This morning
on MoneyDots, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing a true American.
Although he’s been the recipient of a few Grammies and other awards of his
industry, this singer-songwriter is a straight-talking, clear-thinking example
of the ‘everyman’ we mention so often in loftier conversational
circles.
His message was also quite
reasonable and just as clear. “We must take America Back” is both the
message and the title of one of his songs, written and recorded in the early
‘90s. A song that earned him the career killing freezing chill of every
record company, radio station, promoter and disc jockey in the country just as
quickly as it took for the song itself to reach almost to the top of the
coveted 100.
I suppose this experience took
its toll on the artist; but it was not anger I was hearing – instead it
was a kind of sadness and not for himself or his personal experience. It was
the sadness of watching the country he loves headed toward becoming a
socialistic state, leaving its constitution behind to dry up and be scattered
by the winds of public apathy.
Of course the song about taking
America back is not his only effort. There are many pieces of music written by
Steve Vaus (www.stevevaus.com ), including a theme song for the Navy’s
Blue Angels flying team. But the one that struck me the deepest is called
‘I Am America’. One wonders why no politician has ever picked up this
special piece and used it in every ad and fund solicitation on radio or
television, perhaps even at an inauguration.
After all no one can deny that
using music to reach the emotional cornerstone of people everywhere is
amazingly effective. It’s the reason that advertising jingles create such
boundless success for the products they represent. If you need proof of how
well music works think back to Winston, Alka-Seltzer, Pepsodent Toothpaste,
Chevrolet and Campbell Soup. Regardless of the reason any simple tune was
composed it always resonates with individuals whether they’re shopping or
voting.
But this perfect song has been
largely ignored by every political candidate running for office since it was
written. Why? Maybe these politicos aren’t students of history; or they
don’t quite get that being taken seriously by the voting public has far
less to do with scare tactics or dry, humorless pontification than with
people’s emotional triggers reacting to the sound of the drums.
Another explanation could be
that over the last few decades, regardless of party, the preservation of our
constitutional heritage has become far less important to our elected leadership
than the amount of control they can wield over us or pulling vast amounts of
yak wool over our eyes to create the illusion that all is well in
Disneyland’s USA. Did you forget that Disneyland was our creation, not the
other way around?
You didn’t just trudge out
of some swamp on the back lot of Warner Bros. studios. Did you forget that your
great-grandfathers, grandfathers, fathers, uncles and brothers fought for the
rights that are being eroded an alarming rate by people who don’t even
read the legislation they sign; and that the laws being written will ultimately
be adjudicated by judges with their own political agendas and allegiances.
Have we forgotten that
citizenship in a free society is a privilege with responsibilities; and that
one of those responsibilities is to independently take care of ourselves, our
families and to assist those around us in need of help?
Do you remember that every
sentence and phrase in the Constitution was crafted specifically for you? That
each item in the Bill of Rights exists to protect you from exactly what we need
protection from today?
This is a nation of laws which
at this point could stand some culling out, but not by people whose main focus
is reelection not the careful stewardship of our nation; not by those in
government who tell you to live within your means but can’t maintain or
even balance their own checkbooks and think that your tax dollars are part of
some private slush fund for them to shop global favoritism.
Are you forgetting that personal
freedom and socialism are not a match; that socialism is a system based on
fear? Could you point to the sentence in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights
that says Americans should live in fear of each other or their government? No
you can’t – it doesn’t exist.
What does exist, at least for
now, is power – your power; never let anyone forget that you have the
power of the vote and will consistently remind your elected leaders that this
is your country, not theirs to do with what they want without your permission.
Promise yourself that you will
re-familiarize yourself with the wording of the Constitution and the Bill of
Rights and discuss it with your family, so that your children will know what
their responsibilities and freedoms are when the time comes for them to cast
their powerful vote.
Remember that you still have the
power of free speech and will continue to remind others that they too are in
possession of the same power and responsibilities of citizenship; that you have
the power of freedom to travel anywhere in the land you need to go in order to
be heard.
It was an honor to meet a true
American and to listen to the simple song reminding me that I Am America. Are
you?
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