50th Anniversary, Alice's restaurant

[Mugwump]

"On Thanksgiving 1965, Arlo Guthrie visited friend Alice Brock and her husband at their home, a church in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and did them a favor by taking out their garbage. The dump was closed that day, so Guthrie and a friend dropped the garbage off a cliff where other locals had previously dropped trash. Guthrie was arrested the following day, and the mark on his record miraculously kept him out of Vietnam by making him ineligible for the draft."

[BallAquatics]

Nice bit on Arlo's views on our current status.....
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/26/arlo-guthrie-on-stupid-politicians-and-50-years-of-thanksgiving-classic-alice-s-restaurant.html

Who do you like now that he?s not running for 2016?

Now we find ourselves in a completely different world. I love Bernie Sanders, naturally. Who wouldn?t? But I don?t agree with him on everything. To be honest, what I do is I take a longer view. I know that it doesn?t matter as much who the president is as who the people feel they are. That?s what really changes the world. If we?re waiting for some guy or gal to fix everything, that?s a fool?s errand. I think it?s really important for people to do what they can, where they are, in their own hometowns and if it seems like a good idea, you?ll get some support. That?s how I think the world evolves. It does not evolve dependent on leaders.

I take that seriously. That was the main message my father had for the people he wrote for: take yourself seriously. You count. And when I see people in positions of authority trying to silence the voice of others, I get pissed off. The world really does require us to pay attention. Sure, there are natural ebbs and flows to the rivers of evolution?sometimes it?s gonna go left, sometimes right. No river runs straight down. So when somebody promises you a straight path, look out.

Sounds like you?re unhappy with our two-party system?

I am equally suspicious of Democrats as I am of Republicans. I don?t think either party has a handle on honesty at this point, and that?s a shame. And that?s because we don?t look for that as a people. People seem to just look to get fired up, and feel like a bunch of yahoos. That works in the short run, it makes you feel good. But in the long run, it?s a disaster.

Are you describing the phenomenon that is Donald Trump?s popularity?

Oh, he?s not the only one. Everybody does it to some extent. By the way, the wonderful thing about Donald Trump is that he?s not in anyone?s pocket. But, of course, that doesn?t mean he doesn?t have the best interests of everybody in mind. The phenomenon of it is funny, scary at times, and that?s as it should be. But I think in the long run, no matter who the president is, there?s only one of him, and there?s hundreds of millions of us. So what we believe, and what we stand for, and what we think, and what we actually do will count for more, in the long run, than whoever the president is. The kind of problems we have are genuinely systemic. This bought-and-sold-ness of politicians and leaders goes all the way down to the local level. It goes down to who is the judge, who gets voted in for the sanitation department head, or whatever. When people profit at the expense of the best wellbeing for everybody, it's not a good situation. And I think that?s what people feel.

There does seem to be a great deal of disillusionment with politics these days...

It?s like it?s almost a lost cause. And, of course, being me, I know it?s not.We?ll get through it. It might be rough, and history will continue to be made, and it?ll just be a different time. I think young people are perfectly capable of handling this. This is not my world anymore. It belongs to people much younger than I. And honestly, I think they?re doing a good job, for the most part.

You have to understand that what changed in the ?60s was not the result of most people doing anything. It wasn?t even a whole lot of people. It was a critical mass. We as messengers of ideas have to remember: You don?t need to convince everybody. You don?t need to convince a lot of people, just enough people. When you have enough people to move the world forward, it will move.

Dennis

[Mugwump]

Nice bit on Arlo's views on our current status.....
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/26/arlo-guthrie-on-stupid-politicians-and-50-years-of-thanksgiving-classic-alice-s-restaurant.html

Who do you like now that he?s not running for 2016?

Now we find ourselves in a completely different world. I love Bernie Sanders, naturally. Who wouldn?t? But I don?t agree with him on everything. To be honest, what I do is I take a longer view. I know that it doesn?t matter as much who the president is as who the people feel they are. That?s what really changes the world. If we?re waiting for some guy or gal to fix everything, that?s a fool?s errand. I think it?s really important for people to do what they can, where they are, in their own hometowns and if it seems like a good idea, you?ll get some support. That?s how I think the world evolves. It does not evolve dependent on leaders.

I take that seriously. That was the main message my father had for the people he wrote for: take yourself seriously. You count. And when I see people in positions of authority trying to silence the voice of others, I get pissed off. The world really does require us to pay attention. Sure, there are natural ebbs and flows to the rivers of evolution?sometimes it?s gonna go left, sometimes right. No river runs straight down. So when somebody promises you a straight path, look out.

Sounds like you?re unhappy with our two-party system?

I am equally suspicious of Democrats as I am of Republicans. I don?t think either party has a handle on honesty at this point, and that?s a shame. And that?s because we don?t look for that as a people. People seem to just look to get fired up, and feel like a bunch of yahoos. That works in the short run, it makes you feel good. But in the long run, it?s a disaster.

Are you describing the phenomenon that is Donald Trump?s popularity?

Oh, he?s not the only one. Everybody does it to some extent. By the way, the wonderful thing about Donald Trump is that he?s not in anyone?s pocket. But, of course, that doesn?t mean he doesn?t have the best interests of everybody in mind. The phenomenon of it is funny, scary at times, and that?s as it should be. But I think in the long run, no matter who the president is, there?s only one of him, and there?s hundreds of millions of us. So what we believe, and what we stand for, and what we think, and what we actually do will count for more, in the long run, than whoever the president is. The kind of problems we have are genuinely systemic. This bought-and-sold-ness of politicians and leaders goes all the way down to the local level. It goes down to who is the judge, who gets voted in for the sanitation department head, or whatever. When people profit at the expense of the best wellbeing for everybody, it's not a good situation. And I think that?s what people feel.

There does seem to be a great deal of disillusionment with politics these days...

It?s like it?s almost a lost cause. And, of course, being me, I know it?s not.We?ll get through it. It might be rough, and history will continue to be made, and it?ll just be a different time. I think young people are perfectly capable of handling this. This is not my world anymore. It belongs to people much younger than I. And honestly, I think they?re doing a good job, for the most part.

You have to understand that what changed in the ?60s was not the result of most people doing anything. It wasn?t even a whole lot of people. It was a critical mass. We as messengers of ideas have to remember: You don?t need to convince everybody. You don?t need to convince a lot of people, just enough people. When you have enough people to move the world forward, it will move.

Dennis

..says it all..... ....