60s and 70s Protest Music – It’s Relevant Today

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

Country Joe McDonald at Woodstock

Ah, the great music of our youth – all those protest songs extolling the virtues of Freedom, and railing against government corruption. Songs about how a person shouldn’t be judged or given favors because of the color of his skin.

It was a time when the Leftist youth of our nation took us all by the sleeve and cried out for peace, and justice under the law, and tolerance for others who might have a different point of view. “Let us run the world!” they sang. “We’ll make it all better!”

And now, the Leftists are in power. They got their wish. They do rule the world.

Funny thing is, I listen to those lyrics and they still ring true today – only the players have changed. Our government is more corrupt than ever, picking winners and losers based on contributions and voting blocs. Our laws are a shambles as our administration chooses which ones to enforce and which to ignore. Racial and social divides continue to widen as self-serving politicians separate us into groups to pit against each other.

Now it’s the aging Tea Party people who cry out for Freedom from a government that has turned its back on the Constitution. It’s the grandparents who fear that government corruption will destroy their life savings and the economic futures of their grandkids.

I can’t make the case any better than Pete Townshend did in 1971 (below).

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

There’s nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray
We don’t get fooled again

We Won’t Get Fooled Again – the Who

Please Don’t Vote

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 2

“Get Out the Vote”! It’s a good thing, right? Everybody should vote! It’s your responsibility as an American. It’s patriotic. It’s for the good of the country.

Ask anyone you meet – should every American be allowed to vote? The automatic, enthusiastic, unequivocal response is always: “Yes!”

Just for the exercise, let’s set aside our rigid posture (and the Constitution) and ask, “What is best for our country, and our childrens’ futures?”

Should a person who has never paid taxes get to vote? Where else in the circus of life can a person decide how another person’s money is spent? Half of US citizens pay no federal income taxes, but they still get to elect those who spend the money taken from the other half. Isn’t that a golden opportunity for corruption? I’ll break this down: “Vote for me, and I’ll give you somebody else’s money.

I VOTED! WOO HOO!

Should a person who has no understanding of candidates, issues, government, history, or economics be allowed to vote? Let’s be honest, a large percentage of our citizens are economically and politically illiterate. They don’t read or watch any news. They don’t know who the vice president is. They can’t find China on a globe. And they are absolutely not able to make an intelligent decision about how our government should be run for the benefit of all.

We don’t let children vote. Why? Because we assume they have no clue what they are voting about. Unfortunately, when it comes to important events, many of our adult voters are child-like in their understanding of the world. An astute and well-educated fifth-grader is more qualified to vote than many adults.

Should a person who can’t prove eligibility get to vote? A state legislator from a college town here in Montana was recently testifying against stricter identification rules for state voters. “This is so unfair!” she wailed. “If we lengthen the registration period, how are our out-of-state and international students going to be able to vote?”

In a world where personal identification is a requirement of daily life, asking a voter for ID is just common sense, and everyone knows it. Those who oppose it clearly intend vote fraud.

It may seem that I want to take away the average guy’s right to vote. I don’t. But I do think that every voter should have skin in the game – when each voter pays at least some taxes, he will be more interested in how the money is spent. I think our education system should be dramatically improved so that by adulthood, each citizen knows our country’s history, understands economics, and is equipped to vote intelligently. And I think we should protect the sanctity of our electoral process by making sure that only eligible voters cast ballots.

Call me a rebel.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side

I’d like to help you son,
But you’re too young to vote!

Summertime Blues – the Beach Boys

I Pledge Allegiance – to the Maple Leaf?

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Tom Balek Standard 1

My son and I are big CFL (Canadian Football League) fans. We make the long drive from our Montana home to Regina, SK for a game every summer, and listen to our beloved Roughriders on the web.

The Rider fans are amazing – they paint the town green for every home game. They yell and scream and guzzle Molson Canadian beer, and wear watermelons on their heads. It’s about as fun a football atmosphere as you could want (well, except for the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium). And the Canadian rules make for a fast and furious game of football (“He’s at the fifty! the fifty-five! and down at the 53-yard line!”)

But that’s not what this blog is aboot (Canadian for “about”), eh?

Whenever we attend a Canadian football game, or listen on the internet, I can’t help but notice that they always play O Canada, the Canadian national anthem, but then never play the Star Spangled Banner. Never. The same is true at a Canadian hockey game, baseball game, or any other public event. They never recognize the US.

By rule, 19 of the 42 players on any CFL team are from the United States. Obviously, there are not that many good Canadian native football players. The best players are all from the US, as are the coaches. Canadians love their football, but it is an American game. Still, there is never any recognition of the United States at any CFL game. No flag. No national anthem. Nothing. It’s all about Canada.

Now, I don’t have a problem with this. Really. It’s their country, it’s their league, they are very patriotic about it, and more power to them. The Canadian fans welcome my son and I as a curiosity, and frankly as “football experts from the States, eh?” Our celebrity status is very cool, just like that great Canadian beer.

What I don’t understand is this: last weekend my band played music for three nights at the fantastic rodeo weekend in Augusta, MT, and we enjoyed watching the rodeo on Sunday. In addition to the athletic prowess and the terrific Western atmosphere, there was a lot of pageantry and patriotism. As far as I know, there were no Canadian participants in the event. There may have been a couple of Canadian spectators. Still, the rodeo officials made a big deal of riding the Canadian maple leaf flag around the arena, and playing O Canada before our national anthem.

Why?

Even stranger than that, about HALF of the spectators stood there with hands over their hearts for the Canadian anthem! Like they were pledging allegiance to Canada!

Why?

Here in Lewistown we have local drag races on summer weekends. What a great American event! Vintage American Chevies and Fords, classic Beach Boys music – it just doesn’t get better. So why the heck do we have to listen to O Canada before our own precious Star Spangled Banner? I mean, I like Bachman Turner Overdrive as well as the next guy, but hey! This is American Drag Racing!

I don’t think the Canucks need to pay homage to the US at their events. But I also don’t think “O Canada” is required at ours.

Tom Balek, Rockin’ On the Right Side

American Woman, Stay Away from Me! – the Guess Who