Rant - In Defense (or at least in Understanding) of Old Bocephus

As much as I expected the firestorm surrounding the statements made by Hank Williams, Jr. on last week's episode of Fox and Friends to die down quietly and disappear, I should have known that it would not.  Old Bocephus has recorded a new song about it himself and Glenn Beck saw fit to urge his listeners to follow Bocepuhs' lead.  Of course, in the grand scheme of things, this is a mountain being made out of a molehill and is nothing more than a tempest in a teapot.  Poor Old Bocephus is not entirely to blame for his gaffe, nor are we entirely justified in scapegoating him for it.

Good Old Bocephus went on Fox and Friends thinking that he was among friends.  The program, and the network, has been expending a great deal of energy to portray President Obama as Stalin, at best, and Hitler, at worst, since he began campaigning for the office of the Presidency in 2007.  Bocephus probably assumed that not only was a comparison to Hitler welcomed on the show, but he probably assumed that he had specifically been invited to make a statement like that.  It is no wonder that Hank said what he said.  He was under the impression that his statements would be welcomed and appreciated because of the past track record of the Fox network.  This is what happens when a news network abandons its journalistic integrity and adopts a partisan position instead of maintaining appropriate journalistic neutrality.

The resulting expressions on the faces of the hosts after Hank's statements were priceless.  For the first time in their careers on that show on that network, they were confronted with the monstrosity that they have made over the years.  For the first time in their careers, they had to acknowledge what they had wrought.  Everyone immediately went into damage control mode at that moment, and poor Old Bocephus became a convenient scapegoat.

The overreaction, of course, is a just a little too little too late.  ESPN promptly yanked Hank's theme song opening from Monday Night Football in a move whose irony is not lost on the enlightened.  If polled, it is highly likely that the main demographic of the MNF audience might just agree with Hank's sentiments and might admit that they had actually said it themselves in private (or even public) conversations.  So, Old Bocephus takes the blame for speaking what many are thinking.

While playing the "Hitler card" is the lowest possible tactic in argumentation and rhetoric, being denied the right to do so is anathema to the American ideal of "freedom of speech."  Worse yet, enticing someone to speak their mind in this way under false pretenses, like the Fox News Network did to Hank, and then blaming them for saying what they thought was acceptable is reprehensible.  Punishing Hank Williams, Jr. for comparing Obama to Hitler in the way that he has been punished is overkill and actually works against the creation and opening of discourse.  Should a new administration, more conservative and secretive than the Obama administration, exhibiting fascist tendencies and devotion to legalism and nationalism, come into power now in the future, those who see it for what it really is will no longer be able to criticize it freely by comparing it to dictatorial regimes such as Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin for fear that they, too, will be sanctioned and eventually silenced for their outspoken criticism.

While we may not agree with something that someone says, we must respect their right to say it.  If we do not, we will relinquish our own right to say what we want and think.  Sometimes, the right to free speech means that we must listen to things we do not believe or agree with in order to reserve the right to speak the truth ourselves.

So, Bocephus, while your comparison of Obama to Hitler shows a remarkable lack of understanding of both Obama's policies and Hitler's policies, and your statements on national television represent some of the lowest rhetoric possible, you have the right to your opinions and the right to speak them in whatever way you see fit.  So, Hank, now that I have come to your side, I hope that you will have my back in the future when I compare Mitt Romney to Emperor Palpatine and the Republicans to the Dark Lords of the Sith or when I compare Rick Perry to Voldemort and Michelle Bachman to Bellatrix LeStrange.

Rant - Ten Years After 9/11: NYC Commemoration Snubs, Ohio Issue 2 (aka SB5), and the Future of Our Protective Services

As I write this, I am reminded of what I was doing at this very moment that morning.  It is around 8:46 AM this morning, and on that morning, I was going through a bank ATM.  I don't remember if I was depositing or withdrawing, but either way, I got a receipt that was stamped 8:46AM, 9/11/01.  I still listened to the radio in my car in those days, so as I pulled out of the bank, I heard the DJs talking about something that was happening at the World Trade Center in New York City.  Nobody knew exactly what was going on, but they stayed on top of it.  When they did not return to playing music after returning from the commercial, I realized that something very seriously wrong had happened.  They continued reporting on the events as I drove the 35 minutes to my job and by the time I got to work, I was fairly certain that the world as I knew it was about to end. 

