I was moved by his discussion of writing some of the songs on 'Living With War' and how he was balling tears after writing some of this stuff. On a few occasions he implied that the whole LWW period, writing the album, performing the album, the documentary, wasn't really a pleasant experience, nor was it something he wants to experience again. But he felt it was important to express those sentiments, important to get the American public involved in the debate and he went through all this to make that happen. Using his celebrity to be a change agent or an agent of good. He's doing the same thing on the Lincoln Volt project ... not to get political, in contrast to someone like Obama who talks a good game, Neil is in many ways the greatest example of a leader in our society who is 100% sincere and taking action towards the ills of our society. And Neil truly transcends politics, is a true uniter, has the lofty character to stand by his convictions. Its interesting that Neil was a true early opponent of the war and used his celebrity to do something about it. Now he's dealing with our energy problem, has built a team to try to solve the problem and he's utilizing his fame to bring attention to the issue. Best of all, he's not out to further himself, or his fame, or his career. To the contrary, he's using all that he has to serve the people. Its ironic, but Neil is demonstrating the type of change we need, and possess the sincerity we need right now. Too bad we don't have any politicians today who can follow his lead.
More Reaction to Charlie Rose Interview of Neil Young. Watch interview here.
Part of this is the fact that, being Canadian, having a solidaristic, even socialist mindset is second nature to us.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm not the only one who thought Neil was dodging a debate and being sarcastic when, after criticizing capitalism, responding to Rose's uninformed statement that capitlism has been good to him, said "maybe it can be a saviour"..and then steered the conversation in another direction...
You want a leader? Build socialist conciousness. In the last instance, the problem is capitalism and it cannot be reformed and tinkered away at. Environmental catastrophe and billions in povery make theo ld rallying cry "Socialism or Barbarism" all the more appropos.
For now, support Nader in safe states, and give up any notion that capitalism can be saved.
sure: socialism as 60 years of history in eastern europe show so well, can be the future.
ReplyDeleteYeah..Bernie Sanders is getting ready to build a gulag.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, Stalinism and socialism have about as much in common as democracy and Bushism.