Recent History Lessons about War, Politics and Art

In today’s culture, History Lessons are more often shouted down than Ideological  Rants. Here is a little of both for you to dismiss or engage with:

The witch hunting during the Thirty-Years War in the 1600s seems parallel to the persecution of Communists between the World Wars and during the Cold War. The obvious similarity is that in both cases, the ruling class was distracting the people with an enemy besides starvation, religion and rulers. But that is not the most interesting parallel. When a prevailing system has failed most of its people, they will turn to other ways and worldviews. Thus there were many Americans of conscience who “became Communist” or had socialist sympathies during the Depression, and there were probably Christians who turned back toward paganism and its wise women when the male leaders of the Protestant and Catholic factions were obviously screwing things up pretty badly for the vast majority. The Church repressed the theatre in the 17^th century and the Republicans in the 1930s shut down the leftist leaning Federal Theatre project for similar reasons: The theatre and music have power and speaks to the people directly. Art makes people feel and think, and it can either be used to pacify or agitate. Thus, whoever censors or controls access to the Arts has a powerful tool of persuasion or distraction.

     Now to the Iraq War, which lasted longer and killed more people (including more American soldiers) than Vietnam.: http://www.viewzone.com/wardeaths.html

 Remember how artists who came out against the Iraq War were booed by the “with us or against us” faction, who saw themselves as the only patriots because they “supported the troops”? People walked out and protested Neil Young’s show in Atlanta, and booed Michael Moore when he called Bush on his bullshit at the Oscars. But it is telling that the mass media chose the anti-war protestations of the Dixie Chicks as the story, and not because they were more popular at the time, either. As long as you are going to put down the anti-war artists, why not take a shot at feminism as well?

Divisiveness between the anti-war left and the pro-empire right was of course nothing new, although it seemed new to people not old enough to have lived through the Vietnam Era. In Georgia, even in the academic oasis of Athens, my anger toward the war-mongering Bush administration was immediately shot down when I dared to express it.  I felt like a “whore in church” to use a Southern expression. More than one incident was sparked by the “Impeach Bush” sticker on my old car. A man in a brand new Lexus rolled up next to me at a stoplight after sitting behind me for a second. He rolled down his silent electric window and shouted at me, “You are not a real American!”

I replied calmly, “So half the population of the country are not real Americans?” noticing that he was not listening and did not care what I said anyway.

“He’s protecting your freedom!” shouted the redneck in the 3-piece suit and the Lexus.

“He stole the presidency, and now he’s a war criminal!”…. is what I WANTED to say, but I was afraid he would get out of the car and challenge me, so instead I repeated that I was not alone, that “ at least half of the country doesn't agree with you, either.”

He drove off hurriedly cursing me. Such was the public discourse over that War in Georgia. Atlantans who enjoyed the music of Crosby Stills Nash and Young walked out on and booed Neil’s song “Let’s Impeach the President for Lying.”  Did those people assume that because there was a down-home white country tinge to the music of CSN&Y, that old, hippie rock musicians would be sympathetic to ignorance?