Why you forcin’ you to be hard
Why ain’t you a thug by choice
Why the whole world love my voice.
Why try to tell ‘em that it’s the flow son
And you know why they made the new twenties
Cause I got all my old ones
That’s why.

Combating the “I-Syndrome”
The issue at the heart of this song could be called the “I-syndrome.” Self-centeredness is a strong theme running through the lyrics. Using words like “I,” “me,” “mine,” and “my” shows a clear sense of possessiveness too. It is the idea that the reason I am really angry is because all of this is hurting or interfering with me and my life.

But what if I stopped worrying so much about “me” and used “we?” What if I looked at the world with others in mind? If this song were looking at the issues from the point of view of how things hurt others, it would be much more credible.

Let’s start thinking about the issues and concerns that are most important. Help be the solution. Find the people or causes worth fighting for and then become compassionate toward those people or those causes. When we become compassionate, it will lead us to be passionate. This passion will help us get motivated to do something. Our passion will lead us to take action.

Talk is important. But after we have talked too long, our words are simply noise. At some point, we must be led to action. Our action and prayer is what will change the world. If we pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything depends on us, the world will begin to change tomorrow.

Then maybe Jadakiss will have something better to sing about!

Compassion, passion, action!
What cause or group of people is worth fighting for? What actions can you take to make a difference in your corner of the world? What can you do to combat the “I-Syndrome?”

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