An obvious post I know, but let's celebrate this moment of optimism with a cool song.
Turn it up loud now ...
Paint The White House Black
from the album "Hey Man ... Smell My Finger" (1993)
Producer, Written-By George Clinton, Kerry Gordy , William Bryant III Sample from "Smiling Faces Sometimes" written By - Barrett Strong , Norman Whitfield Mixed By, Recorded By - Jeff Silverman Recorded By - Barry Goldberg , Brad Buxer , Charlie Brocco
16 comments:
Anyone know which Whitfield-Strong song this samples?
I guess "The Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes".
well spotted El Goog, thanks :)
great share, great political result in the US of A.
thanks indeed!
On the other hand, It may be my net browser or something, but i'm not finding the link for the uncensored version...
what am I missing out on... curious to know!
TN
Whoops, fixed now.
I will not pay some stupid tax on carbon dioxide and I'm not signing up for Obama youth brigades. This guy is not the messiah, just a hack that came out of nowhere.
I love my George Clinton. Much better than Bill Clinton in the White House, and better than Barack Obama, who's funded by George Soros and Wall Street and pushed the Black Caucus to vote for the banker daylight robbery. There will be change, all right, but it will merely be the same agenda on steroids. It's unwise to invest your emotional energy and hopes on corrupt politicians.
I never supported the traitor McInsane or Shrub, either, so if you care to respond step out of the fake left/right paradigm.
Sure, I'll respond.
My post refers to Obama's election as a "moment of optimism", from the point of view of a non-American. I care about your economy and taxation as much as you probably care about non-American economies and taxation systems, i.e. very little. Your singular focus on the economic, and not social aspects of the possible effects of this new presidency is perhaps understandable, considering it has been the focus of the campaigns and has inundated your media (which I've been watching a lot of on cable, both 'left' and 'right' - love the hair on those Fox News presenters).
Still, I find it hard to believe that you can remain unmoved by the faces of the African-Americans in the crowds last night, and can ignore the optimism that this represents for the future of minorities in the USA; and each and every one of their individual perceptions of their own possible futures and ambitions.
I've seen lots of these "Obama or McCain - who cares?" comments on blogs in the past few weeks, and I wonder if you just don't care if a woman has a right to choose whether or not to have a child at any time in her life?
You had a crystal clear choice on that, and by ignoring that difference and not voting (?), you gave a vote to the opposite of your own opinion.
Finally, as a slightly grumpy 46-year-old gay man, I'm sick of politicians who ignore the fact that I have to keep going to court to ensure that my son enjoys the same rights as the children of heterosexual couples.
I'm sick of politicians who ignore the fact that I lost almost an entire generation of my friends in the late 80s and early 90s to AIDS because of Reagan's inability to even say the word AIDS.
I'm sick of the Republicans regarding gay and lesbian people as expendable in their dalliance with Christian extremists like Palin, and regarding our relationships with our loved ones as somehow less important than others.
Homophobia is both irrational and intangible, and as such, Obama's constant inclusion of references to the rights of "our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters" (in his speech last night; and in his nomination speech; and even at a Christian forum that he and McCain attended a few months back) was a very powerful thing.
He has been been consistent and steadfast on these things, and for a presidential candidate, that ALREADY represents, and has made "change".
These matters are not a "left-right paradigm", this is not just a simple expending of "emotional energy" - peoples' dignity and sense of belonging are real things that affect their lives in a way that a carbon dioxide tax does not.
The world tends to follow the lead of the USA in the advancement of social movements, adapting strategies and methodology to the idiosyncracies of their own cultures over time.
Sure, we have no idea how things will actually play out in the Obama presidency, but he has already made a change. I wanted my best friend, who died in 1994 and fought alongside me in many battles for gay rights, to hear those words last night. But at least I got to hear them, and to think about the reverberation they will cause.
I am having my moment of optimism, and that improves my life.
Even if you are white, male and heterosexual - maybe you're none of these, maybe you're all of them - I want you to imagine the tangible effects of what may seem intangible above, and understand that it is not trivial.
I will support you and your opinion, as a non-gay, non-white Asian living outside America.
eG
Amen Simon, you have it exactly right.
Obama may turn out to disappoint us in many predictable ways. He is also a politician. But this is a moment of hope. On election night I had a handful of friends over and during Obama's victory speech, there were four gay and one straight man; four white guys and an Asian-American, all audibly weeping. This was big, this was important, even to a bolshevik-sympathizing flag-burning idol-worshipping politically burned out groove collector like me.
I will support you and your opinion, as a non-gay, non-black Italian living outside America and Europe.
JP
(thanks El-Goog for the idea!)
best
Simon,
I understand the need for optimism after the horrible last eight years. I'm saying the optimism is misplaced, and I will admit to feeling awkward about my post in the comments section of a really cool music blog, so I know something about misplacement;-) But what it comes down to is the same people run the show, and Obama is their puppet as all presidents are.
Obama's first appointment was Rahm Emanuel, whose father was a terrorist in the Irgun, blowing up Arabs and British in Palestine. When Emanuel went to serve his country, he chose Israel. His father was quoted in the Jerusalem Post as saying about his son: "Obviously he will influence the president to be pro-Israel. Why wouldn't he be? What is he, an Arab? He's not going to clean the floors of the White House."
This kind of racial supremacy would never be tolerated coming from or against any other group, but somehow it's sanctioned to demonise and belittle Arabs, who are actually true Semites.
So this is the first major appointment by the new black president-elect. Not much progress so far.
And for the record I do not live in the US, but I grieve for its moral, cultural and economic destruction.
Jerusalem Post article reference:
http://tinyurl.com/67hccd
Thanks for the link, Baby Breeze.
I still think that it's possible to be optimistic, and to use that optimism, while still casting a caustic eye on events, much in the way that Ish says.
And always feel free to say whatever you want here :)
Chocolate City says it all.
I am here from the year 2020. Y'all won't believe what's going on.
Post a Comment