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Glenn Beck finally gets it. Well, sort of.
Yes, Glenn Beck just figured out what Born In The USA is about. Word has it he also just figured out that Trampled Under Foot isn’t really about a car.
In a recent tirade, that I still don’t fully get, Glenn Beck apparently believes Bruce Springsteen is portraying himself as an "unAmerican" critic. He may be partly correct. His song is certainly a criticism. But, does that make him "unAmerican"?
Bruce Springsteen does indeed criticize America as he describes the hardships of a man who fights for his country and continues to deal with adversity when he returns back home to the USA, in a nutshell.
However, once again, Beck gets it wrong. “The Boss” is quite the opposite of an unpatriotic fire bomber. Isn’t addressing such issues and expressing the pain of the downtrodden and questioning your government the highest form of patriotism? Springsteen is given a voice to the many veterans who came home a different person to a much different country.
It doesn’t take a lyrical savant to discern the Boss’ message. Even I knew it wasn’t a “hurrah” song per se when the song was popular and I was a wee lad. But, that is what makes it such a poignant song. It is viewed, by some, as being unpatriotic. But, is it really? Springsteen was bringing attention to the plight of the veterans who returned to the states only to face adversity within their own country.
Twenty six years after it was released, Glenn Beck finally gets it (sort of). He always struck me a slow learner. Of course, this is all just a ploy, as almost all political and radio shows are, to paint Springsteen as part of the “wacko left”. Don’t think for a second he didn’t know better already. Even, I, as a clueless 12 year old knew what this song was about when it was originally released. It’s all a work. Even Beck isn’t that out of touch.
Of course, this is nothing new. If people really listened to lyrics and paid attention to the lyrics of the songs they listened to they may have a very different opinion of the song. On second thought, they probably wouldn’t care. I think the success of Lady Gaga is proof positive that people really don’t care about lyrics. A danceable beat, preferably with lyrics that rhyme (even if they don’t make sense) are all most people need. Yet, I digress.
Another artist that has invoked the wrath of Beck and other right wing pundits is yet another misunderstood artist.
In February of 1940, Woody Guthrie wrote This Land is our Land as a response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”.
Just like everything else, people are quick to jump on Guthrie and others like him without knowing what his perspective was. As he hitchhiked across the states, Guthrie, ruffled by Kate Smith’s peppy rendition of “God Bless America”, saw a drastically different American than the oceans white with foam that she crooned about.
Guthrie’s take was more bittersweet than Irving Berlin‘s song. The picturesque redwood forest, golden valley and gulf stream waters give way to ribbons of highway and dust clouds with a hopeful lifting fog. Instead of counting his blessings, Guthrie saw impoverished families living on the sides of the same roads he traveled. He saw ranchers and farmers eking out a living. He witnessed the lingering suspicion of the original Red Scare. He witnessed a country bringing itself out of an economic disaster. Sound familiar?
The uber-patriotic missive of “God Bless America” to a receptive nation sugar coated what Guthrie and many other Americans saw as a much harsher life. Yet, once again, some people miss the point of Guthrie‘s ditty.
“This Land is Your Land” is not only suggesting how our land is for all of us. It takes on something of a cautionary tone as well. Guthrie was also saying this land is yours but it’s also mine. So don’t muck it up. He was saying it is ours not Procter And Gamble’s or the government’s. It’s for you and me. In fact, in 1944, a verse was found that was originally not included in the song which truly seems to encapsulate what Guthrie was saying:
There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
This land was made for you and me.
Guthrie also kept out a few less subtle verses from his original song:
Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.
In the squares of the city, In the shadow of a steeple;
By the relief office, I'd seen my people.
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking,
Is this land made for you and me?
Guthrie’s songs are still relevant today as more and more of “our land“ is depleted for corporate interests and Mcmansions. Just insert migrant workers, union busters, corrupt bankers and lobbyists. And pundits and critics still don't get it. Some things never change.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Villians
As I dodged and evaded throngs of little people crying for their mommies, fan boys debating the plausibility of the existence of a platform 9 ¾ and an assortment of other adults who still watch cartoons at the Harry Potter exhibit during a recent visit to the Boston Museum of Science, I noticed all of the time people were spending at the Harry Potter and Hermione (or however you spell her name) exhibits and exhibits of the other “heroes“ of the Harry Potter franchise.
Meanwhile, the exhibits for Voldemort (I mean he whose name should not be mentioned), Malfoy and [insert bad persons name here] just weren’t getting any love. As we were leaving the exhibit, I asked my niece why nobody wanted to spend much time looking save to shoot a menacing glare at their statues. Looking at me as though I just crawled out from under a rock, she quickly informed me that they are the “bad guys” and nobody roots for the bad guys.
*disclaimer I did consult Wikipedia, friends and others for some of these details*
Now, this gave me reason for pause. Well, I was paused because I was stuck between a rotund wizard looking fellow and someone who looked like a hastily put together munchkin. As I waited to maneuver between these two fellows, I began to think of all of the assortment of heroes of mine. Very often, these people could just as easily be considered villains. Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando are but a few of the character actors I have always liked. Who couldn’t like them? Everyone knows the bad guys are always cooler, dress better and of course they can drink with the best of them.
Naturally, these are simply actors. Robert DeNiro isn’t really a mobbed up deer hunting bounty hunter in real life. Yet, many of the people who are worthy of our praise aren’t always considered good guys. Nor, should they have to be. Often times villains or bad boys are just misunderstood visionaries. Nicolaus Copernicus, Martin Luther, Socrates and Charles Darwin are only a few of the visionaries of their time whose viewpoints were not readily accepted during their times. Lest I forget Gary Dahl.
