My opinion on celebrities being involved in politics (or anything else) is that their work on the field, or on stage, or on screen, or in the recording studio, is absolutely independent of the celebrity in question. I absolutely love folk music, and Bob Dylan, and groups like Coldplay and The Decemberists, but they're all liberals and some have actively campaigned for the Democrat party. I don't care... I will listen to them anyway, even sing (in Peter Paul and Mary's case) anti-war songs and songs about peace and brotherhood and all that, because the work of art is separate from the often current political arena. (There are a couple of exceptions, those that gush politics. I loved John Mayer's first mainstream album, but then his album quality went downhill and his third was almost exclusively anti-Bush, so....)
But that doesn't apply just to singers. I've had people tell me they won't eat Ben & Jerry's ice cream because they believe in Gay rights. Good... more for me to eat. If the product they make is superior in quality (not to mention delicious), they could fornicate with goats and I wouldn't care.
Case in point... Consider Bill Cosby. Let's assume that everything that all these women have said are true about him, and he has an uncontrollable desire to sexually assault drugged dates. And obviously he hasn't handled it well, and he should retire and get out of the limelight. Now, go back and watch episodes of the Cosby Show, or his stand up routines. Hilarious! Insightful! Masterful work! To me, his art is separate from him as a person. And years from now, after he dies and everything is forgiven (which usually happens), the issues he faces now will be an asterisk (although a damning one) on his life, but people will still gush about how he has changed their lives.
Because in the end, I don't care about the politics, about who is married to whom and who voted for Obama and who didn't. I really don't even care about the actions that people did in the past (although it doesn't speak well for the people involved, and it does hurt their effect on people.) Imagine all the young people who, in the 1960's and 70's, aspired to be a running back just like O.J. Simpson. How many running backs, some of whom are now probably hold records at colleges and maybe in Halls of Fame someplace, looked up to Simpson as a role model and emulated his style of play on the field? The fact that O.J. (probably) killed his ex-wife and is now in jail for robbery doesn't detract from the positive effect his football career had on other people. We watch the Naked Gun movie with Leslie Neilsen and laugh, even though Simpson is the comedy sidekick.
It's what effects me that I care about. It's the times when we sat in the living room of our Oklahoma City house and watched Bill Cosby Himself on HBO and laughed so hard that we couldn't eat the dinners on the television trays. It's about the time when, alone at Georgia College, the music of Peter Paul and Mary spoke to me, even though they were liberal activists (and I going to meetings of the College Republicans), and in past years Peter Yarrow was convicted of making sexual advanced toward a then 14 year old girl (he didn't know it at the time and was later pardoned by Carter). It's about the amazing taste of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, especially the caramel core flavor with the rich caramel cream right through the center.... so good!!
I understand the idea behind not buying something because you don't believe in the same things as the maker, to underscore some point by affecting them financially. I guess to me it's more about my happiness (short term or otherwise) than some statement I might make by not buying something. I enjoy the ice cream, I have cravings for Chick-fil-a's Milkshakes (usually on a Sunday), I find music that I like, even though their political beliefs are different... it doesn't matter to me. Would we have the Mona Lisa torn down and destroyed because of Leonardo da Vinci's supposed erotic relationships with his male students? Do we decry the works of Lewis Carroll because his known attraction to little girls? Of course, these examples are in the past. Something tells me that, years from now, when Bill Cosby is years deceased, and the accusations have long been silenced with money, someone will find his comedic works languishing on Youtube, and they will laugh, and he will be treasured once again. Is it right? I don't know. But I do know that his performances are worth keeping, outside of whatever he himself has done. Let us praise the work, even while the artist is punished. Let us see the beauty in a song or a painting, even if we don't agree with those that made it.
Showing posts with label Peter Paul and Mary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Paul and Mary. Show all posts
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Wild Places
I don't pretend to be an environmentalist. Someone recycling cans could probably fund college through what I throw away. I'm not going to make excuses for this; I'm too lazy to make the effort. I remember listening to Rush Limbaugh on his radio broadcasts, where, during the event that has been called "Earth Hour," where everyone is supposed to turn off their lights for an hour to preserve energy / pay homage to "The Earth" (as if our power is some sort of ritual lamb were supposed to slaughter), Rush tells people he's gonna turn on all his lights. I agree with him... I'd go buy those flood lights that rotate in the sky and pay a huge electric bill that month. I really wouldn't do that, but I don't agree with the idea in the first place. In fact, the whole idea of Environmentalism is about as complex as you can get. If you would ask me my top 10 books, easily among them would be Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Simply give me a log cabin out in the woods someplace, next to a river (and if I ever win the lottery, I've got one picked out), and an ultra-fast line to the Internet, and I'm all set. I'll sit and watch the ants gather food for their hills. You see, there's a distinct difference in loving Nature, wanting to treasure and relish in the glorious things of this world, and being an Environmental Activist.
