A note on recent events.
Writing about presidential politics is a far cry from waxing poetic about metal albums and unpopular old movies, but here we are. Commenting about the election and its aftermath on social media was incredibly tempting, given the apocalyptic caterwauling of my peers. The final straw, as it were, was receiving an e-mail this morning from our school district's superintendent, sent partly in response to the high volume of calls he had received from parents "questioning the safety of their child as the caller(s) connected the president-elect's platform to our daily approach to teaching and learning".
No.
First of all, if you truly think your child is in any more danger now than they were on November 7, that's on you. You're a bad parent. If your echo-chamber, hyper-compartmentalized worldview is so narrow as to question the safety of your children in their classroom because of who the President is, there are bigger problems you need to address. This is projection to a darkly, comically clinical degree.
For the record, I am not a Trump supporter. I have been critical of his campaign since it began, and I definitely did not vote for him. I'm highly suspicious of what he has planned, if anything yet, because he has zero convictions and changes his stances so often that most of them end up conflicting with each other. But after witnessing the petulant, puerile breakdown among other entertainment types, especially fellow writers, my inner contrarian almost wishes I did. One person cried on Twitter that she had to cut ties with her mother - her last familial connection - because Mom voted for Trump. Others lamented how tortured the upcoming holiday gatherings would be, with some musing they might not go home at all. The two unifying notions among them were a: writing about music just seemed so incredibly unimportant in perspective and b: everyone must MOBILIZE! FIGHT BACK! DONATE TO <insert ultraliberal organization here>!
Engaging with these folks is almost inevitably a lost cause; richly ironic, considering how we should (ostensibly) be the greatest proponents of free speech and differing opinions. You can point out that if Trump lost those that both voted for him and Obama in 2012, Hillary would have won handily; good luck getting that past the "RACIST!!!!!" banshee screams. Explain how, on many policies, Trump is basically Bernie Sanders in a douchebag costume; watch heads explode and/or be told to "check your privilege". (Remember, if you're a straight white American male, you're both irrelevant and 'the problem'.)
My prediction? Everyone will continue to do exactly as they have done. I will continue to write about music and films and other things that maybe a few dozen people besides myself even care about, regardless of who lives in the White House. To do otherwise is incomprehensible to me. Local elections will continue to have much more of an influence on your daily life. The federal government will continue to grow unabated; whether people want to admit it or not, Trump has continually espoused enthusiasm for all manner of central planning policies. Until he proves otherwise, I won't see him as anything but another big-government left-wing populist.
As someone who has been around and involved in music for nearly twenty-five years, I'm used to being the outsider. My views and beliefs have put me at odds with most of the bands and artists that I admire most, regardless of genre. And that's OK. I can respect dissenting opinions without throwing hyperbolic grenades. Everyone can go march for whatever rights they believe are being infringed upon, as long as they don't infringe upon anyone else's. (I guess Portland forgot that part.) I'm sure that at least a few of those I've spoken about here will unfriend/unfollow/call me out in some way; I welcome it. Keep it honest and civil, and reasonable people can talk about anything.
I started this website specifically to give a platform to what I see as culturally interesting, important and entertaining. That may not always be a book, or movie, or record. It's not going to compete with the big hitters for clicks. In 2016, longform entertainment journalism is anything extending past 140 characters. But if you're still reading Blood & Spirit after today, especially if you disagree with me, that's a start.
This is a completely unrelated but hilarious orange juice commercial starring Robert Loggia.
This is my first and hopefully last post related to politics.
