This piece marks a pivot from the series' focus on personal resilience and quiet action to a broader societal lament: while individuals build authenticity through effort, institutions often manage collapse through evasion. It's a raw indictment of systems that prioritize narrative discipline over tangible relief, ending on a defiant note that true compassion demands naming—and fighting—the fire.

I’ve reached the point where facts stop landing
Charts pile up, nobody’s standing
Receipts waved like they’re talismans
While the room fills up with smoke and chants

They’re not blind, they’re committed
That’s the trick nobody admits
Belief beats data every time
When identity’s on the line

They govern stories, not outcomes
Soft words over hard ground
If the message sounds kind enough
The damage underneath is brushed off

Meetings while it burns
Notes taken, voices calm
They don’t hear the alarms
They rewrite what concern means
Meetings while it burns
Sacrifice said like a spell
No one names who’s paying the bill
While the fire gets managed

Housing cracks, they call it transition
Hospitals bend, they blame conditions
Food lines stretch, productivity sinks
And we’re told to breathe, to wait, to think

Patience is a luxury
Owned by people not drowning
Those without leverage don’t get time
They get managed explanations

Control dressed up as competence
Optics mistaken for evidence
Every failure gets more layers
More spending, fewer answers

Meetings while it burns
Calm voices, sharpened pens
Every problem needs more management
Meetings while it burns
They don’t promise relief
They promise stability
While stability eats the floor

They speak like losses are necessary
Like pain is part of the model
If people resist, that’s the flaw
Not the plan, not the throttle

Prosperity isn’t the pitch anymore
Just smoother decline, tighter doors
They don’t offer a way back up
They offer better language for down

You can’t fix a country by overruling it
You can’t feed kids with narrative discipline
You can’t house families with moral tone
Or staff hospitals from a podium

Meetings while it burns
Criticism flagged as risk
Warnings treated like threats
Meetings while it burns
Emergency logic spreads
The definition of harm expands
And exits disappear

This is how it ends quietly
Not with sirens, not with screams
But with minutes, memos, committees
And children breathing smoke they didn’t choose

I’m not here to convince the clapping crowd
That window closed when the math got loud
This isn’t an argument
It’s a flare

If you’re cheering while the basics fail
While sacrifice never names itself
Understand what you’re defending
Isn’t compassion

It’s the fire
Being called necessary

Meetings While It Burns

Innocent

[Verse]
Woke up this morning
Sunlight on my face
My eyes feel so heavy
Guess I've found my place

[Verse 2]
In bed with crusty eyes
Got no time to lose
Grab my shades and coffee
Shake off these sleepy blues

[Chorus]
Crusty eyes
Start my day
Wipe 'em clean
In my own way

[Verse 3]
Mirror shows the story
Another restless night
I can’t avoid the morning
I'm ready for the fight

[Verse 4]
Life’s a little blurry
But I’m moving fast
Waking up
I hurry
Can't let the morning last

[Chorus]
Crusty eyes
Start my day
Wipe 'em clean
In my own way

[Verse 4]
Life’s a little blurry
But I’m moving fast
Waking up
I hurry
Can't let the morning last

[Chorus]
Crusty eyes
Start my day
Wipe 'em clean
In my own way

Crusty Eyes

Nothing - Nitin Sawhney

Please Don't

Recorded mixed and mastered by Erik Paulson.
Photos by Jacob Beitel.
Jams by us :)

Jenga

Take 5

THE BB MIXTAPE

BIRTHDAY

I think it was a good decision that I made that day. 601

10/30/17 Mon. 2:07 PM

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_j_o_s_u_e__ - 10/30

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Wild Ire is a project from the Pacific Northwest that began in 2014.  With several EPs, a couple full length albums and several singles, they have played from Eugene to Seattle to share their music.  A fusion of Pop Rock and Progressive Music.  Their love of Jazz and Funk makes appearances throughout their melodies and riffs.  Wild Ire is loud and fun music with something for everyone to enjoy.

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