FOR THE BROTHAS: AN INTRODUCTION

It must have been about 20 years ago when I first began thinking about creating a "Cultural Salon" as a reaction to the mundane social circles In Washington D.C. The richness of intellectual and artistic interchange had died, college friends had moved, the internet had not yet become the phenomenon it now is... I romanticised about the Salons of the mid to late 1800's in Paris, London and Berlin and the cultural dynamo of the Harlem Rennaisance. I was fortunate enough to meet a gentleman, an artist who lived and traveled with James Baldwin... Jimmy he affectionately called him, and he spoke often of their small cottage in southern France and of the many Artists, Poets and Luminaries that dropped in to chat and relax. Well, the impressionists, cubists, modernists, etc. all hung out together famously in those days and shared their ideas with one another creating a creative greenhouse in a world that was rapidly changing. I longed to have lived in those times, to have met Cassat, Rodin, Ellington, Fitzgerald, Baker, Balwin, well I did finally meet Baldwin and others purely for the joy of intellection upon the arts. This was in the late 1980's and by the mid 2000's I happened to run into a friend of mine from Hampton University who had been living in New York since he graduated in the early 90s. Well, I was surprised to hear him comment that in all of the wonder that is New York he never met anyone who ever really had anything interesting to say about art, literature, architecture, science, fashion or anything... I was so surprised to hear this since it had also been my experience. Well here I am in 2011 attempting the Virtual Salon...

Sunday, January 22, 2017

ON THE GENTLEMANLY ART OF BEING PRESIDENTIAL

EMILY POST AUTHORITARIAN ON MODERN ETIQUETTE


PRESIDENTIAL HOME TRAINING: A BEHAVIORAL DEGENERATION FROM RESPECTABLE TO OUTLANDISH!




GOOD HOME TRAINING GOES A LONG WAY IN THIS WORLD. THE CONCEPT IS SIMPLE ENOUGH BUT WHEN THERE ARE MISSING PIECES OR JUST NOTHING AT ALL THINGS BEGIN TO GET ZANY.  ESPECIALLY IN THOSE CASES WHEN THE DEFICIENT PERSONALITY IS THRUST INTO WORLD-VIEW!  NOW I WONT CLAIM TO HAVE ANY FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE OF THIS OR ANY MANS UPBRINGING BUT I MUST INSIST  THAT A MAN’S BEHAVIOR SPEAKS FOR ITSELF!

I GUESS IT IS SAFE TO MAKE A BLIND ASSUMPTION THAT 100% OF AMERICANS EXPECT THEIR 45TH PRESIDENT TO…. WELL… ACT PRESIDENTIAL! THEY EXOECT HIM TO BE A POLISHED, GENTLEMAN, TO BE POLITE AND EXERCISE THE KIND OF SOCIAL RESTRAINT EXPECTED OF AND NECESSARY FOR A DIGNITARY IN HIS POSITION.

I BELIEVE THE PROPER WORD IS DIGNIFIED, YES WE EXPECT A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO BE DIGNIFIED. IN SPITE OF THE PREDICTABLE REALITY-TV GRADE GOSSIP SURROUNDING THE LIFE OF OUR 45TH PRESIDENT AND UNDOUBTEDLY BECAUSE OF IT THE PERSONAL LIFE OF TRUMP IS REALLY A HUGE SCRIPTED BORE. I MEAN, I SHOULDNT EVEN BOTHER WASTING A SINGLE PRECIOUS SECOND THINKING ABOUT HIM WERE HE NOT IN A POSITION TO CAUSE SUCH GREAT DESTRUCTION. BUT LIKE AN IMMATURE CHILD LEFT ALONE AT HOME WITH MATCHES HE MUST BE WATCHED AND MANAGED! SINCE DESCRETION AND TACT APPREAR TO NEVER HAVE BEEN CULTIVTED IN HIS CHILDHOOD OR ADULT LIFE AMERICA MUST NOW PARENT IT'S 45TH PRESIDENT AS A MEANS OF SURVIVAL!

