NEWS FROM THE FRONT
September 2008
Music inherits much of its power through its universality.
It cuts across boundries, borders, classes, religions and beliefs, and bonds us in the fundamental vibrations of life.
Music communicates a basic part of our character and substance.
For those of us who have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of this art, this affects us in basic and comprehensive ways.
We become less interested in the differences between ourselves and other musicians, because the real question is always, "Can you play?"
We learn that the person who might be from a different place, condition, education, background, group or nationality is really no different in the ways that really matter.
We all want friends and family, and a decent and respectable quality of life, and we all struggle with the same kinds of issues throughout our careers and our lives.
Yet, when we turn from the making of music to the rest of humanity, we see division, hardship, animosity and misunderstanding, and these seem to be the hallmarks of our times.
Don't be fooled.
The people who benefit the most from these divisions are the ones who are taking advantage of all of us.
Divide and conquer is a very effective strategy, and when one religion, political party, race, gender, club or group attacks another, everyone loses except those who can capitalize on hate and anger.
Highlighting the differences between us is in full season here in the United States as our presidential election draws near.
In little more than two months, we will elect a new president, and the contrast of selection is very real in many ways.
I am not writing this to persuade anyone to one side or the other, although I do know clearly where I stand.
I would like to address a broader issue.
Although I believe that voting is essential for this electorate, I also think that the time has come to realize DEEPLY some hard truths.
The government can't help us.
The persons who serve in the political structure of the United States are as trapped as we are in their divisions and convolutions of truth, and they will never lead us to freedom because they can't.
We must try to choose those who will interfere with us the least, but that is the best we can do.
I will stress that it is still important to cast your vote this November, but I believe we must lower our expectations of those who claim to be for us, and get on with the work that will free us from this cycle of hatred, distrust and character assassination (not just of each other, but of us as well.)
The founders of the United States of America had high hopes for this country.
If you haven't read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution lately, it is worth a re-read.
These documents were intended to be the spirit and the law of this land, and, frankly, we have yet to really live by them.
You cannot have real democracy when half your popluation can't vote (women until the Nineteenth Amendment August 18, 1920) or a race or color can't vote (blacks until the Fifteenth Amendment February 3, 1870), and those citizens must actually be able to vote, which was not the case with many black persons until the late fifties and early sixties after the onset of the (not-yet-over) Civil Rights movement.
You also can't have real democracy when voting machines are manipulated as they were in the last two elections, and very well may be in this one, or when public officials are permitted and encouraged to deny votes based on trickery and deception (Florida in 2000 in case you didn't know.)
Thus, our government has shown time and time again that it can't even get the fundamentals right.
People, it is up to us.
We must change this world from the ground up.
States must do what California and New York are doing, and gather together to fight the environmental nightmare that awaits all of us, even those who don't believe it.
Companies must do what
CD Baby does, and create a new model that works for us on the ground instead of for the wealthy and powerful.
Parents must demand education from the schools, and fight for science and real learning instead of selective subjects that don't offend certain religions or political groups.
Labor must demand that workers are taken care of properly, AND that the Labor Unions either disband or begin to do their real job, which is to protect the workers and not the corporations.
No one will do this for us.
It is a fight that we must wage every day on the ground; in the way we conduct ourselves, in the way we spend (or don't spend) our money, and the way we treat each other.
In order accomplish this tall order, we must prioritize.
Education must be at the top of this list.
We are failing at every level.
Students are left behind, left out, and taught that they are the center of a consumer universe that revolves around them.
Universities now consider their students consumers.
This is a dangerous shift from students being treated as apprentices and novices to students being treated like they are always right.
Real learning cannot take place where teachers are not respected and backed up by their administrations.
Science must be another priority.
Much of our governmental policy is based on opinions, lies, religions beliefs, useless compromises, and fear.
Science would not allow the
War on Drugs to continue unabated as it has for so many years.
Science would not allow for policies that ignored reality and hurt the people they propose to help, like denying the right to produce
industrial hemp.
Science can provide proof and facts that we could build policy and technology on; ground that would not erode with the pressure of reality.
We must demand integrity, both from ourselves and those with whom we work and live.
Lying to get what you want, cheating because it's easier, and stealing because "I'm gonna get mine and the hell with everyone else" will only push all of us deeper into the hole we are in.
It is time to become actualized, adult human beings.
This will flow from decisions, not techniques or fads.
Making the hard choices and committing to the work of freedom must be done, or I fear we will all be lost.
I would suggest here that we can look to the way musicians operate as one model.
One World Tribe is an excellent example of this.
Externally, many tout the 'diversity' of the group as its hallmark.
Internally, this is a non-issue for all of us.
We are friends, plain and simple.
No one is blind to the differences; we are not "color-blind" as some might think is necessary to get over this disconnect.
It simply doesn't matter.
When we are hungry, we want food.
Some are carnivores, some are vegetarians (Sarah Palin notwithstanding) and some avoid four-footed meat.
Some have a beer or two, and some are tea-totallers.
Some listen to jazz, some listen to hip hop, and some even listen to Rush.
We disagree, we argue, we discuss, and we come together, and almost none of it has to do with our 'diversity.'
We are a group of people who have chosen each other as family, and that is what people see when we play.
I would suggest that musicians have much to offer in the way of demonstrating how to get together for common purpose.
As musicians, we must acknowledge that we are not 'just' musicians, but the Holy Men and Women of the world.
We bring the music to the people, and join in universal communication to heal and connect humanity.
We must be honest, or our music will not prosper.
We must be true to our ideals, but not impose them on others, or the music will not survive.
It is these properties that have so much to offer, once we see for ourselves just what our place really is in this world.
Like so many others, musicians have been marginalized by stereotypes, stardom and servitude (just remember what Prince had written in his hair when he was "formerly know as"), and unfortunately many have come to believe the hype.
But musicians know better than most how to come together for common purpose and create positivity.
It is a skill we must first accept we have, and then offer this model to the world.
Stand up, musicians, and be counted, both in November in the elections, and in your daily lives.
We can do all of this, because we already do.
Until next time,
peace - f
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Live At Forward Hall
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