The Revolution’s Soundtrack

Every good revolution has got an anthem–that potent combination of melody and lyrics that speaks to the heart and awakens the senses.  It makes the impossible seem real and the fantastic mundane.

As I’m sure everyone in the televisable world has discovered at this point, Michael Jackson has left the music scene forever.  He leaves in his wake a life history fraught with mystery, controversy, and musical genius.  In reviewing his prolific discography, we see the themes of love, frivolous allegations of paternity, and elementary education highlighting this lauded repertoire.  However, we also know M.J.’s music as transcendent and I would argue imminently revolutionary.

Take for example his universally known and vehemently praised “We Are the World.”  Leaving aside the power of his lyrics for a brief moment, let’s remember that he managed to bridge gaps of race, gender, and divergent musical styles–all barriers that at times appear to be impassable in this cynical age–to produce a song that brought together the voices and efforts of artists ranging from Willie Nelson to Tina Turner.  History.

The message he gave us was one of love, unity, and connectedness.  At first glance one might think he was simply touting the virtues of global citizenship, inviting us to acknowledge our shared socio-political stake in the world.  However, this song was really about a historical moment that begged us to not only think of ourselves as united in purpose and life but to act as such.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that if we really heeded Comrade Jackson’s call, if we actually lived as if we were all part of a great big family, then we would altogether abandon the social, political, and economic systems that presently define human interactions, domestic and global.  Plus, it’s got a helluva tune, right?

Why now?

What purpose does a blog of this nature serve?  At this moment, when all of the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the American left have been summed up and fought for by an advocate in this country’s highest position of power, what more could anyone ‘left of center’ want?  Well, it seems that the change we want, the change we crave, is ultimately impossible.  With each passing day and each failed policy, the revelation of Obama’s impotence becomes ever more evident.  Of course, we have to give him some credit.  No one can deny the feverish intensity with which he and his administration are fighting to see his (our?) political ambitions through to fruition.  However, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the cult of personality that won him the presidency isn’t nearly enough to push through the fundamental changes he promised the various groups and individuals who elected him.  We must begin to shed the pipe dreams and fantasies of our presidents valiantly signing bills, orders, and proclamations that shake the foundations of these American states.  The president isn’t a man, he’s the personified expression of an institution–a vital cog in a system that profits off the impoverished, ostracizes difference, and works tirelessly to keep itself running.  And the worst part about this system, its most nefarious characteristic, is that not only do our people ignorantly grease its sordid engines, but those of us who are even remotely critical of its purported infallibility are either wholly consumed in the fervor generated by persuasive demagogues or rendered indifferent by the presumed inevitability of the status quo.  My hope is that this blog can serve as a space in which we can think together about courses of action, modes of critique, and possibilities for fundamental change.

P.S. Let’s try to think outside of the woefully narrow political spectrum CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC allow us.  In other words, the ideas and frameworks of communism, anarchism, and veganism are up for grabs.