Goth music and its political references

The goth community/subculture is well known for the "depressing" aura that surrounds the fashion, and morbidity associated with the people and general aesthetic. What people often misunderstand, though, is that being goth doesn't make a person depressed. Rather, goth music is often expressing depressing political and/or philosophical statements. 

A fantastic example of this is the song Nothing, from Depeche Mode's Music For The Masses album. This song describes the barren meaninglessness of life, and serves as a reminder to the depraved and evil world we live in. To quote the bridge (my personal favourite part of the song), 

"What am I trying to do? What am I trying to say? 

I'm not trying to tell you anything you didn't know when you woke up today."

I feel this is an excellent (and very harmonious) way to express the artists' conviction that we all know deep down -- life truly doesn't have inherent meaning, and the world is lacking in things that are good. I feel this song especially is a great example of how a key part of the Goth subculture is to embrace hard truths over palatable lies. 

Being goth is inherently political. You cannot be goth and right-wing (by American political standards), you cannot be goth and racist, homophobic, or transphobic. Just like its predecessor, the Punk subculture, Goth is very against lies from government (and in this day and age, often the government itself). Corruption is very relevant in today's politics, and many alternative subcultures are politically active in opposition of said corruption. 

Goth music is often reflective of this. It often calls into action, accusing people and governments to change their ways. "This is happening, and you have no excuse to ignore it." 

There are many things happening in the world right now, many evil things that you can help to resolve. Genocides in Palestine, Congo, and Armenia. Corruption in your country's government. Homelessness, starvation, poverty. You know it's happening. You woke up this morning, knowing. You will go to sleep tonight, knowing. 

You might not be punk, or goth, or alternative, but you're still a human being. What are you doing to help these people? 

I encourage you to help people however you can. Whether it's writing blogs, donating money, spreading the word, it's still assistance. If you can't help directly, then you can and should help people help other people. It does make a difference.