In a recent interview with Terra Brasil, Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir shared his perspective on the significance of maintaining individuality and honoring one's personal values. He emphasized the issue with the current political climate, where people often feel pressured to conform and avoid expressing their true opinions.
"I think we're taught to be scared to stand out. We're more comfortable to kind of sit there and be behind and have that thing. And I think that's one of the big things — I don't wanna get into politics, but that's the problem with politics," Muir noted.
He criticized the tendency for people to align rigidly with political sides, avoiding open dialogue and truth: "You go so many places around the world right now with elections, and it's 'I am this' and 'I am this.' And there's this whole big valley of truth that people are scared to go to because they'll deviate from the side that they're supposed to not be able to change from, these sticks that don't break. And it's sad."
Muir expressed concern about the lack of genuine communication, stating that people prefer affirmation over conversation. He observed that meaningful discussions are essential for learning, yet many are reluctant to engage in them.
"To me, that's the big problem, anywhere in the world, is when people can't talk when they can't communicate. Now people don't wanna communicate. They just want confirmation. 'They're bad. Yeah, they're bad. They're bad. They're bad.' Yeah. Great conversation. There's no conversation. And through conversation is how you learn."
Reflecting on the U.S. political landscape, Muir didn't hold back his disdain for the current candidates. He criticized the polarized mindset where criticizing one candidate automatically aligns you with their opponent, questioning why it's controversial to simply state the truth.
"I don't understand why it's offensive to ask a question. And using the United States as an example, I don't like any of the people running for the White House. It's easy not to like them because they're fucking bad people, as far as I'm concerned… I don't know if you saw Biden. I go do, 'This dude is so old.' And I never liked the guy, 'cause of a lot of things that he said. But I'll say that, and they tell me, 'You can't say that.' And I'm like, 'Why?' Because then you're for Donald Trump.' And I'm, like, 'How am I for Trump if I say something about Biden?' Because I'll talk shit about someone else and sometimes I'll say things and they'll go, like, 'You can't say that.' And I'm, like, 'Well, why can't you say the truth?' Why don't we focus on the truth rather than who it is?
Muir further elaborated on what he sees as a troubling trend of people wishing for negative outcomes just because the opposing side is in power: "It's amazing how people — we call it pretzel. They just bend. If something happens, they would rather have… If someone else, quote-unquote, the other person is in power, they'd want bad things to happen. They like bad things to happen 'cause the other person's in power. And that's an insane kind of philosophy to me. And that means there's something structurally wrong — very wrong. And until people sit there and go, 'What about the people?'"
Reflecting on his decision not to vote, Muir shared a personal anecdote from his youth, where he questioned the sincerity of politicians' promises to improve lives: "I never vote. And people ask me 'Why don't you vote?' And I go, because I remember being 12 years old and seeing on TV, someone looking in the TV, 'I'm voting.' 'I'm running because I'm gonna make your life better. I'm doing this for you.' And I'm, like, 'How does this fucker know what's better for me? And just the pompous arrogance of someone saying that they want the power to make my life better. I go, 'Fuck you.' You know what I mean? And then when they get that power, it's, like, what are they doing? They don't know who the fuck I am and stuff."
Muir's father played a pivotal role in shaping his independent mindset, advising him to retain control over his own life rather than relying on others. This philosophy of self-reliance, despite life's challenges, is something Muir strongly advocates.
"People get mad, but my dad always told me, 'You have to be in power in your life. Don't ever be in a position where you're giving that power to someone else that you're gonna regret. No matter how fucked up things are, be the person making the decision. Don't give it to some people.' And I think too many people were brought up to be scared, to feel like they're weak like they can't handle it, that they need someone else to make that decision. They're afraid to."
Muir closing thoughts emphasized the importance of resilience and self-belief: "The old-school thing, with my dad, the way I was brought up is, like, no — no matter how fucking tough it is… Life is gonna be hard. There's people that have unbelievably bad luck in situations. It's gonna be hard, but it's gonna be a lot harder if you don't believe in yourself. It's gonna be a lot harder. And believing in yourself, you're not like dreaming tomorrow will be a better day, but every day you've gotta work and say, 'You know what? Today was fucked up, but tomorrow I got another chance, and I got another chance, and I'm not gonna be fucking beat down.' Because I look out there and I don't wanna be like a lot of the people, when I was younger, I saw. I don't want to be like that."