My office was glued to the television, watching the flames and smoke, watching the towers fall.  We made frantic phone calls.  Just the day before, I had dropped one of our vendor sales reps off at Cleveland Hopkins Airport.  He lived in Boston and commuted regularly to New York City.  Although the hijacked planes were among the regular commuter planes he normally took, he was not on one of them that day.  He was working from home.  We were relieved.  Around noon, the boss let us all go home if we wanted in order to be with family.  My wife gathered our children from their respective schools and brought them home as well.  They were 8, 4, and 1 at that time, my youngest had just learned to walk the previous Labor Day weekend during a camping trip.  My wife and I hunkered down in front of the TV for almost 3 days straight.  We cried for people we had never met.

So where are we ten years after?  We still have troops trying desperately to maintain stability in Afghanistan with little or no end in sight to that military action.  Despite having formally ended hostilities in Iraq and having declared that we would stand down our troops and bring them out of that country, we still have many more there, including my brother who just got his deployment orders and will be leaving this week for a 90-day mission.  We have the worst economic slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.  We have an extremely polarized political climate that is threatening to push us to the brink of a second civil war.  We have misguided politicians using 9/11 for their own self-aggrandizement and their own campaigning.  We are still suffering national effects of PTSD.

Not a single politician took any heroic actions 10 years ago.  President Bush was informed of the situation and opted to continue reading to and with the elementary school children he was visiting that day.  Today he claims that it was the right thing to do, so as not to induce panic in the children.  That day, however, his face told a different story.  Upon being told about the incidents, his face went blank and ashen.  He had the look of a deer caught in the headlights.  He had no idea what to do.  Continuing reading to and with those children served to buy him time to decide what he was going to do.  He left that school and spent the rest of the day flying hither and thither across the country in Air Force One.  Panic seemed to be the word of the day as politicians around the country thought that their cities were next.  Even Cleveland's then mayor, Michael White, issued statements warning people of imminent threats, evacuating buildings, and closing down access to the city.

However, while these public officials were busy panicking their way through the day, police and firefighters were calmly working their way to the Twin Towers, climbing hundreds of flights of stairs, quickly ushering people to the streets below.  Those who found themselves trapped above the flaming floors were calmly calling their loved ones and leaving messages that said, "I love you."  None of them were panicking.  They were calmly doing their jobs and doing them well.

So, how are we repaying those devoted public workers ten years after the incident?  We are shunning them from the commemoration ceremonies in New York City, claiming that there is no room for them with all the political dignitaries coming to speak.  In the State of Ohio and other states around the nation, we are blaming them and their health care benefits for draining state coffers and passing laws that restrict their rights to negotiate for not only better wages, but for better, more comprehensive benefits.  We should be ashamed of ourselves for both of these things.

I hope it never comes to this, but I fear that it will.  Imagine a day nearly a decade from now.  Let's say, some time in the year 2020 (because hindsight is always 20/20).  Another attack comes to one of our cities, perhaps Chicago's Sears Tower, or San Francisco's Transamerica pyramid, or Cleveland's own Ameritrust building.  Imagine if you will, police and firefighters, wearied by nearly a decade of slowly diminishing wages and ever worsening health care benefits, their ranks depleted because good men and women no longer want to become police and firefighters because of the lack of benefits and respect.  Imagine them making their way to downtown Cleveland and being expected to throw themselves in harm's way to save the very people whose elected officials have stripped them of their benefits.  While they will probably still do it and save many lives that day, they would be perfectly justified not to lift a finger at all.  They will certainly be justified in being resentful, unlike the the first responders on 9/11/01 who responded not only out of duty, but out of respect for those whose lives they had come to save.

