social movement - an organized activity that encourages or discourages social change
  • Stephen Christian is a co-founder of Faceless International, an organization that raises awareness of social issues around the world and encourages supporters around the world to sponsor different people in need.

claims making - the process of trying to convince the public and public officials of the importance of joining a social movemnt to address a particular issue
  • Anberlin designed several bags for Faceless International and sold them on past tours to convince their fans to support social changes around the world (such as helping impoverished rice farmers to earn decent wages).
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    Child trafficking is a problem in India.

anomie - Durkheim's term for a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals

  • In places such as India, sex trafficking is a widely active activity. Anberlin has been advocating bracelets made by recently rescued women from the industry in order to keep them out of the immoral industry.

Disaster - an event, generally unexpected, that causes extensive harm to people damage to property.
  • In 2008, Haiti was pounded by a relentless string of hurricanes and tropical storms within a 2 week period. First was tropical storm Hanna, which killed hundreds in the city of Gonaives. Then it was Hurricane Ike, which killed 61 and dumped over a foot of rain the Haitian valleys. It was later this month that Anberlin's lead vocalist Stephen Christian headed down to help with the relief effort through Faceless International.

Modernity - social patterns resulting from industrialization. The many social patterns set in motion by the Industrial Revolution, which began in the 1750's.
  • Lyrics from There Is A Light That Never Goes Out: "Take me out tonight / Where there's music and there's people and they're young and alive / Driving in your car / I never never want to go home."
    • This song is about a guy who is riding in the car with his girlfriend heading out for a night on the town. He mentions the car, which came about after the Industrial Revolution, and serves as a convenient mode of transportation when traveling to a given destination - in this case, a place where "there's music and there's people" who are young and alive.

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Modernization of transportation.

Social Character - personality patterns common to members of a particular society.
  • Society in the United States places a high value on relationships. Society is also very open about intimate topics within relationships, like love. Typically, members of our society, whether it is a pop artist or an Average Joe, will write song lyrics or a poem to their significant other detailing their love and commitment to that person. Anberlin does this in many of their songs, and feedback from fans praises these songs, as they are "sweet" or "romantic."