A month ago, a drunk driver going 120 mph in California killed himself and four friends in a one-car accident. Just minutes before they met their death, the driver had time to tweet “YOLO,” as his parting words. Well man, you did only live once… how’d that work out for you?
YOLO, an acronym for “you only live once,” is a phrase coined by the ever-inspiring rap artist Drake in his top-of the-charts song “The Motto.” Now our generation and the one coming up, can run around, or drive around, doing stupid things, shouting “YOLO,” and can seemingly get away with whatever they want. Shamefully, this phrase has become our generation’s dumbed down version of “Carpe Diem.”
Carpe Diem, the Latin for “seize the day,” encourages people to make every moment count. YOLO, on the other hand, has become a ridiculous excuse for people to get away with something stupid. Just because your favorite singer creates his own motto, doesn’t mean that motto is insightful.
It is no secret that celebrities, whether they have reserved the right or not, have forever influenced the people that look up to them. We tend to let the ones in the spotlight, who often have little more brains than my 10-year-old brother, do the thinking for us. Drake tells us, “I’m the f***ing man, ya’ll don’t get it do ya?” No Drake, I really-really don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve supported my fair share of influential idiots and have even jammed to “The Motto” more than once, but where does this stop? Not at political parties that’s for sure. We let organizations like Rock the Vote use celebrities to influence our political stance while hiding behind the façade that they are boosting the political power of young people. Rock the Vote uses popular culture in their public service announcements to gain the
public’s attention. People like Justin Timberlake, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert Downey Jr. have all appeared in these announcements. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to side with Ironman?
Our generation is yearning for our idols to give us something to run with, so we cling to things like song lyrics that essentially mean nothing. In the 60s and 70s, protest music fueled the younger generation to stand up against the Vietnam War. Artists like John
Lennon, Black Sabbath, and Credence Clearwater Revival criticized our government for forcing them to fight for their lives in a war that no one understood. At least these people had a cause.
Today we’re told to put “seven grams in the blunt,” and go “clubbing hard, f***ing women, there ain’t much to do.” Well maybe there would be something to do, if clubbing and getting ass weren’t the only things our idols sang about. Dearest Drake, we give you the power of influence, why not do something productive with it?
A word from the wise, and yes, I did just deem myself wise: Why not pick up a damn book and actually learn something? Latin may be a dead language but if YOLO has to be a part of our language, then shame on us. You only live once, so choose not to be an idiot. That should be the motto, every day, every day.
This is a very poignant article.