FORWARD TO THE ILLUSTRATION OF A YOUNG BOY BEING APPROPRIATELY DISCIPLINED BY HIS FATHER WHICH I INCLUDED AS A MEANS OF ADDING BOTH A CONTEXT AND A DOSE OF LIGHT HUMOR TO AN OTHERWISE WORRISOME SUBJECT!  NOW WHEREAS I HAVE NEVER BEEN NOR SHALL I EVER BE AN ADVOCATE OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT I WILL CONFIDENTLY RECOMMEND THAT SOME GOOD OLD-FASHIONED PARENTING TECHNIQUES MIGHT HAVE (IN THIS CASE AT LEAST) MADE FOR A BETTER TYPE OF MAN! I DO NOT THINK IT IS OK FOR A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO FEEL AS IF HE MAY BE SELFISH AND RUDE WHEN HE IS ACTING AS THE VOICE OF ALL AMERICANS.

AS TRUMP HAS OFTEN REFERENCED RETURNING BACK TO OLD-TRUSTED AMERICAN VALUES HE HAS MANAGED TO FORGET THAT HE IS NOW THE MODEL FOR THIS BEHAVIOR? PERHAPS AMERICA NEEDS MORE CLARIFICATION TO DETERMINE WHETHER HE MEANT A RETURN TO GENTLEMANLY OR VULGARIAN STANDARDS. PERHAPS WE SHOULD PROVIDE HIM WITH A PRESIDENTIAL EDITION OF EMILY POST!

THERE IS A FINE-LINE BETWEEN GOOD PARENTING/DISCIPLINE AND ABUSIVENESS.  OBVIOUSLY ABUSIVENESS OR NEGLIGENCE ARE ALMOST EQUALLY UNDESIRABLE OUTCOMES. I'VE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN LEARNING THROUGH POSITIVE EXAMPLE. BUT AT THIS LATE STAGE OF THE GAME A SPANKING WOULD PROBABLY NOT DO ANY GOOD. THE QUESTION BEGS TO BE ASKED, “ARE WE DEALING WITH A BEHAVIORAL DYSFUNCTION IN THE WHITE HOUSE?”. ARE PRESIDENTS REQUIRED TO PASS BEHAVIORAL EXAMINATIONS? THERE APPEARS TO BE SOMETHING VERY WRONG HERE THE ONLY QUESTION WILL BE IF IT IS TOO LATE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT… THE DEED HAS BEEN DONE!

SO WHATS THE SOLUTION AMERICA? A THERAPUTIC VIRTUAL OR A SOCIAL SPANKING? A THOROUGH BEHAVIORAL EXAMINATION AND THERAPY? GIFTING A PRESIDENTIAL EDITION OF EMILY POST? MAYBE A 21ST CENTURY STYLED CRASH COURSE WITH A MY FAIR LADY THEME? OR PERHAPS A FEW SOULFUL SESSIONS WITH GIGI’S WELL-GROOMED GRANDMOTHER WOULD DO THE TRICK TO BRING SOME CLASS AND DECENCY INTO THIS PRESIDENTIAL ACT. ADMITTEDLY I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE SOLUTION MIGHT ULTIMATELY BE BUT I DO RECKON ONE IS NEEDED AND ON THE LIGHT SIDE… GOOD LUCK WITH THAT AMERICA!


FIN




WRITTEN BY: BIGDADDY BLUES

Friday, January 20, 2017

WHO'S AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP?



“WHO’S AFRAID OF DONALD TRUMP? “
The National Ballroom Waltz of Inaugural Riot.



It is not the anti-heroic figure of Donald Trump that so many Americans fear. It is all too clear this man is a mere mortal replete and o’er-flowing with the unsavory elements of human nature. It is the poisonous cloud of hatred, arrogance and sheer barbarity his very presence belches into our consciousness that so many Americans dread and fear... The backwards thinking of this man and his henchmen within the republican party threaten to enshroud the gilded path of human progress in America!


