The above link is to one of my favorite pieces of music with one of my favorite recorded piano improvisations. For the technically minded, the time signature of this music continually switches between 33/16 and 36/16. It is Bulgarian folk music played by a jazz big band recorded in 1971. I have been enjoying learning how to play a piano version of this music thanks to the graciousness and generosity of Ellis's then pianist, Milcho Leviev, who is originally from Bulgaria and who helped me start to learn how to play it. And though I cannot play the piano version of this piece like he can and how it should be played, I have had, and still have, fun trying to learn how to play it. It is my favorite piece of music to play. I will always be grateful for the kindness that Leviev showed to me.
If you access the link, you might be required to login into a Gmail account--I am not sure if non-gmail accounts are recognized by Youtube--in order to play this particular Youtube page. I am providing this link and pointing to the last part of Leviev's solo because, if my music knowledge is correct, it is based on a part of the 4th movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony only it is played in 33/16--that is if my music knowledge is correct. Regardless of whether that is correct, the theme played by Leviev repeats around 5 times with variations and to me, this points to the title of this blog article. To me, the last part of his improvisation conjures up the notion of being relentless. And for any of us who oppose Trump's authoritarian direction for our government, we, not just seasoned activists, need to step up and be relentless in our opposition to Trump and where he is leading our nation. Again, we, which involves everyone who opposes the direction in which Trump is leading our nation, need to step up, show up, and peacefully and legally act up.
Where is Trump leading our nation? Even before the 2024 election, either it was stated in this blog or I had said to individuals and in comments on the internet, that if Trump is elected, Russia will be our future. And it isn't just the corruption of his administration, his zeal for more and more power, his suppression of free speech on an institutional level, and his use of religion as a façade for the corrupt oligarchy is for the ever growing authoritarian rabbit hole he, and a gang of seemingly disjoint groups, are taking this nation . But his domestic policies are not the only indicators of his authoritarian direction, consider his foreign policies, especially his actions and words about Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, as well as who he seems to admire the most.
At the beginning, he blamed Zelensky and Ukraine for the war as he was making some false claims about it. He really never condemned the invasion nor did he put pressure on Putin to stop. And now, his support for Putin and Russia has become oververt and exlicit. And in the proposed summit between JinPing, Putin, and Trump, it appears that what a former MI6 chief predicted: a world dominated by three strongman leaders who divy up the nations between themselves (click here for the blog article).
Why Trump wants to lead our nation down that path is not yet clear. Is it because of his admiration for Puting? Or is it because Putin has enough dirt on Trump to make him act like a puppet? Is it a combination of the two? Or are there some other reasons?
We should note that Trump has some notable domestic allies who are supporting/enabling his actions. First, there are many of my fellow religiously conservative Christians who have a penchant for authoritarianism that now includes the intense fear of the LGBT community having escaped its prison of marginalization. According to some of them, a dictator like Putin who oppresses that community in Russia is preferable to a democracy in which they would have to share the nation as equals. That is because to Putin and at least some who follow Trump, Democracy brings decadence. It is as if the SCOTUS Obergefell decision was the last straw in the moral degradation of our nation. Of course the only morals that they are considering are related to sex. For when it comes to the dehumanization and the following expolitation and abuse of groups based on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and one's biological sex, such are not signs of moral degredation.
Of course there are also the techno-oligarchs and other wealthy elites who are either Trump's enablers or his puppet masters. For the sake of profits, these wealthy elites have morphed into moral chamelions who do whatever they can to appease the current governmental leaders of our nation. Their ability to change their moral colors come from their desire to keep maximizing their corporate profits.
When we see the power that Trump has already garnered, the direction of the future of our nation in which Trump is leading us, and those who have Trump's back, we are in a desparate situation. And so we find that our Obi-Wan Kenobi, our only hope, has a name is spelled 'RELENTLESS.' These midterms might be our last stand for an unforeseen time period. It is like we are in game 7 of the last World Series that will afterwards will not be played for an indeterminant amount of time and so for all players, including all pitchers regardless of their series workload, we must have an 'all hands on deck' attitude. All of us, not just us seasoned activists, must be relentless in peacefully and legally resisting Trump's Presidency.
And part of that resistance involves voting against almost every Republican candidate. Because, for almost every Republican candidate, a vote for a Republican is a vote that further enables the Revolution that the Trump-led Republican party is pursuing. We should expect that Trump's authoritarianism will, IMO, increase significantly if Trump's party holds majorities in Congress.
One more thing must be said. What is now needed the most by this country is for more Americans to become less consumer oriented and more activist active. That does not mean that we make a complete break from being happy consumers--that is if we can afford to be that way. It does mean that, at this point in time, we become more activist and less consumerist in how we live our lives. This is how we must be if we are to save our Democracy from the logical concequence of our current form of Capitalism: a corrupt oligarachy. The midterms just might be our last chance to stop Trump's express train motoring toward a Russian style government.
No comments:
Post a Comment