So, New York City officials, you should be ashamed of yourselves for not inviting the real heroes of that day to today's commemorations.  The rest of the states in the nation, you should be very wary that you will reap what you sow.  If you sow seeds of resentment, you will reap resentment in the future when you ask those whom you have vilified to do you a favor.  If laws like Ohio's SB5 are allowed to stand, future police and firefighters will make decisions only to do the very minimum necessary.  I fully expect homes and businesses to burn to the ground in the future if there are no human lives in jeopardy.  I will not shed a tear for a single business that loses a building or inventory in the future because firefighters with lousy healthcare benefits have opted not to risk their lives to save the owner's merchandise when no one's lives were at stake.  You reap what you sow.

The people of the State of Ohio have a choice this November.  SB5 has been placed on the general election ballot as Issue 2.  You must be very careful with the wording of this issue.  It would normally seem that a "Yes" vote is a vote in favor of repeal, however, the Secretary of State of Ohio is adamant that a century of precedent makes a "No" vote necessary to repeal the bill.  Do not allow the ballot language to confuse you.  Read the issue all the way through before you go to vote, read it again in the ballot booth, and make certain that you understand what you need to do to repeal this law.  Only by repealing this law will we ensure that Ohio's police and fire squads get the benefits they have earned and deserve so that they will continue serving us and will continue to be able to recruit the best and the brightest into their ranks.

Publishing Announcement

The Jovialities Entertainment Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce the release of its newest book, Streetlight Sonata, Poems by J. R. Simons.  This collection of 25 poems explores a life lived in rural and suburban Ohio and follows that life from humble beginnings to even humbler ends.  Each poem is rich in imagery and evocative language describing the experiences of a life lived in the Midwest.  Fans of a wide variety of contemporary poets including Jim Daniels, M. L. Liebler, Frank Bidart, Natasha Trethewey, Sherman Alexie, and Kevin Young will all find something to like in this collection.

Streetlight Sonata can be downloaded for Kindle, Nook, Kobo and other e-Readers at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/72045 or can be ordered in print at http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/streetlight-sonata/16438291.

Get your copy today and support the efforts of local, independent poets and publishers.

Publishing Announcement

The Jovialities Entertainment Co., Ltd. has launched a new publishing initiative. In conjunction with Barnes and Noble, using PubIt!, Jovialities has begun publishing scripts for reading on Nook eBook readers or on Nook for PC.

As its first offerings, Jovialities has published 3 plays by poet and playwright, J. R. Simons. You can find the award-winning plays Siblings and Protest along with And "G" Don't Stand for Goofy, Neither at www.barnesandnoble.com under NOOKbooks or by directly linking to the following pages:

And "G" Don't Stand for Goofy, Neither

Protest

Siblings

Watch here for future announcements!

Rumination - Six Degrees of Me

When my oldest daughter entered high school, she requested permission to get a MySpace page. I agreed, on the condition that she allowed me to be one of her friends. The same held true for Facebook. I wasn’t initially impressed with MySpace. Instead of old high school and college classmates looking me up and asking to be my online friends, I was instead instantly inundated with “friend requests” from every wannabe porn actress on the internet.

Then my Facebook account turned up an old friend from high school. Within a week I had linked up to 100 friends including current and former students, high school and college classmates, colleagues and other associates. I became quickly addicted to the site. I couldn’t wait to see who had accepted my friend request or who was looking for me and asking me to be a friend. I added all kinds of interesting applications and vicariously tracked all my friends’ activities.

I found it fascinating that so many people I knew, but who did not know each other, were attending the same events, either real or virtual, at the same time. I was becoming a hub around whom activity was swirling. Interesting.

I was put in mind of the John Guare play, Six Degrees of Separation, and the parlor game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Both revolve around the concept that everyone in the world is only 6 handshakes away from everyone else in the world by virtue of their own personal connections. Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a parlor game where players try to link Hollywood actors with the ubiquitous Kevin Bacon by the movies they have been in with each other. The player who can do it in the fewest steps, 6 or less, wins the round.

