June 25th, 2004
“Statues made of matchsticks crumble into one another”
B.Dylan
A few quick points. In my last blog I kind of got a little tough on the current generation of young people graduating. I would like to sorta qualify and rethink my statements because of an experience last night. I went and saw a midnight showing of “Fahrenheit 9-11″ down in Plainville, Connecticut. First off I will try to refrain from creating a political message here. Anyone that knows me…knows where I stand and I would rather not start debates and get dragged down into lengthy political shtuff. Anyway, being from Michigan originally and growing up in the shadows of GM I have often admired Michael Moore’s work since “Roger and Me” and being someone who spends half their life in High schools I really enjoyed “Bowling For Columbine”…So I was very excited about this new movie. And it was GREAT. But this post is not about that… its about the audience. At midnight on a Thursday night in the summer there were about 300 hundred teenagers at this movie. 300 young people! What a mind blowing thing it was to see last night. At the beginning of the movie the crowd was rowdy and shouting out slogans..picking on eachother…just being kids staying out all night. But 2 minutes into this movie the entire crowd was silent…and for two hours a bunch of teenagers thought about politics and their world. I think about what I was doing at age 17 or 18 at that hour…and I just am filled with a sense of respect and appreciation for this new generation. A generation that gets criticized for its video games and TV and every other cliche criticism that you hear on 20/20 (or whatever intelligence insulting news program you watch) was out there last night being entertained and educated and then discussing politics in the parking lot as they rode skateboards or just sat on their car hoods. I was psyched! Even if you disagree with Michael Moore’s movie, and there are many Americans that will, we should all appreciate the dialogue that it has started and the involvement in the political process that it has created. Have a good weekend.
June 22nd, 2004
“And if my thought dreams could be seen they’d probably put my head in a guillotine”
B.Dylan
Hey everyone,
I hope your summer is starting off cool and that students and teachers are enjoying their long deserved rest. I’m going to try and post a little more often this summer. My blogging frequency has been awful but I gotta get back in the swing. There’s a lot going on the world right now. Its a crazy and sad time of unrest in our world. Now more than ever we need to get ourselves on solid ground and live for making some sort of difference in this world. I recently attended a high school graduation ceremony and although the speeches were great I must admit I was a little disappointed. I don’t see that many young people really caring about making a difference or at the very least yearning to be a part of something bigger than themselves. We have so clearly defined our goals of success as money and stability. Security. Want of nothing. And yet our world and our friends and ourselves endure needless suffering often because of the negligence of the few that could really do something about it. And where are the politicians asking for sacrifice for these changes. They all are promising how their campaign can benefit the people and what THEY are going to do for THEM. “People carry roses and make promises by the hour” said Bob Dylan. But let us reflect on the all too familiar words of the late senator from my home state of Massachusetts
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you–ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love…”
I am not writing this to be critical of the so many students that I meet every year…But rather to encourage them. I think of a student like Becky Bowman in Rhode Island who lost her MOTHER and her BEST FRIEND the same night in a drunk driving accident. This girl who not only goes on with her life with her head held high and finishes school …but in her spare time travels to schools and speaks to others warning them of the nightmare that drinking and driving can cause.
I think of the child staring me in the eyes through the video camera from Sudan on PBS the other night. A child with three gunshot wounds who has seen his home destroyed, village plundered, and 5 of his brothers killed before his eyes. I see that young guy traveling across the desert carrying on and going back to the hole where he buried his food supply to hide it from the religious zealots who committed these atrocities. How dare I complain about anything in my life or feel the world owes me anything. It is I who owe the world my life and my time and best effort. That effort can be huge as starting a fundraiser in your town or as small as being there for a friend or helping an old man with his bags at the grocery store…But its gotta be something man. Its gotta be something and its gotta be me and you.
I dwell on these thoughts as I am in the process of writing a new show…I think of the future. I feel summers heat approaching. I hear a howling wind gathering. I see a crowd of people laughing and a crowd of people crying. I see the ice cream cones melting on the hot tar spilling out its spoiled American sugar sweetness goodness on the same road where the dead crow lies. I think of summer 2004. I think of summer 2004.
peace
BTW go here
to see the latest press. Its a PDF file from St.Joes Newspaper. I’m on page 4.
