Friday, July 19, 2019

A Call To Arms






Not every revolutionary is an artist. Not every artist is a revolutionary. Rock'n'roll was at the forefront of changing the world. My world. We fought war, bigotry, homelessness, discrimination. We stood up for minorities, women, animals and the environment. Music was our weapon.

Now I try to make sense of our history.

Rock'n'roll is out of fashion while folks in red caps manufactured in China chant, "Send her back! Send her back!" Yeah, bigotry's back in fashion. 

When I was a kid, decent folks tried to take care of hoboes. Now, with homelessness rampant in the country, we pass laws making it illegal to give food to starving people. We lock up children and pay "private enterprise" seven hundred and fifty dollars a day to guard them.

I see no reason to list our shortcomings, as I see them. You probably have your own list.

Rock'n'roll stars didn't invent activism. Bob Dylan wanted to be Little Richard before he settled on Woody Guthrie. Woody never sold many records, never made much money. He was a revolutionary. His occupation was world-changer.

There are kids out there with guitars who aren't selling any records. Not trending on YouTube. They know what their job is.

If we're gonna save the world, we better get busy. It's gettin' hot in here.




1 comment: