Music And All That Jazz

A "jazzy" lady strutting her stuff.  I offered to buy one of these shirts, but she said she didn't need one.  Huh?

   Last year I finally managed to attend the Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee.  I dragged my wife along this year.  I enjoy all kinds of music, including jazz, but find I need a break from any one genre every once in awhile.  There were a few groups I particularly enjoyed both years, my favorite being a zydeco band called Gator Beat (http://www.gatorbeat.com/).  I normally do not get excited about live performances.  Past experiences have left me frustrated because I could not hear the artist over the crowd.  However, this venue is very different.  Part of the fun of hearing jazz in person is watching the true enthusiasts do their thing.  Women come to the event decked out in threads, colors and beads.  When a song they particularly enjoy is played, they get up and prance up and down the aisles with their gaudy umbrellas trying to get a jazzy version of a conga line started.

   This year some of the groups on the schedule baffled me.  I understand the jazz connection to Afrobeat, the Blues and R&B, but when did mariachi music, Johnny Cash impersonations and western swing become forms of jazz?   

   I have a secret desire to sing the national anthem at some public event…sometime before I lose the range.  I do not have a smooth, velvety voice, but I can carry a tune and so far I have not heard of anybody vomiting in response to my tenor tones.  And I know I could do at least as well as many people I have heard trash that song (Roseanne Barr and Carl Lewis come to mind).  You can hear the worst of the worst by searching for “bad national anthem performances” on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com).  Anyway, I am thinking this could launch a second career for me; Senior American Idol.

    In preparation for this entirely reasonable turn of events, I have been contemplating a stage name.  I have noticed that all the famous singers of our day have only one name.  It did not used to be that way.  Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald did just fine with both their names.  However, today it is Bono, Lady Gaga, Meat Loaf (Ok, those are two words, but I consider them examples of one weird name.  “Don’t do it, Meat!”), Beyonce, Brandy, Eminem, Jewel, Madonna, Pink, Seal, Usher and Shakira are just a few that come to mind.  Therefore, I thought maybe I could take the stage name “Tom.”  Not really catchy enough, is it?  So, I am toying with “Gentleman Googoo.”  What do you think?

   Of course, I would need a gimmick.  Cash wore black.  Shakira does that wiggle thing.  Tim McGraw is seldom without that big cowboy hat and those bulging muscles.  Since they are all fairly successful, I am considering a combination of all three.  I already have the muscles and black clothing.  I would just need to find the right hat and fine-tune my wiggle.  There is no way this would not become a huge success.

   If I stick to the right kind of music, like 50’s and 60’s teeny bopper hits, I should be a shoe in for next year’s Sacramento Jazz Festival and Jubilee.

Would I Have Revolted in 1776? I Cop Out.

    Well, you folks didn’t give me much to analyze for this follow-up to my previous blog about whether a Christian in 1776 should have been a patriot or a British loyalist.  Two of you responded with some thoughts, so I’d like to summarize those first.  Timothy pointed out the fact that the passage in Romans 13 is used by various groups, like pacifists, to bolster their own agendas.  Elisabeth noted there are many other passages that demonstrate godly people disobeying the law in their service to God.  This is not a simple topic for those of us who are serious about our desire to live the kinds of lives God wants us to live.

    I previously pointed out that Thomas Jefferson, the writer of the Declaration of Independence and spokesman for the other leaders of the Revolution, justified the rebellion by appealing to the argument that God created humans to be equal with one another.  Therefore, any power that systematically denies people those “unalienable” rights is not a power established by God.  I recently sat down and read Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.  His argument for throwing off the British government was similar.  “Society…promotes our happiness…and government restrain[s] our vices.”  When government goes beyond that, it is no longer legitimate.  He makes the argument, from the history of Israel, that God has never approved a despotic government.  He made it clear to the Israelites that they did not need a king, but they went ahead and established one anyway.

    A search of the internet produces many different explanations of Romans 13.  Some are compelling arguments, some not.  It is obvious that neither Old Testament nor New Testament servants of God obeyed everything they were told by their governments.  There are cases where God commanded his servants to disobey.  I actually have no problem justifying specific acts of civil disobedience in order to follow God’s law.  Biblical examples of this abound.  Even Jesus refused to obey the civil authorities during his so-called trials.  He openly opposed and ridiculed the religious authorities throughout his ministry.  So, the question is, “Under what circumstances is it more righteous to disobey an authority?”  That one is not easy to answer. 

    In the case of the founding of our country the grievances were numerous and the attempted remedies many.  But did they justify the overthrow of the government?  My friend Tim is right when he points out that it is difficult, if not impossible, to know if our thought processes would have been the same in 1776 as they are now.  I submit they would not have been.  They could not have been.  So, the answer to the question of whether or not I would have participated in the Revolution or not is truly not answerable.

    The more important question, then, is whether or not I would participate in one today?  In the quest for this answer I do see some similarities with our founding fathers.  They were feeling oppressed, disenfranchised and unrepresented.  They felt the ruling authorities were misusing their powers to further their own comfort at the expense of the basic rights of the common people.  Today there are a growing number of issues in our society that are making an increasing number of people feel that same way.  Christians are repulsed at the killing of millions of babies, done so with the blessing of the government.  There is a growing disconnect between the common people and what has become a sort of modern day aristocracy in our state capitals and in Washington, D.C.  The moral foundation upon which the founding fathers built this country is eroding at an increased rate.  Evil people are often given more rights than those who are trying to maintain a moral code in this country. 

    Will this generation have to answer the question, “Revolt or be loyal?” as our forefathers did?  If you can’t answer the question concerning 1776, you might want to examine yourself in light of 2011, because you might be forced to make that decision.