I guess it goes back to political ideologies. It concerns how we want to govern our lives, how we see our contract with those who would govern over us. Our relationship with our fellow man. At its core, Environmentalism is a genuine concern for our planet, with maintaining the beauty and wonder of the planet we live in. While walking the trails at the SRCP (South Rockdale Community Park), along the South River, I've seen many empty beer cans, other pieces of trash, even a bag of Legos spilled out on the ground. And at times, I've noticed the water itself has a green tinge that is probably caused by pollution upriver in Atlanta. I am not saying that the SRCP and the South River are junky.... it is truly beautiful, as the pictures I've taken show. It would take very little for volunteer groups to pick up what little trash is there. It would take so little to recycle cans, to conserve water...etc... We use a large bucket to collect the water that comes out of the compressor in our air conditioning system. We could, if we had a garden, use it to water the plants and save on using water out of the hose. It makes complete sense... except we don't have a garden to do that with.
The problem with Environmentalism lies in how you handle the problem. Companies like Disney, who created a "Friends for Change" program on TV, have used private funding to promote volunteer work from their clients. Excellent job! Through individual efforts, so much can be done to promote conservation of our resources...etc... However, it's when people decide that government regulation of large corporations and commercial regulations of such things as light bulbs, that I start to object. At this point, the power is taken away from the individual and put in the hands of bureaucrats in the government. It ceases to be about caring about the planet we live on and more about money, power, and status. Environmentalists become identical to the private corporations they seek to drain power from. And then I get turned off by the whole thing and start agreeing with the bombastic statements that Rush Limbaugh uses against the Environmental movement.
The Paradox comes into play here. By that I mean the Libertarian paradox that states that limited government is ideal when the "ideal" is followed. If every private corporation instituted measures to protect the environment, preserve resources...etc..., then no regulation would be necessary. However, not every business is going to operate by what is right, as the desire for profit at the expense of those they are responsible to (including the customers, the Earth, their stockholders), will overcome the reasoning for self-regulation. Thus the government is needed to assume such actions. And it drives me nuts! Because almost every issue runs up against the Paradox when "ideals" are brought to the table. I return to Thoreau at this point, reading his essay on Civil Disobedience, especially the last two paragraphs. Well worth the look.
Now, jumping to my walks down the trails of the SRCP. A song kept coming into my head, one by Peter, Paul, and Mary. In 1982, they self-published a live concert album titled Such Is Love. I originally found it in a used music store located by my grandmother's house in Oklahoma City. The cassette had never been opened, but what music it contained! One of the tracks was "Wild Places." It brings together the idea of protecting the Environment,
living along side the beautiful works that God made on this globe, and the idea that doing so is an act of devotion. For the very fact that such beauty exists in this world, outside of our influence, is an argument that God created this aesthetically pleasing place for someone to enjoy. Namely, us. If we cannot take care of it, then it was a wasted effort on his part. And since I know that this is a fallacy, since God is outside of time and error, then He expects us to enjoy the beauty He has given us. And what better way than to walk down the trails of this land and witness the beauty of nature, as well as the monumental objects we have placed on this Earth. I always get this feeling that we need to make God "proud" of us. For He must have pride in those He loves (and by the fact that we were made in HIs image, we must have pride in the objects we create.)
The duplicate beauty of the trails I've walked is that it contains both God- and Man-made wonders. Taking a scene from literature, Howard Roarke, in The Fountainhead stands on the hill outside of the architecture school and visualizes the magnificence he can create from simply the clay and rock around him. A marvelous first scene of any book, in my opinion. We create things on this Earth for our own convenience, and if we do this in a method which preserves the natural beauty of the world, or even enhances it, then we have used our talents in ways that God would approve. We have created objects in our world that are good, just as He created this world. So whenever I cross the hill and see towering before me the power lines that stretch to the far horizon, it is beautiful to me. If only other people could see the aesthetics that I see.
