Why Stand on a Silent Platform?

While walking to class today I decided to listen to some Rage Against the Machine for a change. Lately I’ve been listening to Pink Floyd strictly due to my excitement to see David Gilmour but today I felt I should mix it up. I chose the song “Bulls on Parade” for it’s infectious riff and thought to myself “Has any band had such a large impact on the world as Rage has?” Of course there are people who effected the world greatly like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Elvis but is Rage Against the Machine right in the middle of that group? If you take time to think about it they do have quite a stunning resume. I feel Rage Against the Machine opened up the eyes of an ignorant generation, people’s eyes were wide open during the Cold War and during Vietnam but the 90’s didn’t quite have any major political events that really threatened the U.S. We were left with a pretty stable decade with no worries and turned our backs to the world. Of course I’m not saying everyone but the younger generation really didn’t have anything to worry about. When Rage Against the Machine launched into the lime light they effected America nearly instantly. Their moving political lyrics actually had people questioning our government, something that my generation seemed to forget. Not only did the band have people thinking but they took action as well. How many bands can say they brought huge groups out to the Democratic National Convention eventually leading to riots which received more coverage than the actual Convention. Now I’m not saying they caused the riots but they brought out the people to hear a free show and with a group that large voices can be heard. Eventually the voice became a little too loud for the police to handle so they used force when it was completely uncalled for. It was a peaceful demonstration, but anyway I should get back on topic. Also how many bands can say they shut down the NYSE? America’s source of capitalism lies right there and Rage Against the Machine was able to shut that down when creating a video for “Sleep Now in the Fire” which like the Democratic National Convention also turned violent but in the end they were able to shut down the NYSE. On top of these two things the band was also kicked off of Saturday Night Live for life. When playing SNL Steven Forbes was hosting the show who was an ex-Republican presidential candidate and Tom Morello the guitarist of the band wanted to make sure Rage’s voice was heard so right before they went on they put on upside down American Flags on their amps because Tom Morello states, "our contention that American democracy is inverted when what passes for democracy is an electoral choice between two representatives of the privileged class. America's freedom of expression is inverted when you're free to say anything you want to say until it upsets a corporate sponsor. Finally, this was our way of expressing our opinion of the show's host, Steve Forbes." In the end Rage’s performance was censored and they were immediately forced to leave the building. Rage Against the Machine has surely left a legacy in the music industry and on all of America. Personally I feel they are one of the most important bands of all time, not only a band that urged others to take action but a band that took action themselves. It is a shame they had to break up because their voice is certainly needed in these troubled times.