“Only as good as your word” – Michael ‘StarBuck’ Majalahti

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StarbuckESPOO FI – I’m a big proponent of the old school. Anyone who knows me can vouch for this. Across the board, from my personal life philosophy to the style that I wrestle to the way that I write music or create artwork, I am all about the old school.

That said, there are many reasons behind my chosen philosophy, one of the biggest ones being the spirit of the day and age that we now live in. I personally believe that we have come to a very dire day and age in many respects, be it world politics, easily disposable everything or the lack of personal privacy. But one of the leading arguments to my personal life philosophy and old school approach is the lack of trust that this world is chalk-full of.

Remember the day and age when ”a man was only as good as his word”? I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t. That day and age is so passé today that not a single court in your country will hold a person to their word, nor will nary anyone swear on the Bible with any fear of repercussion. Yes, we’ve come to the day of the gutless and spineless society.

I was brought up by the old school system, and I have my parents to thank for that. My father did not spare the rod and spoil the child. I got my ass chided good and proper on countless occasions during my youth, and I am not at all sour about that fact. It instilled the proverbial ”Fear of the Lord” in this man, which coincidentally is also ”the beginning of wisdom”. It also taught me to stick to my guns and to my word.

The problem with the day and age that we live in is the theory of relativism. You see, that theory states that there are no black and white absolutes, only differing shades of gray, so take your pick and sink into obscurity. Everything is left up to interpretation, and no one is held accountable at the end of the day, because you cannot trace anything to an absolute peak of the mountain or bottom of the barrel. When faced with standing behind one’s actions or product, said individual/company/institution can simply ”slide”, because hey, YOU got the message wrong! Yeah, it was in the fine print, they washed their hands of all accountability.

Very much like the E10 gasoline that was promised at the start of this year to be more fuel-efficient, burn cleaner and be cheaper. Alas, every single sales point was bullshit, as has been proven as fact: E10 gasoline is more expensive, burns faster, pollutes more and as if that wasn’t enough, it also has been proven to damage engine valves across the board!

Now if you, as the disgruntled customer and consumer, were to care enough to make a claim against this incredulous line of bullshit that you have been fed, you’d find soon enough that you were in a war that was impossible to win. First of all, you’d have to go to your local gas station that sold you said E10 gasoline, sue them, have them turn around and say that they are not responsible, so turn to their supplier. You’d then make a claim against whatever oil conglomerate, and you can be sure that you would never find the man sitting at the top of the food chain who would answer to the damages, because the system in and of itself is built so that the small people cannot win. If you don’t believe me, just give it a try and let me know how it works out for you.

I personally find this lack of accountability in the modern day and age to be sickening and nauseous. I have no respect for anyone who doesn’t stand for anything, come hell or high water. Like Stallone said in the last Rambo movie, ”Live for something, or die for nothing”. Truer words have rarely been spoken.

The body cannot stand without a spine to uphold it. Yet, the gelatinous mass of modern society finds a way to ebb and flow without a spine, pushing forward and consuming all before it like the proverbial plague. Gaining bandwagon-jumpers as it permeates through every strand of society, people find it easier to just ”go with the flow” than to fight for what they actually believe in. Like Metallica once sang, ”Sad but true”.

It’s time to get mad. It’s time to make a statement, to stand behind some black and white absolutes before we all get choked out by the apathetic mass of gray gutlessness that is all around us. If you don’t fight for your rights, who then will fight for you?

I offer the immortal message and words of former US President Teddy Roosevelt from the day and age when a man truly was as good as his word: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

It is in dark and dire days such as these that this world needs preachers more than ever. Preachers who will stand and deliver the message that everyone needs to hear.

Consider the famous words of pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984):

First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

If old archetypes such as the aforementioned are too passé for you, then consider pop culture icon and legendary hard rock frontman Lemmy Kilmister from the band Motörhead, as he sings in the lyrics to the group’s song ”Stand”:

Stand – you can make it
Stand – you can take it
Stand – realize that nobody can break it for you
Stand – you can do it
Stand – go right to it
Stand – nobody can do a damn thing to you

But you can’t stand – if you don’t care
Can’t stand – if you don’t dare
Can’t stand – if you’re running scared
Forget you’re blood & bone
Stand like you’re made of stone

Stand – on your honor
Stand – show you’re gonna
Stand – they can’t put the creeping death upon you

If you stand – never move it
Stand – gotta prove it
Stand – gotta stand ’cause you can’t stand to lose it

Stand – stand – stand like a rock
Stand – stand – you stop their clock
Stand – stand – put them into shock
Stand
Stand – stand – together
Stand – yeah you better
Stand – don’t you know that you can live forever if you
Stand – one for all
Stand – don’t you crawl
Stand – if you stand then you deserve it all

But if you can’t stand,
Then they’re the boss,
Can’t stand – it’s a total loss
Can’t stand – they’ll nail you to the cross
Forget you’re blood and bone
Stand like you’re made of stone
Stand

This social commentary and much needed pep-talk was brought to you by:

Michael ”StarBuck” Majalahti
Multi-time professional wrestling champion worldwide
Rock band vocalist
Personal trainer
Graphic artist
Life coach

www.starbuck.fi

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Michael ”StarBuck” Majalahti Multi-time professional wrestling champion worldwide Rock band vocalist Personal trainer Graphic artist Life coach www.starbuck.fi