DUD OF THE MONTH
Chris Owens: Love Is The Way (Loser Single ’06). This is clearly aimed at a crossover market which may not exist. The rap elements lack serious street cred, leading to charges of fakin’ da funk (which is admittedly better than fakin’ da diploma), while the reggae elements might seem more at home on a Belafonte record. The Kansas/Styx type organ clearly makes one wonder if the man has any understanding of the white crossover elements he seeks to attract. Still, the boy can sing and he sings his heart out. Says Azi: "he's probably the best singing politician since…Gifford Miller and Joseph Crowley (Sorry Patrick Jenkins.)", begging the question, "what about John Hall?" Well, having attended Hall's recent concert at Town Hall, I'd give the nod to Owens. As to the message, it’s all in the title. The solution to all the world’s problems is “Love”. One wonders if Mr. Owens has ever visited the matrimonial part of Brooklyn Supreme Court. Maybe he should ask his dad. And, even if one restricts the prescription purely to matter of foreign policy, it seems a mite simplistic. As the Israelis might query concerning Hezbollah, “what if my love is unrequited?” But Chris Owens is not where one goes for nuance. He is clearly a Quaker who's feeling his oats; he will not settle for the troops coming home tomorrow; only today will do. Me, I’d settle for sometime next week. B-
A NOTE TO READERS: An "anonymous coward" on Daily Gotham did first make the observation about the organ; acknowledging this non-existent person while staying in character as "the Dean of Rock Critics" proved far more difficult than the trouble it was worth, and the joke which resulted from the observation seemed so choice, that I finally just gave up and hoped folks who noticed the lift would take it as part of the same inside joke this entire post comprises. Mea culpa, mea culpa maxima!
AFTERTHOUGHTS: CHRIS OWENS AND THE MORAL BANKRUPCY OF PACIFISM
I've dedicated an awful lot of prose to the "Peter Beinart Democrat" stuff. Chris Owens usually gets a passing mention in these pieces, but, my real interest lies elsewhere. I certainly didn't spend all this time talking about the soul of the Democratic Party merely as a means of going after Chris Owens. I really believe this stuff, and being serious about it, I've put my principles into practice, and, being a Brooklyn guy who believes in thinking globally and acting locally, that means going after Owens.
Although I find many of Chris' opinions on domestic issues muddleheaded (his proposal for "reform" of the Democratic Party, his support of 45 different amendments to the US constitution) and sometimes even mildly offensive (his good cop/bad cop race bait game with his daddy), my main problem with Owens is his worldview. If he's not a pacifist, then let him come out and say so; I think he is because there's seemingly no other way to interpret either his song or his statements about foreign policy and defense. Unlike many other pols, I think Owens deserves the presumption that he actually believes the stuff he says.
Is Owens being a Quaker relevant to this discussion? There should be no religious test for public office, just an issues test. As I've stated in the past, I believe that all pacifists are morally unfit to hold a seat in Congress (the State Legislature or City Council would not bother me in the least) for their views on war and peace would prevent us from fighting in all wars, whether unjust or just. Surely extremism in the fight against genocide is no vice, and acquiesance to such evil is no virtue. And anyone who disagrees with me is welcome to step outside. It's not necessarily morally inconsistent to support certain military actions and oppose others. Pacifists can be consistent; for those of us who are not pacifists, nuance is the only alternative to moral reprehensibility. I supported Clinton's commitment of military force in Bosnia and Kosovo; I support Bush's commitment of force in Afghanistan. I oppose the war in Iraq. I would like to postpone to a later date making a decision concerning where I stand on Iran (preferably forever). One may disagree with all, none or several of my stances, but I am not fence straddling by making distinctions. Do I need to support all military actions to support any? I dare say, that would make me a monster.
But, not every pacifist is a Quaker, and not every Quaker is a pacifist; Richard Nixon was a Quaker, but no pacifist (although he was, for different reasons, morally unfit for public office). But, sad to say, if someone professes to embrace a religion which is pacifistic, it is legitimate to ask them if their political beliefs are affected by the doctrines of their religion. No one objects when Orthodox Jews are asked to clarify their opinions on sexual orientation anti-discrimination efforts, freedom of choice or tuition tax credits; I certainly make sure to ask them such questions
I've been asking for months on this blog for Chris Owens to answer whether he'd ever support the use of force for any reason. So far he's not answered in print. Seemingly, however, he has answered in song. With most politicians, I worry that they'll betray their principles, or, sometimes, that they have no principles to betray. I do not have this problem with Chris Owens on foreign policy (elsewhere, he is sometimes capable of duplicity, but no worse than what is the acceptable norm). It's just that his worldview makes for wonderful summer camp sing-alongs, but in the real world, is usually idiocy when dealing with genocidal maniacs and terrorists.