Music plays a very large part in my life. Whether it's studying, walking to class, or driving somewhere, I am always listening to music. Music can be used to calm emotions, to express feelings, and many other things. I think that music somewhat defines who we are as people. Some people associate tastes in music to the background of that person. For example, I come from a very small farm town and only graduated with 68 students in my class, so people could assume that I listen to more country music than other genres. In my case, this is true, but that is not the case for every person. I see music as a way to express yourself and who you are.
I think that when it comes to issues (whether it be in the United States or dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict) music can be used as a large platform to express thoughts. I think that musicians who reach a very broad audience have more influence over their fans than they think, and by singing or rapping about issues going on in their country they can help influence their opinions. I think that this really invokes a conversation between people and it can be helpful to get others to really think about what is going on in their country. I think that this can both be helpful and hurtful when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict. As we saw in the documentary, it seems as though both rappers only invoked more rage between the two groups instead of working towards peace. I think that if music is used in a positive way, it can be used as a good platform to work towards a better understanding between the two groups.
Regarding your comment about music being a large platform to express thoughts really caught my attention because it is so true. Most, if not all, musicians use music to portray messages that they believe are important to society. With the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, rappers, singers, and others are talking about the conflict and trying to bring people together to bring peace in the Middle East.
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