The University of Virginia’s Department of Computer Science has made this linkage a whole lot easier by virtue of its Oracle of Bacon (www.oracleofbacon.org) which allows users to type in the name of any actor and it will give them the shortest path to Kevin Bacon (or any other actor they choose) simply through mining their movies and TV shows listed in the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com). What a wonderful site this was for me to find a few years back. By virtue of having gone to school with or having taught a few actors, I was able to link myself up to Mr. Bacon.

It is quite amazing the connections we have with one another. I, for instance, was a high school classmate of and acted onstage in drama club productions with a young man who went on to become the lead singer and songwriter for the rock band Warrant, Jani Lane. In college I acted onstage with and directed a one-act play featuring future Tony-award nominee Alice Ripley. Jeff Richmond, husband of Saturday Night Live writer and actress Tina Fey, was the musical director for a production Alice and I performed in. Another college classmate, Michelle Duffy, recently made a direct-to-video movie with Emily Osment from Hannah Montana. Yet another college classmate, Jeff Hochendoner, played Moose Mason in a made-for-TV ”Archie” movie.

One of my former high school drama club students I had directed for four years and then hired to act in my improvisational murder mystery company wrangled her way into a Kevin Smith movie in a most interesting way that got me vicariously recognized as well. Enamored of Smith’s films, Lesley sent him a letter expressing her interest in getting together to have coffee with him to discuss film, she even sent him a $5 bill to show her sincerity. Smith got back with her, used her $5 bill to buy them coffee and she presented him with her resume. Of course, I was the only director she had ever had and she listed my name repeatedly on her resume. Lesley reported to me that Kevin commented by saying, “Who is this J. R. Simons guy? Is he like the King of Cleveland or something?” He then offered a featured extra role in Dogma. She can be seen as the woman disembarking the plane in the film’s opening scene. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon comment on her infidelities in that scene.

Through all of these very simple connections, I am less than six handshakes away from just about everybody in Hollywood, on Broadway and in the music industry. But it is not just through Hollywood movies, Broadway shows, record labels and television shows that we are connected with the rest of the world. Consider who you know from college, a fraternity or sorority, or the old neighborhood at home. Everybody had to be somebody’s student. We are all intimately connected to one another through complex relationships that include family, friends, colleagues, co-workers and teachers.

The Buddhists teach and believe that all living creatures are connected, part of a cosmic whole. Modern theories of quantum mechanics posit similar connections among all of matter, energy, time and space. Even St. Paul understood humanity’s intimate connections when he wrote “If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.” (1 Cor. 12:26)

Imagine going into a local bar where you have never been and striking up a conversation with a random person. It is a certainty that you will know someone in common. Now imagine going into a bar in a different city and doing the same. It may take a little longer, but eventually you will know someone in common. Imagine doing this in a bar in a different country. It may take longer still, but it is inevitable that they will know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows you. Now imagine being asked to go to war, to fight an enemy in a foreign land and to kill someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows you or who might even be distantly related to you.

Requiem: In Memory of Dan Fogelberg

Go, Blessed Traveler, And Journey The Length of the Light
(For Dan Fogelberg, 8/13/1951 - 12/16/2007)
By J. R. Simons, 2007

“And in the passage from the cradle to the grave
We are born madly dancing . . .
The lines of life are never long when seen from end to end.” – Dan Fogelberg, “In The Passage,” 1981


I
Sunday afternoon, 16 December,
The snow fell heavy
Deep in the Netherlands.
Were your captured angel’s wings
So great they needed to be clipped
To fit you through heaven’s gates?
Or could it be
That the feathers of a Phoenix
Are a brilliant white
And they fell so thick
On the ground as you cheated death
And rose from the grave?


