In yesterday's Memorial Day Update, I promised you guys I would have a little something additional to say today. (It's further down the page, after some of the fun stuff.)
AND! I'm receiving a whole bunch of email in reaction to my new segment "Is it Just Me?" (I'll have that for you tomorrow.)
BUT FIRST -- if you were out in Central Park with this past Saturday, I hafta say once again...
THANK YOU so much for making my life so cool.
CLICK ON THIS PHOTO FOR A LITTLE PHOTO GALLERY
FROM LAST SUMMER
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Oh, and... thanks for all the beautiful wishes on the "facebook" page. (Ironic,isn't it?)
I won't be singin' in Central Park this coming Saturday. I'm off to Kerrville, Texas for ONE DAY to sing my song "RESOLUTION" for an audience of beautiful people who, I'm pretty certain, will "get it".
Y'know?
People ask me what I do for a living and I get to tell them, "Well, one day in my life very rarely resembles the day before. But basically.... most days I write songs and I sing them for people."
That's a beautiful thing to be able to say.
Now besides just doing that, on other days I get to work in other artistic forms. But almost always... I'm just a storyteller. I get to write things and share thoughts which, hopefully, let other people know they're not alone. Y'know?
Sharing what comes through me makes me feel alive and lets me know I'm doing exactly what I'm meant to be doing... whether it's in songs like JUST HAFTA TRUST ME or reflective songs like DID YOU FALL IN LOVE AGAIN or something as goofy and fun as INTERNET ANGEL --
Or something as fun as...
Just click on the image for the new "facebook" song
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And here's a little moment of storytelling from the concert last December!
Click on the image
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Okay... now. As promised.
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FREEDOM (And other words)
And now because of this website, people from all across the country and all around the world get to check in every single day. It's very cool.
Yesterday, here in the States we celebrated a holiday called "Memorial Day". In yesterday's update I said that I would like to share a few thoughts, but out of respect for the men and women who are currently serving in our armed services, I would wait until today.
To the point, I'd like to share a few thoughts about the word "Freedom". As a writer and a lyricist, the use of words is important to me.
I get sooooo tired of people in politics throwing words around in the national discourse and people in the so-called "news" media allowing them to do so without giving them much consideration or thought. For example, one of those words is "WAR".
"We are a nation at war", they say -- or we are "a nation fighting 2 wars".
Actually... no.
What happened on September 11, 2001 was an atrocity. But it was an act of mass murder. We never declared war on the nation of Afghanistan. We were ostensibly (and unsuccessfully) trying to capture the perpetrators of this crime. Our subsequent and completely unrelated invasion of Iraq was in fact an illegal, historically ignorant, strategically stupid, colossally immoral invasion of a sovereign nation. In this misguided travesty of human decency, over 1,400 more Americans were killed than were killed by Osama Bin Laden on that horrific September morning. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi men, women and children lost their lives and were horribly maimed for life. We never were, and currently are NOT at war with the nation of Iraq. And so to allow the use of the word "war" to be bandied about is thoughtless. (Hell, by that measure there's a "war on drugs" a "war on obesity", and Bill O'Reilly thinks there is a "war on Christmas"!!!)
I hear it said all the time in the news that Republicans appeal to "people of faith" and that the Tea Party Movement is largely made up of "people of faith".
People of faith?
No.
The right wing of this country is made up largely of "people of religion"... NOT people of "faith".
How else could any reasonable person explain the fact that these people are so intensely afraid of terrorism, afraid of someone taking their money, or even of death? Afraid of everything. When you boil down every issue that the religious right-wing feels so passionately about, at the core is always fear.
Click for larger image
Religion is based in fear. It's completely understandable. "The Unknown" can be frightening to human beings and so it's almost natural that we try to makes sense of it somehow. The things that are simply beyond our comprehension might at enlightened moments be grasped and Understood by the Spirit. But if we can't get our "minds" around something, far too often fear takes over. ALL institutionalized religion is based in fear in one way or another. That's why religious people are the most fearful people in the world. Conversely, a person of faith is sure that everything is all right, here and hereafter -- that death is nothing to be feared. They are certain that Goodness, that Love is the single most powerful force in the Universe. It may in fact be the ONLY true force in the Universe.
So add "faith" to the list of words being so thoughtlessly tossed about.
But yesterday, I heard the word "FREEDOM" used so many times. Over and over...
"Thank you to all the men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan who are fighting for our freedom."
"... our soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting to preserve our freedom."
I respectfully say...
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Bullshit.
I so genuinely honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women in our armed forces; so much so that I for one am willing to be honest enough to say out loud... that telling them they are currently fighting for my freedom in those 2 countries is disgraceful.
Our troops are making enormous sacrifices for many, many reasons. Their individual and personal motives are not to be discounted. But they are not pulling the strings or making policy. They are not moving the chess pieces. They are honoring a promise and a call to duty. They are being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan over and over again for many, many reasons.
As you may know I am producing a documentary about "That Guitar Man from Central Park". I would like to ask all David's fans out there to write me and tell me any stories you may have about David and his playing in Central Park and how it has affected you or what it has meant to you. I've already heard some great stories, but I know there are more that I haven't heard. So if you got a story to tell about David and his music, please briefly write it out and send it to stories@thatguitarman.com . I will be contacting people from the stories submitted to interview them for possible inclusion in the film. Thank you and I look forward to seeing everyone on the hill this summer. - Dean
Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way (CD)
I Love The Company (CD)
Common Ground
The People on the Hill
Crazy On The Same Day
It's Just Us (Live)
Talk Louder (single)
Click for the song "Bill O'Reilly: The Big Giant Head"
Right now in Central Park:
