“Long Forgotten Sons” by Rise Against, November 9, 2022

Rise Against's 2008 record, Appeal to Reason took the hardcore punk band and made them accessible to Rock radio. The Chicago-based band had become known for their progressive politics, advocating animal rights, LGBTQ+ rights, environmentalism, and humanitarianism. Of course, Rise Against is far from the only left-leaning political bands, but Appeal to Reason place the band on rock playlists alongside rock bands with more dulsatory politics or even conservatives like Staind.  

FAR FROM HOME ON A ROAD UNKNOWN. Appeal to Reason produced three singles that charted in the top three on rock charts. Softening the band's sound certainly allowed the band to expand their audience and in turn allowed the band to implant punk rock ideals into the mainstream "rock bros" listening to rock radio. The album's first single, "Re-Education (Through Labor)" deals with the decay of the American education as evidenced through the electorate and leaders during the presidency of George W. Bush. The band's third single "Savior," a song that got Simlish treatment in The Sims 3: Ambitions expansion pack, used its music video to make a political statement depicting a person in an elephant suit bullying a person in a polar bear suit, alluding to Republican's stance on climate change. Other songs on the record depict America on the verge of its own demise and speak against the war in Iraq.  "Long Forgotten Sons" is the second track on Appeal to Reason, and the song deals with disillusionment due to political leaders ignoring the voices of the people. The imagery is post-apocalyptic. The song recognizes the marginalized who never fit into the system. After the system breaks and leaves the “long forgotten sons and daughters who don’t belong to anyone” disenfranchised, they rise up against that system.

WHEN CRIES FOR HELP GO UNANSWERED. Rise Against's prophetic view of America may have shocked listeners in 2008. The band's live concerts with their upside down American flags and their message: rise against power, may infuriate certain so-called patriots today. But in 2022, liberal takes on social issues are more commonplace. The TV shows we watch today show us that the world is more nuanced that we thought back during the Bush years. But then again, I could just be seeing a reflection in my journey and friends and Facebook friends from college who have come to similar conclusions, first about the war in Iraq then on other issues like immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, and even the right to a safe abortion. For me, I had to challenge my politics because of my truth. I couldn't subscribe to a party that didn't support my right to marry and also spoke badly about people trying to become a citizen. But that's my journey. I don't know exactly what happened to my peers to make them more liberal. However, it does seem that voting for Democrats these days just is a vote for the status quo--nothing improved--as the Republican party wants to strip America of social programs. There's something fundamentally flawed with a system that forgets about it's people. 

Read “Long Forgotten Sons” by Rise Against on Genius