II
I met an old crush of mine
For coffee and some pie
Some years ago at Bob Evans.
She had married herself a carpenter
And sometimes soldier
And told me she was –
Comfortable –
That most of the time they clicked.
Somehow the sapphire crystal of her eyes
Betrayed some truth deep inside
And I doubted what she said.
Yet, despite my doubts
I declined to tell her
I had loved her –
Would always lover her –
Longer than . . .

And as I drove away
I thought of you on that snowy
Christmas Eve –
That maudlin, melodramatic bittersweet moment –
When you let love slip away.


III
Gold still retains its power –
Still holds men under its spell –
We have yet to kill the fire
And turn to the sun.
Perhaps it’s best
That you’ve been spared
The pain of that day
When all the poisons
We’ve been pumping into the sky
Blot it out forever.


IV
Once, in an age of innocence,
I dared to love –
We were worlds apart –
She ran with the bad boys –
Heavy metal singers, rock and roll drummers –
And I was a drama geek
With a straight-A average.
I’ve pressed those days
Away in the pages of childish memory
Along with a line or two about love
From a cassette I played so many times
I broke it.


V
The Reach has claimed another –
The living legacy is no more –
The voice is silenced -
The fingers on the fret board stilled –
While I weep for the loss
I know that – in some measure –
You have cheated death -
With immortality in words and music
Cut deeply into vinyl
And etched not only in the memory
Of a plastic compact disc
But the memory of a child –
Countless children –
Raised on a simple Midwest singer’s wisdom.

Go, blessed traveler,
You who danced madly
For such a short time,
And journey the length of the light.

Rant: Computers for Children Who Need Food, Shelter and Security

First of all, before reading my rant, check out these online articles:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/20/60minutes/main2830058.shtml

http://www.laptopical.com/02751-one-laptop-per-child.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1116/p04s01-ussc.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/$100_laptop#Criticism

Does this not all sound like yet another case of misguided charity? This is a reality, folks. Four hundred dollars gets you a laptop and sends a laptop to a child in a poor underdeveloped third-world nation. What a misplaced sense of charitable donations this is!

These laptops are going to children in countries with broken infrastructures and without the basic necessities of a modern civilization: running water, indoor plumbing, proper sewage disposal and an equitable food distribution network. Although it was ultimately a failure, I prefer the misguided charity of Bob Geldof and his pop culture friends in the 1980s. At least they were trying to feed the children. Unfortunately, the country they were trying to feed was under the jackbooted control of territorial warlords who regulated the transportation of anything from ports of entry to the country's interior. A large portion of the food purchased and delivered through Geldof's charities rotted on the dock because nobody could get it safely to the people who desperately needed it.

Now we have a group of misguided computer enthusiasts who believe that access to the internet and email will solve all the world's ills. If these computers actually get to the children, what will they do with them? How many Americans have set up losing money-making websites here in the US only to be disappointed that their financial status has not improved? The US may be an information economy, but most of the rest of the world still revolves around commerce in the basics of life: food, water, shelter, clothing. No amount of information will possibly help these children. You can't eat information. Information won't keep you warm on a cold night. Information won't keep the rains out.

Come on, people, let's get it together. Save your $400 and help these people find a way to rebuild their infrastructure. Give them sewers to wash away their waste and prevent disease. Negotiate a settlement with the warlords that gives up control of the infrastructure to the people who actually use it. Steve Miller had the right idea:

"Feed the babies
Who don't have enough to eat
Shoe the children
With no shoes on their feet
House the people
Livin' in the street
Oh, oh, there's a solution." (Fly Like An Eagle, 1976)

Remember Maslow's hierarchy of needs and help satisfy these basic ones before moving on to luxuries such as personal computers, email and internet access. It is all too easy to think that simply by giving away something that is not of real value to us we are doing something to help others. This anonymity permits us to give inferior products and service while still believing that we are doing something of worth. Access to education and information may seem like a worthy thing, but when so many of theses computer's recipients are going home to unclean, unhealthy living conditions with little food, inadequate sewage control and little or no health care, this access to education and information seems useless and misplaced. My $.02 worth.