Lyrics

Universal

Life can seem so desolate
Atomized and separate
Crawl alone in anomie
Grasping for identity
The horizon will always change
And the vertical becomes estranged

Well I am not simplicity
And you are not my enemy
Nations rise and Nations die
And power tends to divide
But there is strength that’s barely touched
In divergence between us, yet

We are one universal
We have one reality
We are one corporeal
And one infinity
We are one in motion
And we move through history
One people drawing closer
And struggling to be free
We’ve got to level the terra
Beyond the victim, the victim and the hegemon

Simple truths and simple myths
Can simplify culture to shit
Orthodox allegiances
Terrorize our world
But where there’s wrong and there’s a right
There’s still an impetus to rise and fight

We are one universal
We have one reality
We are one corporeal
And one infinity
We are one in motion
And we move through history
One people drawing closer
And struggling to be free
We are one…

Identity is what makes us individuals, but it isn’t something that happens just within us, or simply to us. It is a complex process of interactions that occur on a regular basis throughout our lives. We all hold many allegiances and memberships and they are always changing. As our allegiances fluctuate certain facets of our identity become more or less pronounced. These fluctuations are often instigated by various crises that we face and we can choose to align ourselves with causes or we can try to bury that part of us deep down in a place where we hope people won’t notice it. Often, people are compelled to emphasize a certain allegiance or membership of theirs to the detriment of all other aspects of their identity, declaring enemies left, right and center; they see hostility at every corner and only can recognize people as enemies or friends. But the world isn’t that simple. All we do when we see the world in terms of ‘us’ and ‘them’, is reinforce the discourse we’ve been handed by the prevailing relations of power. We just become the lapdogs of the various hegemonies.

However, recognizing complexity also doesn’t mean that we can just explain away injustice through ‘difference.’ That kind of total relativism is useless to us. We still need to fight for what we think is right, but it is important to reflect upon what really matters in the world and if what you are fighting for is really what you are fighting for. We are all more than just one allegiance. When we forget that, it makes it really easy to kill each other over nothing.

This song was partly inspired by Amin Maalouf’s book, In the Name of Identity: Violence and the need to Belong.

(Mark Vermin and Meg Spinx)

Tagalog translation courtesy of Darwin – Verbal Offense

Universal

Ang buhay ng tao ay parang malungkot
himay-himay at nakahiwalay.
Gumagapang mag-isa sa mahigpit na humahawak sa
pagkakilanlan.
Ang pag-tingin sa labas ay parating nagbabago
at sa pataas na pagtingin ay nagiging masalimuot.
Pero hindi ako payak
at hindi ikaw ang aking kaaway
Nasyon ay bumabangon,at namamatay at ang kapangyarihan
ay nahahati.
Pero sa katatagan na hindi napanghawakansa ating
pagkakaiba.

TAYO AY IISANG UNIVERSAL
TAYO AY NAY IISANG REALIDAD
TAYO AY ISANG KATAWAN AT WALANG HANGGANAN.
TAYO’Y IISANG GALAW
AT TAYO’Y TUMATAHAK SA NAKARAAN
ISANG KATAUHAN LUMALAPIT SA ISA’T-ISAAT HUMUHULAGPOS
PARA MAGING
MALAYA.
DAPAT NATING TUWIRIN ANG LEBEL NG KAPALIGIRAN NG ISANG
BIKTIMA,ANG BIKTIMA AT HEGEMONIYA.

Simpleng katotohanan at payak na alamat
ay maaaring gawing simple ang ating kultura
patungong ng kawalang saysay.
kaaya-ayang loyalidad ang dahilan kaya ang mundo
natin ngayon ay magulo.
pero may kamalian at kawastuhan..
pero meron pang simula upang tumayo at lumaban.

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