Month: June 2013
White Coats in Black Hats
“Bipolar is closer to Schizophrenia than Depression,” is my favorite truth from 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winning Rock Opera, “Next to Normal,” Brian Yorkey Book & Lyrics – Tom Kitt Music.
Set Designer Tom Bloom, Choreographer Melissa Charles and Robert Chapel’s Direction amazingly topped off by a cast of six whose diction alone deserves standing ovations from everyone sensing the helplessness of watching a loved one increasingly disappear into illness, aided by medically dysfunctional prescription drugs.
As Art, “Next to Normal” is literary ‘Voice of Reason’ opening secret family book, our nation refuses even to take off the shelf. Chapel’s Heritage Theatre Festival Virginia production turns life’s pages alternately gently and with lightening physical tempo.
As in Act Two of “Next to Normal,” America needs to take stock, choose a ‘what’s good for me is good for you’ clearer path and move forward united in a spirit of purpose, on new road of hope for renewed freedom, to reason.
Ending a New York Television career to care for ailing parents during a time of political overreaction in favor of a “Howdy” ‘Black-Gold’ hungry Commander-in-Chief and meltdown of America’s trust, I foresaw a need to resuscitate Civility, Equality for Women and Voting Rights, with reasonable voices.
As “The Reasonable Voices” we need be a nation of politically savvy ERA males and females of every age, creating stunning reality that artfully overwhelms self-serving double dealing financial institutions like, SAC Capital, Halliburton and Goldman Sachs, whose M. O. is to cripple USA, with their unsustainable famish, unsatisfied even after Middle Class is diminished to endangered species.
So with melodies, paintbrushes, signs, smart phones, iPods, keyboarded fingertips and speeches, let’s embrace in transformation all who have been numbed by the blinding sandstorm of Wall Street and distracted by repetitious ‘Media is the message,’ releasing all from the imprisoned existence of glazed over sideliners, into attentive listeners, thinkers for themselves, and demanders of truth from commanders of dangerously wasteful human folly.
By character thus renewed, ask, seek and knock for accountability from all in power and all who have power over the powerful.
Questioning and regulating authority over us, we create an humanitarian world, welcoming and gleaning from the best of history, while shedding and shredding the distain of Radical Right Conservative fears, programmed fiscal games from rented Congress, compromised Supremes and the malicious gauging greed of Institutional Banking Student Loans, Fast Foods, Health Insurance, Pharmaceutical and Medical corporations so short sighted, they fail to see depleting the fatted calves, leaves top heavy top, not too big to jail.
Disregard for most American citizens as human beings worthy of respect has sunk to foreclosure, household property stolen and being locked out of your home by First National Bank with whom you have no mortgage – all while vacationing from Ohio.
OR
Patient visits ‘Wellness Center’ with painful shoulders is prescribed DICLOFENAC, which he takes with meals to avoid stomach problems.
Patient begins having terrible stomach pains, stops taking DICLOFENAC. Doctor sends patient to G. I. Association where blood test says dangerous stomach bacteria is present.
G. I. Dr. Daniel gives man Endoscopy (down throat) which proves negative on stomach bacteria, but finds small ulcer (caused by DICLOFENAC), healing itself, without need for medical procedures or Insurance co-pays. Patient left suffering with weeks of major sore throat. G. I. Daniel says, “It was the anesthesia.”
Too bad patient does radio news and Voiceover. Endoscopy Specialist pushes Prilosec and dizziness causing DICYCLOMINE, maybe to make patient forget medical procedure that stole career like bank stole house furniture.
Is this the “New Normal?” Then I prescribe: heed poets, playwrights and political writers and stay just “Next to Normal.”
Father of our Nation
Dads come in all shapes, sizes, temperament, mind-set and colors. Good, bad or indifferent; like, trust, respect them or not, Dads, like Founding Fathers and the Father of our country, historically set our course.
A nation of overflowing family & dining rooms, backyards & restaurants of every ethnicity on Father’s Day, prove we were and are a nation of immigrants, who conquered peace lovers of a homeland free for the brave, “Redskins.”
However, when a brown kid in a colorful shirt is ridiculed on Twitter for singing our National Anthem more beautifully than most, we’ve turned our back on the Statue of Liberty and all our relatives who sailed past her, so we could live “The Life of Riley” in Technicolor.
Seems, just as there are pretend patriots like Cheney, and pretend people like supremely international Corporations with American sounding names, there are fathers who are pretend Dads.
Generations of our Moms & Dads came from somewhere else before the likes of Old Hickory, in his uniquely fatherly manner, decided to sever from our National rainbow the color of choice for Communists and Republicans.
It’s always the choices we make and our execution of same that determine the trails blazed and paths paved to, through and beyond “Manifest Destiny,” – sadly, without manly consideration of input from female and non-white citizens.
Before the late 20th century, except for token gesture considerations allowing involvement of others who didn’t look like them, the great white fathers we put in charge, pretty much created the dysfunction we see now in board rooms, back rooms and classrooms, having forgotten the golden rules of Exceptionalism:
- Everyone gets to have the opportunity to sing anthems, speak their piece, vote their voice and play America’s game regardless of their political slant or physical shade, otherwise our Republic descends into a war between its feminine and masculine sides or Capitalism (making the most money for the fewest) vs. Democracy (doing the most good for the most) creating ‘a house divided.’
- Once Corporate fathers, absent fathers and working a three day week Congressional fathers get infected with zest for the power and the glory of controlling domestic lives, international events and amassing gigantic sums of money for the very few, Lady Liberty’s torch for ‘a shining city upon a Hill,’ is snuffed out
- Father or mother, child or childless, colorless or deeper tones, straight & narrow or LGBT, America came out of many immigrants to form ‘one nation under something more special than just white men.’
Now if the years from Reagan to GW didn’t teach you the danger of privatization, you might miss secret deals between conservative governors and shady capitalist for guaranteed in writing 90% capacity private prisons.
For fathers to know best, best become a Dad, and like our number one Dad-in-Chief, listen to your wife, daughters and of course Moms, “We’ve Had Enough Bushes,” saving us, and a ‘fertilizing’ Jeb from himself.
Realizing the limitations of his Party to comprehend the consequences of rape & incest, aspirin & pregnancy, abortion & Ultra-Sound, or ‘little Cheney:’ Trent Franks accusing others of the sins he himself commits, any father of ‘The House’ would weep in the shadow of a grandmother born to a House gavel.
If we aren’t fathers enough to convince our households that it’s all Americans first, then in second place, State, County and District constituents they’re elected to ‘preserve, protect and defend,’ then at least confess miserable failure of Austerity and Sequester to prosper any non-billionaire American.
And PLEASE tell me we’re not left with Father Christmas Rick Perry’s anti-Christian treatment of the poor, as example of $4.50 a day diet plan for Congressional free trial.
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