Violent and impassioned demonstrations have ever been the hallmark of this man’s sad ascent to the presidency. One can only surmise that this dysfunctional pattern will persist throughout his term. Gone are the gilded traditions of presidency past, felled by a crude and savage storm of utter barbarity… We have entered a new era in which it becomes clear that the political structure of the past 200 years must be critically rethought in order to become a true democracy. We are no longer a nation ruled by a handful of English aristocrats transplanting medieval feudalism to the new world. When human freedoms are created they must never be reversed! We are a country known for creating freedom not for taking it away!


There is a question on the wind my friends asking if America can survive him and if it should in what state of decay it will be lain?



On the days leading up to the inauguration Trump denuded the historically esteemed image of the presidency leaving one to wonder and fear what infamous raiment his legacy shall leave it dressed-in if ever it should be arrayed by him. For it takes a true gentleman of discernment to clothe the institution of presidency. Building presidency from scratch is a bold and perhaps vainglorious ambition. The task requires the ability to strip it down to something everyone would agree to be a substantive foundation. A genetleman understands this brand of presidential streaking is no essay on transparency save through the accidental and unimagined effect that should betray the purpose of its own pretense… “The Emperor has no clothes because the Emperor is without a soul!”.



The role of the president has been fashioned for over 200 years and I do not see any reason that it should be changed. What has got out of control is congress and the senate both of which have isolated themselves so loftily within the penthouses of their ivory towers that they no longer understand or even see the common man. Having a congress, senate and president of the same party is tantamount to fascism, a one-party system is redolent of corruption and despotism. I should not want any one party to rule without any meaningful opposition, that is un-American. Did we not fight against an English king 200 years ago  to rid ourselves of a one-party government? The spirits of our beloved founding fathers who fought for balanced, equal representation in government are wailing in their graves!


As a gentleman, I have heretofore avoided the vulgarism of name-calling. However, as a critic I am free to opine with my honest observations of the human condition. Therefore, I shall opine on the image or rather the mirage which has come to personify what is now Americas 45th president. The image of Donald Trump is a worrisome bore. I say so because we have all seen his malevolent, diabolical type before! To sensible people it is mere pastiche albeit an anachronistic pastiche reminiscent of Hitler, Stalin or Pétain, these are the ironic characteristics so many Americans fear! The other side is actually quite humorous. It is a cackling, gossiping hag, an over-the-top society dame, a childish, petty and insecure brat of a celebrity. Trump is the personification of that genre we know as “Reality-TV Buffoon and Vulgarian” so many Americans stream into their daily lives from the wilds of cyberspace. This is where the irony of reality television comes home to roost. No matter how you imagine him our 45th presidential image is a negative and potentially dangerous one. The warning signs are all there…



Whilst taking cocktails in a smart D.C. lounge the caustic topic of Trump arose to which all agreed we should be self-medicating. That is when I announced I had invented a new cocktail to commemorate Trumps presidency appropriately named, “Impending Doom!” Its ingredients jokingly of course, consisted of some gastronomically objectionable compounds to add the element of humor.  I most certainly shan’t be raising a toast with that or any other libation nor tipping my hat to or celebrating the inauguration of what forebodes to be an era of utter buffoonery moral and ethical decline!



Despots of the past century such as Adolph Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Phillipe Petain Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin purposefully cultivated fear and dread within their subjects. These men came from nations that did not have the history of freedom and egalitarianism we have striven for in America. Mirroring the American economy of today they came from nations which had once been wealthy and great but which had fallen into profound economic decay. Like Trump they romanticized about re-invigorating a national splendour which had long ago been lost blaming the national disarray on peoples they disliked. Like these despots, Trump has sold unsuspecting Americans a bankrupt dream that this nation can revitalize itself as a manufacturing power with no credible strategy to wrest the manufacturing industry from Asian nations who now monopolize the industry and also hold Americas debt. He courts the affections of America’s long standing cold war enemy, Russia as if the great rivalry and hatred between our countries has magically evanished!


 Like the despotic, fascist regimes of the past century there is an evil undercurrent accompanying the prevailing smokescreen of economic progress as posed by the new regime of the White House. This agenda threatens the freedoms of millions of American people including immigrants, Black Americans and other peoples of color, women the LGBT community and many others. They feel that a republican president and government will literally turn history backwards. They fear a republican government led by Trump threatens to reverse the hard-won battles of the American Civil Rights Movement. Ask yourself what blatantly stripping Americans of their civil rights have to do with striving to become competitive in the world manufacturing market?



