Which Side?

Listen while you read:  https://youtu.be/33kV-_jUuw8

There's a restlessness out in the street; there's a question in the air
How long if this theft goes on will our country still be here?
People know the game is rigged, even as they play
They see their expectations slowly slip away
They've got subsidies for billionaires, there's a bailout for the banks
A monopoly on medicine, and a sale on armored tanks
The whole damn country's being sold -- out that revolving door
Between Washington and Wall Street, like it's one big Dollar Store

Come on, come on, come on if you're coming
Which side, which side are you on?

~  Jackson Browne

Jackson Browne is no stranger to protesting ideology that threatens our country.  He has been proactive for most of his professional career as a singer-songwriter.  I can harken back to the No Nukes concerts in September 1979, five nights at Madison Square Garden (and I attended one or two of them), during which several beloved musical icons protested the use of nuclear energy.  Organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE), organizers Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, Harvey Wasserman and John Hall spoke truth to power with a lineup of amazing, proactive, talented rock and roll legends.  It was powerful.

And Jackson did not stop there.  Standing in the Breach, his 2014 release, offered several protest songs, including "Which Side?"  As with so many political songs, the release date does not render the song to a particular year.  "Which Side?" is as relevant now as it was in 2014, if not more so.  There's a restlessness out in the street; there's a question in the air.  As true today as it was two years ago.  The response to the current administration's denigration of women's rights as well as its ban on Muslim immigration has been swift and strong, begging the question, "Which side are you on?"  And if you haven't yet asked yourself that question, you need to wonder why.  I know which side I am (and have always been) on.  Women's rights are human rights.  America is the beacon of light to those  who seek shelter and safety.  These ideals have not lessened over the course of my lifetime.  To watch them be threatened now simply breaks my heart.

I suspect that Jackson is wielding his pen right now, finding the words and the tunes to give voice to the injustices that are staring us in the face.  I will look forward to his next release and take heart in his ability to meld our collective thoughts into a musical protest of that which threatens our integrity as a nation.

"All poets, all writers are political.  They either maintain the status quo, or they say, "Something's wrong, let's change it for the better."  ~ Sonia Sanchez

Keep working toward the change, Jackson.