Won't Get Fooled Again

It never ceases to amaze me how people continually want to create an earthly utopia. It would seem that some bands of the past have realized that this is not that easy. A few examples here:

The Who - "Won't Get Fooled Again" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUbGLVvfB7Y

And the Beatles - "Revolution" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imb4tYOk8GE

And now it seems that many young new revolutionaries have become hypnotized and memorized by Mao and others like him who need I remind anyone killed and tortured thousands, millions. Well, that is just history and that can be re-written to fit into whatever ideology one wants right?

For the most part, I don't blog about political or religious things. I have other avenues where I do that so my internet presence is mostly about music as even this post is to come extent (see above). but as I said, it would seem that some bands had a bit more wisdom than we might give them credit for.

My position is pretty simple. I read the newspaper (or at least peruse it) a bit every day and the news is always the same. Man's inhumanity to man lived out time and time again and the greed that seems to dominate so many people. The problem for me is that I don't experience that in the world I live in at least to the extent that I see it on TV. Are there greedy people out there? I know this might upset some but to borrow a phrase from Sarah Palin: "you betcha". But for the most part I see a lot of good people. Really good people and it affirms my belief in two things.

First, the people are basically good. I get that a source that many hate, the bible. Does that shock some of my followers? An experimental music composer reading above all things, the bible. You betcha!

In those first few chapters it says that man is good (in fact) of all the creations only man is called very good (it does not say that about the earth by the way just man - odd isn't it?).

It also says that something happened that caused the ideal relationship between God and people to change forever. That needed fixing (that is what the rest of the book is about). So something went terribly wrong and from that time on, evil and chaos entered into the world. So when I see people doing bad things, I realize where it came from.

Now here is the kicker. Rather than looking to bring about global change and yell catch phrases like "yes we can" and carry pictures of chairman Mao, I concern myself with the world around me that I can change. First, myself. Who am I? What evil lies inside me? How have I treated others? Wow, now that's a revolution! I sometimes quote the movie the Matrix when Neo said "Free you mind" because in a kind of secular way, it is not so different when "Jesus said: "If the Son of Man makes you free than you shall be free indeed".

For the most part, I am usually happy. I love my faith, my job (frustrating as it is at times) and my music. I guess I don't' need a revolution because I have come to realize that the real revolution is inside me. So when people talk about fundamentally transforming things I guess I echo the words of the Beatles - "when you talk about destruction, don't you know that you can count me out". I don't want to change the world, just me so that the world around me will change no matter where I go.

I end this rather unusual blog with a music video. Those who can, might make a connection:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-eM83gz0Zc

When do we ride into Jerusalem?

I guess we just keep reliving the past.

Bottom line - when people try to change the world things get pretty ugly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhDu_Y1sPiE

Remember - Hitler wanted to make the world a better place to but he turned it into a nightmare to every night, I get on my knees and I pray, we won't get fooled again.

Free you mind and then you won't need a utopia here on earth, I guess in the end its that simple for me.