The 2017 inaugural riots are a glaring sign that the direction of leadership in America is moving contrary to the popular will of the people. Never in the history of the presidency has such unrest blemished the inaugural festivities. This is an historical precedent but one that will most likely be destined to occupy a nice of infamy remembered for centuries to come!



My advice to all who love America and who love freedom is to rise to a peaceful and unified challenge to this regime of greatest blunder. Take heart and work diligently, non-violently to defend your civil rights. It is not enough to be personally galvanized for change, reach out to at least one other person and bring them along with you to work toward peaceful change. When the next elections arrive is the time to have been diligently working to effect positive change. Remove despots from office peacefully by simply voting them out and neutralize this regime of evil!  We will all survive the 45th presidency, it shall be a hard lesson for the righteous but remember this is America, the land we love and the one place on earth if ever there was one where we truly can make positive change for all human beings. If you are a proud American, this is not the time to abandon your country to despotism simply because things did not appear to go your way. If you do not you shall have wasted the lives of countless men and women who have sacrificed everything for the cause of a free America. Don’t dwell on the bad luck of the moment! Pick yourself up and change it!



FIN



Written by Bigdaddy Blues


Saturday, January 14, 2017

THE LEGACY OF GREATNESS: 
How Will History Preserve the Presidency of Barack Obama?



44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES BARACK OBAMA WITH HIS FAMILY IN THE WHITE HOUSE




If the years which follow 2017 should be memorialized as interesting years then it is our responsibility to fashion them into greatness and hand them over to the judgement of progeny. The philosophy and essential beauty which is so very much the creative, driving spirit of this or any time is most richly understood by who live it into existence. To live in the know is to live in the very moment.

The magical and rarefied moment of our existence is personified as the fabric of civilization. Our civilization is different from the one our fathers and grandfathers perceived. Perception of civilization requires us to press-together what appears to be unrelated elements into a massive generic blob of phenomenological clay but to this clay we must necessarily add the spiritual, ethical, moral and other more abstract dynamics which also shape perception. What matters most to perception of civilization is the recognizable form. Human civilization can be observed as a finite evolution of distinctive forms or shapes that crystallize into the icons which define every age.

Perhaps the biggest shape/form of the early twenty-first century is being molded at the conclusion of the second term of the first Black-American president of the United States of America. By this I mean that the impact of his legacy on the course of American history will greatly be defined in the years to come. On a holistic, cultural level Obama's journey has had the same relevance as that of Nelson Mandela since both men rose to power in countries which had historically oppressed black peoples. The historical marker they have set into the continuum of human history can easily be connected to the rise of Black American politicians during the Post-American Civil War reconstruction. The dynamic pattern they have created should lead to more frequent instances which will ultimately define a distinctive period in history when black men established themselves as statesmen. In a future time when a black president is no longer extraordinary the pioneering era in which we live will become a cultural icon defining our age.

A BLACK AMERICAN CONGRESSMAN DURING THE AMERICAN RECONSTRUCTION



Whether we live to reflect upon the ways in which the future shall opine on the legacy of Obama is far less relevant than the vigour with which we breathe life into these remaining minutes of our existence... for the moment it is we who breathe life into his legacy. Many Black Americans have adopted a mission to cultivate future generations of black presidents but obviously not for the sake of just having a president who is black. These Black Americans strive to prepare young black men and women to aspire to the presidency as a means of balancing the history of America forging a cultural shape as an offering for history to memorialize as cultural icon.

Obama is a man who served all people’s, he was everyman’s man. Obama favored the American people and his policies sought to help those Americans in greatest need. I am certain that he understands a good and a humble man so great that others would seek to erase him should not fear the future. As long as some men live who have wisdom Barack Obama’s deeds will be magnified and passed down the centuries.  The toughest lesson for those who seek to obscure the legacy of Obama will be learned as they realize that the human spirit cannot be legislated away!




FIN




Written by BIGDADDY BLUES