MerryChristmas!, Foucault

Foucault's notion of the "plague" and reading others' posts got me thinking about what exactly our plague is in the postmodern world. It seems as though we are cleared from any potential aspect of a plague. We have new technologies and vaccinations that prevent us from getting sick, we are constantly developing technology to make our lives easier, and we live in a democratic society where we believe that we are individuals and our voice can be heard. When thinking about this, one songs lyrics stuck out to me. This song is by a band called the Verve. The song is called "Bittersweet Symphony". I am sure all of you are familiar with this song and the other day I was listening to it and I never considered how insightful the lyrics were. Here is the bulk of the lyrics:

"Cause its a bittersweet symphony, thats life. Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to money then you die...But I'm a million different people from one day to the next, I can't change my mold...We've got ya sex and violence, melody and silence."

It hit me that our present day "plague" could be greed. Could it be money? I then began to think about the similarities between this song and our notion of the "American Dream". Just like Nazism was capable of molding Germans citizen's thoughts through forms of media, money and the american dream are molding peoples everyday lives. I especially liked how in the song, the singer begins by saying he can't change his mold and that you are a slave to money but, then the song transitions to him saying that he can change and that he is finding money and then he dies. The Verve is absolutely right, our entire lives are shaped around money and the american dream. We are constantly told through media outlets on a daily basis that our lives are for the soul purpose of getting rich and achieving the american dream. This idea is impounded in our minds so much so that we become "slaves" to money. People go to great lengths to get money and it is at this point that money itself can even be considered a plague. By using the word "mold" in describing us, The Verve is reinforcing the idea that we no longer think for ourselves and that money becomes our main purpose for why we work and do what we do. We go to college so that we can get an education. We get an education so that we can get a good-paying job. One of the major setbacks in the United States right now is the economy. We fear that our economy will no longer be the best in the world, with China coming in close second. The plague of our nation is the "american dream". Celebrities constantly wear t-shirts saying the words "I am the American Dream". What does this mean? Does this imply that everyone should strive to become rich and famous based off of talent that is usually fabricated and molded if there is even talent at all. Foucault's image of the plague and The Verve's song has certainly got me thinking about the plague we are dealing with today.