An evening of passion
Last night, February 26, 2016, the musician, singer Gisele Jackson along with other very talented musicians, invited a very diverse audience of young and elder members of the community to reclaim the passion which brought many people dancing and singing their way into a coming-out party. Some of we “elders” were reminded of a time when we were reborn into an era of standing up. Some of we elders, when we were not yet elders, had been om the verge of cracking and blasting out of the shells into which we had obediently stuffed ourselves. Certainly, for me, the leadership of the Harvard group of misfits, including Ram Dass as well as Martin Luther King, and later Rosa Parks, Eldridge Cleaver, Stokely Carmichael, Malcom X, Angela Davis, the Berrigan Brothers, and lesser known leaders such as George and Mary Dockerty provided the framework for challenging the lies about racial justice, gender inequality, GLBT discrimination, and immoral wars such as that waged against Vietnam and Cambodia had guided me for many years. It was often, however, the nurturing, passionate, let it all hang out leadership of such folks as Gisele Jackson who provided a safe, fun place to relax, to regroup, and most importantly to claim a passion some of us did not know we possessed. For this misfit it was one thing to deliver sermons, march with thousands of others or even lock the trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary into a space until they agreed to change their practice of investing endowment money in operations which oppressed people, but quite another to openly express the raw passion that would help me shed the last of my fear of not being one of the good old boys (or girls). It was while spending hours with jazz and blue singers or dancing with wild, nearly naked abandon to what was generically called disco music.
The rich, passionate, take no prisoners talented voice of Gisele reminded this old man of what we are missing in the current political election. We are missing the positive passion which says we are alive, we care and we ain’t going nowhere. We will not allow crude rudeness and blatantly racist behavior to continue to take us hostage. Build a wall. “No f…ing way!” Support Gitmo, refuse women the right to choose, build more secret US prisons and label a large percentage of the population sex offenders or support a drug policy which keeps more people in a numb, ineffective state! No! No! No! Enough is enough is enough.
Gisele reminded us of the key to unlocking the best that is within us. We need to again take this dance to the streets. We need to say no more prisons, no more military actions, no more bombs, no more allowing insurance companies and pharmacies to determine the scope and limits of health care. We need to invite the Trumphites to dance with us. We will lead, thank you very much. Let’s dance.
Written February 27, 2016
Last night, February 26, 2016, the musician, singer Gisele Jackson along with other very talented musicians, invited a very diverse audience of young and elder members of the community to reclaim the passion which brought many people dancing and singing their way into a coming-out party. Some of we “elders” were reminded of a time when we were reborn into an era of standing up. Some of we elders, when we were not yet elders, had been om the verge of cracking and blasting out of the shells into which we had obediently stuffed ourselves. Certainly, for me, the leadership of the Harvard group of misfits, including Ram Dass as well as Martin Luther King, and later Rosa Parks, Eldridge Cleaver, Stokely Carmichael, Malcom X, Angela Davis, the Berrigan Brothers, and lesser known leaders such as George and Mary Dockerty provided the framework for challenging the lies about racial justice, gender inequality, GLBT discrimination, and immoral wars such as that waged against Vietnam and Cambodia had guided me for many years. It was often, however, the nurturing, passionate, let it all hang out leadership of such folks as Gisele Jackson who provided a safe, fun place to relax, to regroup, and most importantly to claim a passion some of us did not know we possessed. For this misfit it was one thing to deliver sermons, march with thousands of others or even lock the trustees of Princeton Theological Seminary into a space until they agreed to change their practice of investing endowment money in operations which oppressed people, but quite another to openly express the raw passion that would help me shed the last of my fear of not being one of the good old boys (or girls). It was while spending hours with jazz and blue singers or dancing with wild, nearly naked abandon to what was generically called disco music.
The rich, passionate, take no prisoners talented voice of Gisele reminded this old man of what we are missing in the current political election. We are missing the positive passion which says we are alive, we care and we ain’t going nowhere. We will not allow crude rudeness and blatantly racist behavior to continue to take us hostage. Build a wall. “No f…ing way!” Support Gitmo, refuse women the right to choose, build more secret US prisons and label a large percentage of the population sex offenders or support a drug policy which keeps more people in a numb, ineffective state! No! No! No! Enough is enough is enough.
Gisele reminded us of the key to unlocking the best that is within us. We need to again take this dance to the streets. We need to say no more prisons, no more military actions, no more bombs, no more allowing insurance companies and pharmacies to determine the scope and limits of health care. We need to invite the Trumphites to dance with us. We will lead, thank you very much. Let’s dance.
Written February 27, 2016
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