If Riot Had a Melody Pt. 2, World Waits for You
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Okay, so I've already broken my vow to post every day for a week. In my defense, I've been super busy with work, wedding, and other stuff that all vie for my time. I'm still trying to get my posting rate up, though, so bear with me.One of the things I do when I have a minute at work (aside from browsing the MOG) is obsess about the current primary race.Back before the race began, when I was listening to "Okemah" and really getting in to it for the first time (see previous post), another song jumped out and seemed to speak for me.You can see from my profile that I am 28 years old. Something that my elders out there may not understand is that people of my generation have never seen a leader out there that we've felt excited about. The boomers had Kennedy and MLK. Who have we Xers, Yers, and millennials had? No, Stewart and Colbert don't count. We've never felt engaged by our government in any meaningful way. We've instead had to languish in the uninspired cynicism of the post-watergate US that the boomers have been crafting for the last few decades.What's more, two families have been handing the presidency of the United States back and forth since I was eight years old, and we are now embroiled in a battle over whether we'll keep it in the family name a little while longer. I'm sorry, but 28 years under two dynasties from the same ethnic/economic class isn't democracy. It's oligarchy: " a form of government where political power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society."Some folks seem resigned to accept this as reality. I say reality is what we make it. Expect oligarchy and you shall receive it.Son Volt's "World Waits for You" speaks of the desire for something more. It speaks of the desire to see a person rise up to lead us into a better era, to inspire us to be more than we thought we could, and to help us to better our society as a result. It recognizes that longing for great leadership is not some sort of messianic delusion. It is our birthright as free people, just as it is our responsibility to do so with open eyes and an informed mind.So forgive us if we rally behind an inspirational leader. Forgive us if we don't share in your cynicism, and please try to remember what it felt like to believe in the system's potential for good."In this darkest hour, a brave face will break soon.The world waits for you."PS- The attached song actually also includes the following "reprise" track as well. The first is somewhat incomplete without the second.
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