In a recent article on Paste, speaking of Narcocorridos, the harder-core Latino equivalent of gangsta rap, Sam DeLeo wrote, "As with violent video games, gangster movies and, to an extent, even drugs themselves, narcocorridos give us what we crave, a vicarious sense of danger, the chance to dip our toes in darkness without sliding in to its void."

I realized as I read his article, and began taking notes on the books and sources he was quoting for further study, that at least some part of my interest in being informed on what appears to be an important issue, is 'dipping my toes in the darkness without sliding into the void.' I feel like this is the same tension, however, that we face in the problem of, "do I want to do a good thing to get recognized for doing well, or for the sake of doing something well in itself?"