Low Self Esteem rocks!
Sounds like I might need to head to the record store (OK, OK, CD store - I'm 'old school,' OK?) and pick up a new album (yes, I know, CD).
About ten years ago a close personal friend of his was shot to death by a mugger and died in his arms. Since then, I think he's been a more hard-headed realist, more aware of the nature of evil, than some of his more sheltered musical compatriots.
Of course, this newsletter comes in the wake of the events of September 11. It would be trite and evasive not to address this topic. I have been putting off writing this to you because of exactly that reason. I knew I would have to deal with it in some way and I was not looking forward to it. It is no fun to dwell on such catastrophic news. I would be out of line to think that I could add anything of worth to what has already been said, but like you, I have been thinking about it on many levels.
Yesterday I was on one of the local radio stations here and of course the interviewer wanted my take on the current events. It was the first time I had been live-on-air addressing the topic. I felt very on the spot and knew I had to use caution as I proceeded. There’s no way I was going to able to talk about this for half an hour and not piss someone off if I didn’t choose my words carefully. Some of my statements surprised me.
I don’t think that America deserved what it got in any way. I can’t say I was surprised though. There are people in other countries who plainly see our way of life as repellent. My manager said to me the other day, "A lot of people in other countries hate Americans." He and I both travel extensively and often and have found this to be true. To anyone who travels often, this is nothing new. I have encountered rudeness, indifference and outright hostility when visiting other countries. These instances are very rare and you can have the same experience in America on any given day, of course, but the fact is that there’s a perception of Americans in other countries that one almost has to go out of one’s way to disprove.
Many cultures all over the world see America as crass and destructive, exploitative and manipulative. America does a lot of good and a lot of not-so-good. No country is perfect, of course, but no country on earth does things in such a grand fashion as America. The Hollywood industry could have never come out of Europe. I am not talking about making movies; I am talking about Hollywood as an attitude, a power and a presence. Whenever I see an actor getting into the political arena it makes me sick. I can’t imagine what other countries must think. When Florida couldn’t get their votes tallied in the last presidential election I winced thinking about how hard the rest of the world must have been laughing. It also occurred to me that forces that dislike America could take in that information and reckon that we don’t have it together and that it’s a good time to attack.
When you live as well as America does (and America lives very, very well), you have to protect it and you have to deal with the fact that there’s millions of people all over the world who don’t have a fraction of what the average American has. From material possessions to basic freedoms--America is the rockstar nation.
I think the American media should stop the "Boy are we surprised!" type of reportage. Wake the fuck up. America, you’re hated. Terrorism happens all over the world all the time. I heard someone say on CNN the other day, "America used to be the world. Now America is part of the world."
It’s an all time low and we gotta deal. The flag waving "U-S-A" chanting is a too little too late. The knee jerk patriotism is corny to me. If you want to be a patriot, then be one all the time, not just when you feel your homeland attacked. It’s not just about being vigilant against attack, it’s about knowing that until racism is gone, illiteracy and semi-literacy is gone and myriad other social ills wiped out, then no one is totally free. That’s my kind of patriotism. No more ghettos, no more idiots, no more of the blind, brutal ignorance that keeps progress at a crawl. I have at least said way too much.
Low Self Esteem rocks!