The Country We Need to Be

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Yesterday evening, after a day at the computer where I accomplished very little of value for others or myself, I decided to go full masochist and cap off an otherwise waste of a day by seeing how much of Trump's speech to the nation I could stomach.  Spoiler alert:  it wasn't very damned much!

I didn't start looking for a site that would carry the presidential diatribe until it was almost showtime:  8:00 p.m. CDT.  I wasn't surprised in the least to quickly discover that several major networks had taken a pass on airing the show.  It was not covered by NBC, ABC, CNN or NPR, though they reportedly stood ready to take up coverage in the unlikely event that Trump said anything substantive that was also truthful.  The state-controlled news sources of Fox and CBS did cover the show live, but CBS also fact-checked during the time Trump was speaking.

(This morning, of course, Trump, the eternal victim, is making noise about pulling the broadcast licenses of networks that didn't carry his speech.)

I found live coverage on YouTube and listened to seven or eight minutes of the opening lies about America's strong economy, the ills of society that all happened under Biden, the military successes of the war on Iran, the "fact" that there is no longer any illegal immigration into the United States, and  "transgenders" and Trump's success in getting men out of women's sports.  (Now he needs to work on getting men out of women's dressing rooms in high-end, New York City department stores.)

As his litany of lies continued into "rigged" elections, I decided to see what else was available on YouTube.  I wound up watching folk singer (and songwriter and guitarist) Jesse Welles do a "CBS Sunday Morning" interview, one that Bari Weiss must have accidentally let slip through, and then I watched a few of his performances from various venues including a duet of "No Kings" that he sang with folk legend Joan Baez at UC Berkley.

Jesse Welles is amazing, a true rising star who will be a dominant influence in Amerian folk music for decades - and Jesse with Joan Baez IS the mighty arc of American protest music over the past sixty years.  Bob Dylan needs to join their band!  Update "Peter, Paul, and Mary" to "Jesse, Bob, and Joan" and let the magic happen with songs like"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," "Join ICE," and certainly "This Land Is Your Land."

It would be wonderful if America's soundtrack changed from bellicose bigotry, saber-rattling, and greed - to love, compassion, and peace.  That's the country we need to be!

Thank you Jesse Welles for an evening well spent!