So, when anytime anyone accuses me of having some “harebrained scheme” (which is fairly often), I take comfort in knowing the company I keep.
It does give me cause for concern when we follow mob mentality and always root for the squeaky clean guy who is in reality usually merely a goat in sheep’s clothing. Speaking of which, why does the goat get such a bad rap? But I digress. The unfortunate thing is few people step outside of their comfort zones. They root for the home team, like a “good homer”. In short, they never question…anything. They simply follow.
Speaking of being the good “homer”, I could never root against Reggie Miller, even as he stuck yet another dagger into the beloved Boston Celtics. Beyond being a deadly sharpshooter from anywhere on the court, Reggie chastised the crowd, talked trash and, more often that not, delivered in the clutch with a supreme swagger and confidence. He didn't just talk the talk. He walked the walk.
As a youngster I would often spend my summers rooting for Darth Vader, reading Hunter S. Thompson and admiring Tommie Smith’s courage. All of them are villains to some degree. To me, there isn’t any other way to be. How can one always root for the milquetoast “good guys”? They’re predictable, nice, clean and plain. They are dullards.
Everyone thinks they are not conformists and they think independently. The true way to find out if you do not conform is if anyone has ever called you “weird”, ‘wacky” or “crazy”. If so, then welcome aboard.
We often don’t consider that one person's villian is just as much another person's hero. John Adams, Che Guevara and Frank Serpico to name a few were all considered villains by people who opposed their views. Now, many of them are considered heroes. Some so called villains have simply been people with enough courage to think or act differently.
Naturally, we all hate the true evils of the world. There are always group of people we can dislike as a wide group. You know them all by now: the Taliban, the KKK, Nazis and Heidi Montag.
Now, back to the Harry Potter exhibit. After cutting myself short from polluting my niece’s mind with propaganda of rebels and renegades who built this country, I reminded her that her uncle isn’t always a “good boy”.
I always thought youths were supposed to embrace the bad guy. They are supposed to be rebellious and buck the system. A healthy skepticism is a good thing, particularly when it’s against the establishment. It’s fairly disheartening to see that we often stamp out this thought process in younger people in an effort to mold their young minds and make them good citizens (read robotic followers).
Just don’t rock the boat.
Meanwhile, the exhibits for Voldemort (I mean he whose name should not be mentioned), Malfoy and [insert bad persons name here] just weren’t getting any love. As we were leaving the exhibit, I asked my niece why nobody wanted to spend much time looking save to shoot a menacing glare at their statues. Looking at me as though I just crawled out from under a rock, she quickly informed me that they are the “bad guys” and nobody roots for the bad guys.
*disclaimer I did consult Wikipedia, friends and others for some of these details*
Now, this gave me reason for pause. Well, I was paused because I was stuck between a rotund wizard looking fellow and someone who looked like a hastily put together munchkin. As I waited to maneuver between these two fellows, I began to think of all of the assortment of heroes of mine. Very often, these people could just as easily be considered villains. Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando are but a few of the character actors I have always liked. Who couldn’t like them? Everyone knows the bad guys are always cooler, dress better and of course they can drink with the best of them.
Naturally, these are simply actors. Robert DeNiro isn’t really a mobbed up deer hunting bounty hunter in real life. Yet, many of the people who are worthy of our praise aren’t always considered good guys. Nor, should they have to be. Often times villains or bad boys are just misunderstood visionaries. Nicolaus Copernicus, Martin Luther, Socrates and Charles Darwin are only a few of the visionaries of their time whose viewpoints were not readily accepted during their times. Lest I forget Gary Dahl.
So, when anytime anyone accuses me of having some “harebrained scheme” (which is fairly often), I take comfort in knowing the company I keep.
It does give me cause for concern when we follow mob mentality and always root for the squeaky clean guy who is in reality usually merely a goat in sheep’s clothing. Speaking of which, why does the goat get such a bad rap? But I digress. The unfortunate thing is few people step outside of their comfort zones. They root for the home team, like a “good homer”. In short, they never question…anything. They simply follow.
Speaking of being the good “homer”, I could never root against Reggie Miller, even as he stuck yet another dagger into the beloved Boston Celtics. Beyond being a deadly sharpshooter from anywhere on the court, Reggie chastised the crowd, talked trash and, more often that not, delivered in the clutch with a supreme swagger and confidence. He didn't just talk the talk. He walked the walk.
As a youngster I would often spend my summers rooting for Darth Vader, reading Hunter S. Thompson and admiring Tommie Smith’s courage. All of them are villains to some degree. To me, there isn’t any other way to be. How can one always root for the milquetoast “good guys”? They’re predictable, nice, clean and plain. They are dullards.
Everyone thinks they are not conformists and they think independently. The true way to find out if you do not conform is if anyone has ever called you “weird”, ‘wacky” or “crazy”. If so, then welcome aboard.
We often don’t consider that one person's villian is just as much another person's hero. John Adams, Che Guevara and Frank Serpico to name a few were all considered villains by people who opposed their views. Now, many of them are considered heroes. Some so called villains have simply been people with enough courage to think or act differently.
Naturally, we all hate the true evils of the world. There are always group of people we can dislike as a wide group. You know them all by now: the Taliban, the KKK, Nazis and Heidi Montag.
Now, back to the Harry Potter exhibit. After cutting myself short from polluting my niece’s mind with propaganda of rebels and renegades who built this country, I reminded her that her uncle isn’t always a “good boy”.
I always thought youths were supposed to embrace the bad guy. They are supposed to be rebellious and buck the system. A healthy skepticism is a good thing, particularly when it’s against the establishment. It’s fairly disheartening to see that we often stamp out this thought process in younger people in an effort to mold their young minds and make them good citizens (read robotic followers).
Just don’t rock the boat.
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