Hippiefest

Saturday I participated in Hippiefest a Concert for Peace and Understanding. I was outside where a local band was playing 60s music.  I noticed a few women pretending that they were passing around a joint.  They told me that they were reliving the old days.  Then I noticed a man smoking a cigar; he had a real joint behind his ear.   I saw him smoking it later.  I guess he was getting ready for the concert. There was a display of album cover that were drawn with chalk.  You could purchase it through a silent auction.  Someone did the Beatles "White Album", which my third graders could have done.

The show began with Felix Caivaliere performing the Rascals hits, such as Groovin and People Want to Be Free. He also did Wilson Picket's Midnight Hour.  Rick Derringer performed his hits.  I was not familiar with his work but I recognized Hang on Sloopy and Rock and Roll Hootchiecoo.  Gary Wright, the Dream Weaver, performed his early work with Spooky Toad.  He explained how he wrote Dream Weaver.   Gary was working with George Harrison, who invited him to go to India.  Harrison gave Wright books to read and one contained a poem about a weaver of dreams.  Mark Farner sang Grand Funk Railroad hits, such as Bad Time to Fall in Love, Some Kind of Wonderful and I'm Your Captain.  Dave Mason ended the show.  He performed Only You Know, Feeling Alright and All Along the Watchtower.  He was having problems with his voice so they played a blues song, which his bassist sang.

I was too young to be a hippie but I read about protesters spitting on soldiers returning from Vietnam and calling them names.  All of the artists acknowledged and supported the troops overseas.  Each performer was given an equal amount of time to play, which is a change from past shows.  I was surprised that there were not more people dancing.  I only saw two or three groups.  I guess the Baby Boomers are showing their age.  Despite drinking and at least one person getting high, it was a peaceful evening, just as it was billed.

The Moral Decline of Republicanism

The Republican Party has a schizophrenic history.  The party prides itself on its 1850s ant-slavery roots and the party of Lincoln.  In the decades after the Great Emancipator's death, the Republican party became the organ of greedy industrialists.  It has never lost its association with big business.  During Theodore Roosevelt's term as president, he sought to broaden the party.  He wanted a Square Deal for the people. Eventually Roosevelt and the Progressives broke from the party.  Republicans became the party of the status quo and represented big business more than the average American.   "The business of America is business."   It used scare tactics, such as the Red Menace to gain power. While Republicans claim to be strong on defense, the are responsible for the secret war in Southeast Asia and arms for hostage deals with Iran.

As I mentioned in previous blogs, I am a former Republican, who believed it was morning in America.  I believed that the party could not sink any lower but I am disappointed to be wrong.  The current debt crisis debacle shows that the Republicans are willing to put political gain before the welfare of the country.  In their lust for power, they are willing to cause a double dip recession to gain the White House.  They will block any initiatives to improve the economy in an attempt to defeat President Obama.  I do not believe even the Machiavellian Nixon would stoop so low.

Who is to blame?  Ultimately, it is the American people, who believe their simplistic approach to solving the complex problems facing America.  We need to be more educated.  Stop spending your time watching "reality" tv and awaken to the reality of the Republican agenda.  The gap between corporate executives and the rank and file workers is growing at an exponential rate.  The middle class is under constant attack and the Republicans want to balance the budget on their backs.  They want to destroy the middle class, with their tax and education policies.

Wake up everybody.  Take action before it is too late.