How YOU (and You & You & You) Can “Save” Woodstock
Arguably, Woodstock’s business plan (because that’s what it was) which became overtaken by mass-albeit-temporary-adoption of its ostensible ideals (or rather the myth of these ideals) was textbook Gentrification 101: Target an underdeveloped area (the countryside within reach of NYC) where informing creative(s) (Dylan, ET., AL.) are newly ensconced, then create a youth culture magnet event to leverage for raising awareness of said area, and thus promote the business and or development you’ve invested in (the festival’s backers were looking to make money by building a recording studio in the area).
Now, I’m not ‘Boomer-bashing, but as someone who watched ‘Boomer legislators pass laws like The Rave Act, sit through decades of mandatory minimums, the erosion of the right for peaceful assembly, and voted for a fake war (in addition to the crazy deregulation and fake money growth of the 80s) the majority of ‘Boomers lived up to their credo of “Never trust anyone over thirty” and forgot the wisdom of the generation gap anthem-as-balm, “Teach Your Children Well.”
Put another way, (and to deal in understatement) there were amazing, indeed, enlightened leaders in that generation — persons who, like always, as the first ones to break through a wall, got bloodied, and killed. These persons were Hegelian heroes, and by this I mean living Idealists who recognize and act on the fact that History is indeed the march of freedom, and that amidst their existential facticity, the proverbial Time has come. They would have existed — and do exist — in any generation, and work to make (or endeavor to make) our well, miraculously revolutionary nation and the world safer, better, by living up to the actual meaning of our humanist laws.
Again, lest you think I’m ‘Boomer-bashing; I am not. Coming up in the Eighties, I myself was pretty passive, and though I’ve written about bogus police raids in the time of Giuliani for The Village Voice and tried to always elucidate the troubling semiotics in films and the connection twixt our Pop Cult and larger trends, the truth is, I’m a wuss, and I’m working on changing that. I’ll start by saying the recount of the DA election in Queens — whatever side you’re on — if gotten wrong, will be a major blow to the sanctity of the mandate in our one-person one-vote system of elections, requiring serious re-evaluation, and real oversight. Please, Queens, don’t be proven again as another example of cesspool politics that borough machines thrive in, and let’s take “race” out of this race. I know that for many, fair play, loyal opposition and the sanctity of votes don’t matter…and this is where we need our democratic system, aided by those who defend it blindly and free of political bias, to prevail over the worst of human nature.
Anyway, suffice to say, with the coming protests during the upcoming political conventions — and yes, I mean both parties — and given the horrific arrests in NYC during the protests against the 2000 Republican Convention in NYC and Bush War 2 (again, unconscionable violations of due process, which were simply paid out with a mere class-action lawsuit) now is the time for respectful early workouts to shake the rust off of our system.
By the way, if it needs saying, the U.S. is not a two-party system; it is an infinite party system, a petitionary representative democracy, and I believe that coalition politics will be the great facilitator of the preservation of the loyal opposition, dually by way of a steam-valve and bridge-builder, and can serve as the likely remedy to much of the impasse which currently exists. This nation owes a debt of gratitude to The Tea Party (irrespective of its funding, because what they accomplished still required grassroots action) for reminding us how democracy actually works: sign petitions, get candidates on the ballot, support legislation you believe in.
Along these essential lines, this country also owes a debt of gratitude to the Justice Democrats. Extra-credit — make that ESSENTIAL viewing: the albeit, stupidly-titled, Netflix-acquired, Sundance Audience Award-winning documentary, Knock Down The House, which should be Oscar-nominated, and whether or not it wins is irrelevant; it just seems that catapulting something into the entertainment-related elections we actually do watch might be the best way to amplify this primer on how grassroots action works, what it means and what it can accomplish to wake up a citizenry to what citizenry actually means. In other words, save our democracy by actualizing it.
Anyway, here’s how you can save the spirit of Woodstock: if you’re a muso, show up on any sidewalk, don’t block traffic, be respectful to all — including all authorities — and start busking (without a tips jar; this makes a big legal difference, and yes, it’s a free event). Organize free concerts, DJ soundsystems, friggin’ Chautauquas (which we need more of, again) anywhere and everywhere you can do so, without disrupting others. Sadly, sometimes the permit application process serves as a preemption for a la carte selection of who gets to assemble, just like trying to put up a billboard in this country gives the lie to free speech.
Simply put, it’s time to reclaim our first Amen, which is a holy trinity of freedom of speech, assembly and religion. I was raised with a view of the Constitution as secular religion, and I’ve slept on the idea that acting on these rights is, what for my fellow citizens who are of a faith (though an atheist, secular humanist I be) is the soul-fortifying practice of going to church with others, whether praying in silence, handling friggin’ snakes in a revival tent, or shouting, well, “Hail Satan”, whatever. Trust me, this is your, erm, God-given right.
Personally, I think it’s time to overhaul the FCC, which, rather than function as the watchdog agency it should be, is literally structured as a split between Democrats and Republicans — all of whom (save for very, very few) take massive amounts of money from the telecommunications industry, and thus flush key essential rights — from free speech, through protection from monopolies, to our very real public ownership of the airwaves/spectrum and a genuine valuation of same — down the toilet. And by the way, as I’ve said before at HuffPost, net neutrality died a long time ago; indeed, it was stillborn. The arguments used as emblematic of net neutrally are red herrings.
To put this in clichéd (read: powerfully accurate) terms: Democracy: Use It OR Lose It.
Extra-credit reading: The Port Huron Statement — contrast and compare the first and second drafts, note what you agree and disagree with about its tenets, then take a look at our history hence, and think about what you can do about it — again, whether you agree with it or not…just always remember the loyal opposition, because the tragic misperception of fellow citizens as existential threat — and the acting on this, unfettered by other voices, all again, in the context of an eroded loyal opposition — can be the undoing of any civilization. Why not start with a free event in your community, and invite the police, and volunteer lawyers.
Extra-credit reading: On The Timely Nomination, Consideration And Appointment Of A Supreme Court Justice
Notes on tone: this is a blog; my blog. Start yours HERE. I’ve opted not to include tags, so you can do your own research.
