For me, this song serves as a cautionary tale for how the majority of society contends with the emotional and mental suffering of other individuals. Especially in western culture, we are taught to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps”, or “look hard [and] find our way back home” as the lyrics state. This insinuates that there is a one-size-fits-all remedy to any type of suffering - to just try harder ourselves - and that we are expected to find & have all of answers ourselves. However, that token piece of advice often does little to return a person from despair. The ineffective nature of that advice is shown in this line: “born without a friend, and bound to die alone”. ‘Zero Chance’ does a remarkable job of conveying despair & isolation. When examined, it shows us the importance of sincerity when checking up on our friends. Check up on someone you love today, not to fulfill the status quo, but from the most sincere place in your heart. We all know what it is like to suffer, so let us do what we can to help someone find their way home once again.
For me, this song serves as a cautionary tale for how the majority of society contends with the emotional and mental suffering of other individuals. Especially in western culture, we are taught to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps”, or “look hard [and] find our way back home” as the lyrics state. This insinuates that there is a one-size-fits-all remedy to any type of suffering - to just try harder ourselves - and that we are expected to find & have all of answers ourselves. However, that token piece of advice often does little to return a person from despair. The ineffective nature of that advice is shown in this line: “born without a friend, and bound to die alone”. ‘Zero Chance’ does a remarkable job of conveying despair & isolation. When examined, it shows us the importance of sincerity when checking up on our friends. Check up on someone you love today, not to fulfill the status quo, but from the most sincere place in your heart. We all know what it is like to suffer, so let us do what we can to help someone find their way home once again.