Music & Politics Archives - Culture 4 A Cause

Hello, it’s We!

Hello, it’s We. Same Auld Lang Syne. And frankly I’m tired of hearing it. I’m simply not interested in all the Happy New Year’s glad tidings if all we’re going to do is return to our pre-pandemic grimy ways, especially in our political discourse. Coronavirus has exposed the inefficiencies in our systems; health, political, educational, and social etc.

Through the pandemic these same systems have been allowed to further erode as the needs of the American people go unmet. Why? In my opinion, it is because our representatives have lost touch. They are career politicians. Their careers are based on what they can do for themselves and not for We the People. And it’s our fault. We let them do it by default when we continue to vote them back into office.

While people rail about the “liberal media bias” they fail to understand that media is more than just MSNBC and CNN. Media consists of newspapers, radio, social media, journals, books, etc. If you really want to know why the country is so divided listen to AM radio and you’ll understand more clearly why we are in the position we’re in today. Much of the information we hear on these sources is not necessarily credible, due mainly to a right-wing media propaganda machine that has infiltrated the ethos of the American consciousness through this media source. Many people believe this insidious ideology, which is based on a political narrative that has convinced them they are being victimized by the same system they have and continue to benefit from.

Because these sources are considered entertainment outlets and not news platforms, the hosts of these shows often bear no responsibility for their words. Instead, they make millions of dollars for this toxic rhetoric while many conservative political representatives seize upon the low hanging fruit of these noxious sentiments.

Have our collective eyes been opened by the negligent behavior of our representatives during this pandemic? Perhaps the reason these extreme candidates have been coming up through the political ranks is because they’ve taken advantage of this wave of irrational right-wing discourse.

Has 2020 opened our eyes, or have we learned nothing? Will we go forward in 2021 with clear vision? Let this be the year we insist that our public servants remember who it is they serve. Let US remember that united We stand, divided WE the people fall.

Hello, it’s WE!!!

Jacque Williams is the host of City Views, a Radio personality at WAPJ FM 89.9 & 105.1 Torrington Community Radio and Founder and Program Director of Culture for a Cause, whose mission is to build communities through music and the arts.

Blinded by the Fight

Music & Politics / By Jacque Williams

It seems as if the battle cry for every politician is their undaunted desire to “fight” on your behalf. They want to fight for your rights, fight for your cause, fight for your family…fight, fight, fight!

Why are we always fighting? And we wonder why we are besieged by violence. How did the Democrats and the Republicans become so vested in fighting with each other with the purpose of complete annihilation of the other party? I do believe “We the People” would rather the see the parties working through their philosophical differences as opposed to creating a domestic cold war.

Think about it. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear a politician say, I’m going to work for your rights, work for your cause, work for your family. Look what this current fight between the Republicans and the Democrats has devolved into. People are denouncing the “other” party in support of other countries regimes. How and why is this happening?

Before we change our culture, we must change our rhetoric. We need to understand the power of our words and their significance. Demagogues are successful because they denigrate a popular or culturally relevant symbol, person, idea or policy. It’s easier to get people to dislike something that it is to get them to believe in something. It’s even more difficult in this current political environment where skepticism and mistrust reign supreme. We need to focus on enhancing our political discourse. The road we are on is leading us into an uncertain future.

The bottom line is we need to stop fighting each other and begin working with each other. To disagree is American. To be divided is UN-acceptable!

—

Jacque

What really is and what should never be

Music & Politics / By Jacque Williams

11/19/2019
Reality–the final frontier. You know, that thing that we all have to deal with moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day. Is there a difference between reality and truth? Maybe, maybe not. Can we create our own reality? Can we create our own truth? Do facts play a part in this equation? In my opinion, the answer is yes.

It has to! It’s imperative. Thus, the current plight of our political rhetoric. I am witnessing the third impeachment trial of my lifetime. We have had one actual impeachment in our whole 200 year + existence of this country. I guess my generation should consider ourselves lucky?

Impeachment is a harrowing experience. It divides the country, it draws political lines. But does it have to? Absolutely not. What the impeachment process has exposed is that our two party political system doesn’t work. Our society as a whole does not seem to understand the spirit of our Constitution. You don’t have to be a Constitutional scholar to understand the intent of what the framers were advocating for. Even in their day, times that in itself had questionable social mores, they understood that they had to think progressively about the future viability of the country as this great experiment unfolded. They were interested in truly forming a new and more perfect union in the spirit of truth, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, free from tyranny and oppression overseen by the rule of law, thus our Constitutional republic.

I’m disturbed by what I see today, with the third impeachment hearing in my lifetime. What has clearly astounded me is the lack of seriousness this process is engendering. Every classroom in America should be viewing this inquiry. This is American history. This is a teachable moment that can be effective in an environment where it appears no one understands what our Constitution means or what it represents. The framers warned us against entanglement with foreign powers. Why? Because it threatens the sovereignty of our nation and erodes confidence in the exceptional ism of our Constitutional republic.

