Micah Nelson on 2016 U.S. Election

Micah Nelson - "The Message"

Last month, Neil Young joined Paul McCartney at the Desert Trip concert to sing together on John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance".

Remember that moment and how joyous we all were to witness such a moment of Peace, Love, & Understanding (What's So Funny About)? Well never lose that faith and hope.

Here are some thoughts from Micah Nelson, a member of Neil Young's band Promise of the Real and son of Willie Nelson:

Micah Nelson
November 10 at 2:43pm ·

Hey. To all the Trump voters out there: I want to make a clear distinction. Just because I criticize the person you voted for does not mean I "hate" you. That would make me like him (and many of his followers). In fact, one thing I can't stand about a lot of the Left is that the same sort of bullying and aggression occurs by a lot of them toward the Right. It is pure hypocrisy and it doesn't help push us forward as a society it only serves to split us apart.

I also want to make it clear that it is my born right to criticize the president. That is one thing that makes this country great. I will fight and stand up for that right and for the values I believe in, but that does not mean I have to stand up for the president if I don't agree with him. I don't like Hillary either. I didn't like Bush at all and there was a lot about Obama that I didn't like. Just because i don't support Trump does not mean I strongly affiliate with the neoliberal establishment. Like you, dear Trump voter, I've been disenchanted with politics as usual for a long time..but I can see the elitism and corporatocracy corrupting the Democractic party just as much as I see the racist bigotry and science denial corrupting the Republican right.

I'm not surprised Trump won.

The painful irony for me is that his rhetoric so resembles the kinds of power figures that my great grandparents fled from to come to America in the first place...the type of mentality that my grandpa fought against.. and you all just voted him into power. It's a bit confusing to say the least. Here we are in the years. Trump supporters, I respect your right and freedom to buy into this ignorant hate rhetoric which is all too historically familiar. I respect your right to willingly drive nails America's coffin. It is your right. So please respect my right to call bullshit on all of it. I will continue to stand up against any unconstitutional neo-nazi policy he tries to implement, just as you all did with Obama's policy for 8 years.

I honestly hope that Trump does some good for all American people, not just people that look like him. That is my hope. My fear is that many of my loved ones who are immigrants or women or gay will continue to be demonized and that the toxic sprawling disease of the fossil fuel industry will continue to run rampant poisoning our planet and its people and displacing rural American communities for the profit of a few billionaires.. there is nothing progressive about that. I fear we will go backwards as a society with a conscience..

Yet perhaps it will be a catalyst for real progressive change, for long overdue revolution..that is my optimism speaking.. only time will tell what you've really got us into.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue speaking my mind loudly and unapologetically through my words, music and art, and daily action. As free American citizens I encourage you to do the same and I will respect your right to an opinion even if I think it's grossly misinformed. You still have the right to shout it at the top of your lungs... that is a beautiful thing. I just hope you do it with love in your heart instead of hatred for people who are different than you because one insecure orange man has somehow convinced you that "they" are your enemy. That is when you become unpatriotic and anti-American in my book. I hope we can instead come together in our mutual anger against the establishment, but not be blinded by that anger so much that we overlook the ass-backwardsness of what is really happening and are led into yet another divisive trap...

Divided we fall. I wish us all luck. Peace and love always ✌️️

Wise words Micah. Thank you.

There's corruption on the highest floor!
TW & Uwe "Computer Age" Singing Truth to Power
White House, Washington, DC
Photo by Hounds That Howell
As for us? Who cares. But if do care what we think, we laid it out very specifically just prior to the election. And then clarified any mis-understandings shortly after the election.

And to crystallize our point, we made this comment using a quote from the late-great gonzo Hunter S. Thompson. That said, just as Neil Young takes no pleasure in being right yet again, nor do we in speaking truth to power. No one does. We all pray to be proven wrong. And we won't quit, either, because we also wish somebody would share the news. Especially this news ripped from The Matrix.

Think. Think very hard. Ask yourself: how did simultaneous protests in 25 different cities manage to come up with the same exact slogans and the same exact signs on the very same night following the election?

