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= Allison's Transcendentalism Wiki. :3 =

= //Lady Gaga // =



==== Stefani Joanne Angeline Germanotta, born March 28, 1986, more widely known by her stage name 'Lady Gaga,' had obviously been one to go against the grain. Between her singing Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper into her little tape recorder as a child, and just being a natural born entertainer, she has turned into quite the individual. She has been known for her obscure fashion statements and her powerful personality, and I find Lady Gaga to be a great contemporary example of a transcendentalist. ==== === **"I'm here to be a voice of my generation. Not the generation of the senators who are voting, but for the youth of this country, the generation that is affected by this law and whose children will be affected. We are not asking you to agree with or approve the moral implications of homosexuality. We're asking you to do your job, to protect the Constitution."** ===

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Lady Gaga is also an avid supporter of the gay community, and she has shown that by speaking at gay rights rallies. She really targets the 'don't ask, don't tell policy,' and has even made video messages towards politicians like John McCain, and any other politicians who are against gays in uniform. "The most shocking discovery for me was to hear them all say how much they missed serving and protecting our nation, how they joined the Armed Forces because they believe in America," said Gaga in her video message. Emerson believed that you should "speak what you think today in words as hard as cannon balls, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again." Lady Gaga was speaking in 'words as hard as cannon balls,' and didn't hold anything back. She's controversial, but she gets her point across, and that takes charisma. For example, her meat dress. That was her non-violently protesting about how we need to speak what we think. Because "if we don't fight for our rights pretty soon, we're going to have as much right as the meat on our own bones."

Some people may find her to be a little too over the top when it comes to fashion, and I may have to agree on that aspect that she's a little out there. But she's standing up for what she believes. Emerson once said that 'imitation is suicide,' and Lady Gaga is most definitely not imitating anyone. She acts like herself, and for what she believes in. Not just anyone wears a dress made of meat for shock factor; She uses publicity to get her points across. And for that, I find her to be a good contemporary example of a transcendentalist.



Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle, born to the name Ulrich Tolle, has been known best by his best selling books 'The Power of Now,' and 'A New Earth.' Eckhart is also a public speaker and a spiritual teacher, and has been named the 'most popular spiritual author in the United States.' But he explains his childhood as painful, and recalls being deeply depressed for most of his life. Until one night, at the age of 29, when he woke up in the middle of the night and experienced the most unbearable depression he has ever felt.

"I couldn’t live with myself any longer. And in this a question arose without an answer: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? What is the self? I felt drawn into a void. I didn’t know at the time that what really happened was the mind-made self, with its heaviness, its problems, that lives between the unsatisfying past and the fearful future, collapsed. It dissolved. The next morning I woke up and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no self. Just a sense of presence or “beingness”, just observing and watching."

The next day he went for a walk in London, and he described everything as 'miraculous and deeply peaceful, even the traffic.' He found peace in every situation after this, and he spent most of his time sitting and 'watching the world go by.' He also lived in a Buddhist monastery with his friend. His family actually thought of him as more of a crazy man. But this reminds me of Thoreau and when he lived in the forest. Tolle and Thoreau both took in an respected the beauty of nature. They both found peace and beauty in it, and they found it to be 'awakening.'

media type="youtube" key="Deq_1lg9Dlo" height="390" width="480" He also really preached about finding yourself, and truly being yourself. Emerson and Thoreau really promoted being yourself, and that 'foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.' Tolle wanted to give people hope that they can find themselves, and they don't have to suffer. He respects nature and finds peace in everything, and really wants to show people that they can find their true self. He found himself on his own, with a lot of thinking and hard work. And that really shows that you have to have self-reliance, and that you can achieve what you want on your own sometimes. Tolle, along with Thoreau and Emerson, were one of a kind. They promoted people being themselves, and that imitation is not the way to go to find true happiness. I find Tolle to be an ideal example of a contemporary transcendentalist.

**Nine Inch Nails - The hand that feeds** You're keeping in step In the line Got your chin held high and you feel just fine Because you do What you're told But inside your heart it is black and it's hollow and it's cold

Just how deep do you believe? Will you bite the hand that feeds? Will you chew until it bleeds? Can you get up off your knees? Are you brave enough to see? Do you want to change it?