On a related note, an article in Yahoo showed an design from Meridian 105 Architecture that would work perfectly with my idea of an apartment building that would conserve space and allow people to live in balance with Nature, with Commercial space below ground, and Educational and Religious structures in a vastly increased green space that would be created from the destruction of unneeded current buildings. Check out more designs here!
I guess it goes back to political ideologies. It concerns how we want to govern our lives, how we see our contract with those who would govern over us. Our relationship with our fellow man. At its core, Environmentalism is a genuine concern for our planet, with maintaining the beauty and wonder of the planet we live in. While walking the trails at the SRCP (South Rockdale Community Park), along the South River, I've seen many empty beer cans, other pieces of trash, even a bag of Legos spilled out on the ground. And at times, I've noticed the water itself has a green tinge that is probably caused by pollution upriver in Atlanta. I am not saying that the SRCP and the South River are junky.... it is truly beautiful, as the pictures I've taken show. It would take very little for volunteer groups to pick up what little trash is there. It would take so little to recycle cans, to conserve water...etc... We use a large bucket to collect the water that comes out of the compressor in our air conditioning system. We could, if we had a garden, use it to water the plants and save on using water out of the hose. It makes complete sense... except we don't have a garden to do that with.
The problem with Environmentalism lies in how you handle the problem. Companies like Disney, who created a "Friends for Change" program on TV, have used private funding to promote volunteer work from their clients. Excellent job! Through individual efforts, so much can be done to promote conservation of our resources...etc... However, it's when people decide that government regulation of large corporations and commercial regulations of such things as light bulbs, that I start to object. At this point, the power is taken away from the individual and put in the hands of bureaucrats in the government. It ceases to be about caring about the planet we live on and more about money, power, and status. Environmentalists become identical to the private corporations they seek to drain power from. And then I get turned off by the whole thing and start agreeing with the bombastic statements that Rush Limbaugh uses against the Environmental movement.
The Paradox comes into play here. By that I mean the Libertarian paradox that states that limited government is ideal when the "ideal" is followed. If every private corporation instituted measures to protect the environment, preserve resources...etc..., then no regulation would be necessary. However, not every business is going to operate by what is right, as the desire for profit at the expense of those they are responsible to (including the customers, the Earth, their stockholders), will overcome the reasoning for self-regulation. Thus the government is needed to assume such actions. And it drives me nuts! Because almost every issue runs up against the Paradox when "ideals" are brought to the table. I return to Thoreau at this point, reading his essay on Civil Disobedience, especially the last two paragraphs. Well worth the look.
Now, jumping to my walks down the trails of the SRCP. A song kept coming into my head, one by Peter, Paul, and Mary. In 1982, they self-published a live concert album titled Such Is Love. I originally found it in a used music store located by my grandmother's house in Oklahoma City. The cassette had never been opened, but what music it contained! One of the tracks was "Wild Places." It brings together the idea of protecting the Environment,
living along side the beautiful works that God made on this globe, and the idea that doing so is an act of devotion. For the very fact that such beauty exists in this world, outside of our influence, is an argument that God created this aesthetically pleasing place for someone to enjoy. Namely, us. If we cannot take care of it, then it was a wasted effort on his part. And since I know that this is a fallacy, since God is outside of time and error, then He expects us to enjoy the beauty He has given us. And what better way than to walk down the trails of this land and witness the beauty of nature, as well as the monumental objects we have placed on this Earth. I always get this feeling that we need to make God "proud" of us. For He must have pride in those He loves (and by the fact that we were made in HIs image, we must have pride in the objects we create.)
The duplicate beauty of the trails I've walked is that it contains both God- and Man-made wonders. Taking a scene from literature, Howard Roarke, in The Fountainhead stands on the hill outside of the architecture school and visualizes the magnificence he can create from simply the clay and rock around him. A marvelous first scene of any book, in my opinion. We create things on this Earth for our own convenience, and if we do this in a method which preserves the natural beauty of the world, or even enhances it, then we have used our talents in ways that God would approve. We have created objects in our world that are good, just as He created this world. So whenever I cross the hill and see towering before me the power lines that stretch to the far horizon, it is beautiful to me. If only other people could see the aesthetics that I see.
On a related note, an article in Yahoo showed an design from Meridian 105 Architecture that would work perfectly with my idea of an apartment building that would conserve space and allow people to live in balance with Nature, with Commercial space below ground, and Educational and Religious structures in a vastly increased green space that would be created from the destruction of unneeded current buildings. Check out more designs here!
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