And if you couldn't figure out the answer to the question above, then be aware that the eternal divide and conquer strategy is alive and well. So stay calm, no fear and rock on. We don't want no stinkin' civil wars, thank you. As usual, just a bunch of paid actors following the scripts.

As we often say here, who cares what some music blogger thinks? (Especially a blogger of some old hippie-stoner-loner rock star?) Or what other gonzo bloggers like Glenn Greenwald think:

"Blinded by the belief that Obama was too benevolent and benign to abuse his office, and drowning in partisan loyalties at the expense of political principles, Democrats consecrated this framework with their acquiescence and, often, their explicit approval. This is the unrestrained set of powers Trump will inherit. The president-elect frightens them, so they are now alarmed.

But if they want to know whom to blame, they should look in the mirror."

"It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down..."

Yes, "For What It's Worth", there is definitely something happening here and what it is -- while not exactly -- clear, there is a man with a gun over there telling us we got to beware. Fifty years after FWIW, still same as it ever was... but the "Big Shift" inexorably rolls on and on....

And here's what one of our dear, loyal TW readers Ian has to say on the subject in response to the provocative -- yet ever belligerent -- Dominic Holdem:

@Dominic Holdem--While I don't completely disagree with you--I was frustrated by the difficulties the Democrats had in rallying around their eventual candidate, while understanding of how Clinton's flaws were a part of the problem and, ultimately, I thnk both major parties muffed it.... majorly--I suppose I'm trying to transcend all of that right now, at least for a few moments.

Honestly, when it comes to politics and spirituality, I have strong feelings on both and it can be hard to find a balance. How do I reconcile my strong ideological convictions--which I know can cause conflict and act as a barrier between me and people who don't share my ideas--in the context of my ultimate belief that all life is part of the same beating heart and that we must, in spite of our considerable differences, learn to come together as one human family? How do my abstract, sweeping beliefs find grounding in coherent, pragmatic, doable policy concepts? How can I even be politically involved while saying that the material world is bathed in illusion?

Sometimes being politically active feels like participating in the illusion, perpetuating it. But if I don't stand up for what I believe is right, I feel that we're only going to get further away from being able to understand and penetrate the illusion. And of course anyone who sees the world as one family, sees every individual as being connected to the whole and sharing a universal Self, cannot possibly countenance the wars, the suffering and dying, the destruction that happens because, ultimately, of the illusion's corrupting power. One cannot countenance human hands continuing to damage our planet through the forces of climate change and human-manufactured pollution.

These are the questions I wrestle with at times like these. There are no definite answers in life; as I like to say, one thing I know is that I don't know. The near-impossibility of being certain (of anything) is one of the great existential struggles, which in turn is why people have developed philosophical and spiritual belief systems.

On somewhat less elevated matters, Sarah Palin as secretary of the interior would honestly be fairly low on my list of concerns at this point. Trump is smart enough to sideline damaged goods (see: Chris Christie--there are reasons he's been repeatedly snubbed for any significant position with Trump). And even if he does bring in Palin to further pacify the monster raving tea party faction, it's still going to be small potatoes compared to things that may already be set in motion. VP Mike Pence guarantees the religious right is embedded in a Trump presidency, and I'm still getting over the fact that the nation has elected a man endorsed by KKK publications, but I digress. Lest we forget, "interior" in this case principally means national parks, monuments, etc. (if I'm remembering my civics correctly). Even Sarah Palin *might* be able to handle that without major damage. As long as he doesn't commission a Trump Monument, I'll hold my outrage for now.

Oh, and happy birthday, Neil!

Thanks Ian for holding your outrage for now and remaining calm and fearless. And thanks for lighting that candle. Now let's keep the flame of love burning brightly.

"Give Peace A Chance"
Paul McCartney and Neil Young
Desert Trip Festival - October 8, 2016

ps - OK Toto, let's go and get ready for Mr Trump's visit to the Land of Oz...

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