What if this whole crusade's A charade And behind it all there's a price to be paid For the blood On which we dine Justified in the name of the holy and the divine Just how deep do you believe? Will you bite the hand that feeds? Will you chew until it bleeds? Can you get up off your knees? Are you brave enough to see? Do you want to change it?

So naive I keep holding on to what I want to believe I can see But I keep holding on and on and on and on Will you bite the hand that feeds you? Will you stay down on your knees? [8X] ==== This song reminds me of Thoreau comparing ﻿everyday life to a railroad. "We do not ride on the railroad, the railroad rides upon us." I believe he's saying that society as a whole built the railroad, and people of higher power ride across it in sleepers, but the moment someone stands up and speaks for what they believe in, there's an uproar. That's what I get from listening to this song. Don't just be spoon fed life and morals, think for yourself. You have to be strong enough to voice your opinion, because we all have opinions, and we see things we don't agree with, but very few stand and speak against it. You must find and think for yourself, as Emerson and Thoreau preached. For "only that day dawns in which we are awake," Thoreau once quoted. ====


 * We're not gonna take it - Twisted Sister **

Oh We're Not Gonna Take It  no, We Ain't Gonna Take It  oh We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

 we've Got The Right To Choose And  there Ain't No Way We'll Lose It  this Is Our Life, This Is Our Song  we'll Fight The Powers That Be Just  don't Pick Our Destiny 'cause  you Don't Know Us, You Don't Belong

 oh We're Not Gonna Take It  no, We Ain't Gonna Take It  oh We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

 oh You're So Condescending <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> your Gall Is Never Ending <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we Don't Want Nothin', Not A Thing From You <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> your Life Is Trite And Jaded <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> boring And Confiscated <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> if That's Your Best, Your Best Won't Do

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh..................... <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh..................... <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Right/yeah <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Free/yeah <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we'll Fight/yeah <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> you'll See/yeah

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh We're Not Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no, We Ain't Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh We're Not Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no, We Ain't Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh We're Not Gonna Take It Anymore <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no Way!

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh..................... <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh..................... <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Right/yeah <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Free/yeah <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we'll Fight/yeah <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> you'll See/yeah

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no, We Ain't Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It, No! <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no, We Ain't Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

<span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> just You Try And Make Us <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> come On <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no, We Ain't Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> you're All Worthless And Weak <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It Anymore <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> now Drop And Give Me Twenty <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh Crinch Pin <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> no, We Ain't Gonna Take It <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> oh You And Your Uniform <span style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small; line-height: normal;"> we're Not Gonna Take It Anymore

**I find this song to have a good transcendentalist message. It's saying that they have the right to choose who they want to be, and that system can't do anything about it. It really demonstrates non-conformity and being yourself. Thoreau and Emerson were big on non-conformity and going against the system and really being strong. In the song they go against conformity and saying 'We ain't gonna take it, oh you and your uniform,' and it's just saying be yourself, and that being like everyone else isn't the way to go. Don't stick to what society tells you, just live your life, and be you**.

"Lady Gaga Bio," Ladygaga.com, March 9, 2011 [] "Lady Gaga explains meat dress meaning." Buzznet.com, March 9, 201, Sep. 13, 2010, http://justjared.buzznet.com/2010/09/13/meat-dress-lady-gaga/

"Lady Gaga Marches for Gay Right" Starpulse.com, March 8, 2011, Sep. 21, 2010 []

Lyrics for 'The Hand That Feeds - Nine Inch Nails' [] Malkin, Marc, "Lady Gaga gets political for gay rights, slams don't ask don't tell." Eonline.com, March 8, 2011, Sep. 17, 2010 []

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"Creating a New Earth together." Eckharttolletv.com, March 16, 2011, Copyright 2011. []

"Eckhart Tolle on being yourself." youtube.com, March 17, 2011, Feb 21, 2008, []

"Life's Purpose' author Eckhart Tolle is serene, critic less so' Cathy Lynn Grossman, usatoday.com, March 17, 2010, Oct. 10, 2010 []

"Ripples on the Surface of Being." Enlightennext.org, March 16, 2011, []

"We're not gonna take it - lyrics" []