I’m not going to delve into the details of the impeachment inquiry in this commentary but it is clearly the 5000 pound gorilla in the room. What I believe needs to be highlighted is the fact that this process is tediously and meticulously detailed. That means we need truth and accuracy in the reporting of this matter. As in the previous two impeachments, facts were reported ad nauseum. Some of those facts, especially in the Clinton case, were filled with a lot of T.M.I. However, we currently live in a world of social media, where you can actually have an alternative reality. How will history judge this period in our political discourse? Will we move closer to the truth or will we clumsily proceed under a false narrative redefining America as to what it really is and what it should never be.

—

Jacque

The Logical Wrong…

Music & Politics / By Jacque Williams

We live in a world today of buzzwords, catchphrases and sound bites which, in itself, is not all that bad a thing. However, when we start making decisions based on these impulses, we may at times think to ourselves, “what was I thinking?” We are influenced to buy things based on images that appeal to our deepest sentiments, emotions, and desires. Whether I’m in a restaurant, driving down the street, shopping at the mall (or at home) listening to the radio or just watching tv,

I think it’s reasonable for one to expect one’s fancy to be tickled. From the time we get up to the time we shut off the late show, we are constantly being treated as consumers, being bird-dogged by slick marketing techniques to get us to buy something.

These techniques, when applied to our political processes, are where we need to begin to cut the pork. Or, more to the point, cut the bull! The “buy” or “ad” in many political campaigns are in their very intent meant to deceive, manipulate, deflect, spin or over-react to. How healthy can that be? Should we implement a “truth in political advertising” policy for our local, state and national elections? So far, we have survived for over 243 years through some pretty raucous periods in history that have stretched the bounds of our republic to its limits. The sanctity of the vote has remained constant in that process to ensure the inalienable and individual rights that breathe life into our founding documents and institutions of government that are continued to be held in high esteem. It may be time, or actually past time that we begin to re-examine how we honor the vote. We must be transparent in all our public service endeavors, in a day and age of alternative facts and fake news.

In this age of social media, we are now the media. We are reporters of the news when we share posts, and we make news when we post something. Will we hold ourselves accountable? Will we pursue slick marketing concepts to champion our causes? Will fake news win the day, or will logic, common sense and the purveyors of truth prevail? At this point, I’m not sure. I really can’t say. But one thing is definitely sure; words mean something. They could mean the continued exceptionalism that this country has always exhibited, or they could be the demise of our society as we know it. Whatever the case, we have a choice. I hope we choose to think twice before we hit “send”. It’s time we use intellect and not emotions to contemplate the issues of the day!

—

Jacque

A Bridge Over Troubled Walls, Sir

Music & Politics / By Jacque Williams

As we face another government shutdown a very strange question occurred to me. Did we learn anything at all from our previous government shutdowns? Is this making America great again?

I’m not taking sides or placing blame but when are we supposed to take the words of our elected officials seriously?

Are not “We the People” obligated to hold our elected representatives accountable for their words, their deeds, and their conduct, especially while they’re in office? How did we get to the point where shutting down the government was ever a viable option? Who is the winner in this myopic process? Although I’m not sure about the answer to this question, if you look at the fall-out from our last shutdown, I think we know who loses. “We the People”

This tactic is destructive in its implementation, in its intent and most overall, in its effectiveness. Normally, when this ploy is enacted, there often is no exit plan or results analysis. It is often used as a tool to grandstand, usually helping an overbearing politician be more obnoxious and somewhat oblivious to the ill effects that this scurrilous tactic has on the people it is foisted upon. As I contemplate these tactics, at this very moment we have competing interests in Texas stating the reasons why or why not a wall should be built along the countries border. This is America at its finest! This is what are forefather’s envisioned. They encouraged us to take our issues to the streets, staking our claims cogently, rationally, competently and non-violently. The problem happens when the results of these public demonstrations and public policy positions are not accepted or not recognized as a consensus. Thus, government shutdowns.

Our government, in theory, does not select winners or losers. Our form of government promotes consensus and compromise, not intolerance and foreboding. The objective of government is to solve problems, not to create them. The issue behind a potential second closing of our government is a reasonable issue. Border security is a topic that all Americans should be and probably are concerned about. Do we have adequate border security now? The data suggests that we indeed we do have a sufficient level of border security. Of course, there can be improvements to enhance border control but for the most part illegal crossings, along with deportations, have decreased and increased respectively.

So, the question remains; what is the objective of this policy? What is the policy? In order to properly correct a situation don’t you need to know what the real problem is? My contention is that the problem has yet to be sufficiently identified. Until we identify what the real issue is, we will never come up with an adequate set of recommendations that will remedy the situation.

Will a wall alone enhance border security? I think the assumption would be probably not. So again, we must ask ourselves if a wall is a necessary part of border security. I’m sure to that point, the assumption would probably be yes. If so, then we must ask ourselves, what kind of wall? How long will it take to build this wall? What will be the dimensions of this wall? What is the objective of the wall? What does this policy have to do with the 1.2 million government workers or more that this will affect? What will be the unintended consequences of this wall being built or another government shutdown?

The irony of this situation can be found in the famous words of Ronald Reagan in his haunting demand to Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” May those sentiments ring loud and strong and not be hidden in light of the extremism of building a wall around a country that embodies the eternal aspirations inscribed upon our beloved Statue of Liberty to bring us your tired, huddles masses, yearning to be free… all in all it’s just another BRICK IN THE WALL!

—

Jacque