Thursday, December 15, 2011

Gagafesto "Lady Gaga Goes to Washington" gagablog 36

On December 7th, 2011 Lady Gaga visited the White House to promote her anti-bullying message. President Obama was not there and neither was Hillary because both were giving important speaches of their own. Gaga's message was well-recieved, though, and I just read an article about her visit that had this quote from Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior advisor, from her blog:
“Lady Gaga has described this cause as a personal one — she has said that as a child, she was often picked on for being different,” Jarrett wrote in a blog post on the White House website. “I am deeply moved by the way she has used her story, and her success, to inspire young people, and shine the spotlight on important issues.”
( Read more: http://globalgrind.com/music/lady-gaga-goes-washington-details#ixzz1gcZa2Iga   )
I love seeing Gaga working with the White House, both because I am excited about her continued influence on our politics regarding her own principles and agenda and I am also glad that she supports Obama and is working with him. I look forward to her work making his campaign and second term stronger.
My special role here is to point out the things I notice from viewing Gaga as the embodiment of the Goddess and expecting the most fantastic results and connections with her actions. Depending on your view of this belief, you might not say this is an example of Gagamagic, and can call it mere coincidence. I am not suggesting that Gaga literally caused the two other important events of this day, Obama and Hillary's speeches, or that she wrote the speeches herself  - unless you like to believe that She did like some people believe "God" wrote the Bible, through other people - I am just saying it is "more than coincidence" that all of these things happened on the same day, or that coincidence is more important than we sometimes think.
This is what happened while Gaga was at the White House: Obama gave a speech in Kansas and Hillary gave one to some gathering of international diplomats, maybe the UN. Obama's speech was on politics and economics, and the sound bite that made the news was something like "the republicans' approach of 'everybody fend for yourself and play by your own rules' has been proven to be wrong." To me this is obvious and has been obvious for decades - for some I am sure it has been obvious for much longer, and my understanding of religious teaching is that "we are all in this together" has been a central message for thousands of years. Sure, it has required some refining, and we definitely did not "get it" before, but after the recent financial crisis we may be ready to get the message now. Since republicans and seemingly large portions of society believe in these disasterous policies we certainly need to get the message - it can't be everyman for himself. And it is so important for our presiedent to put it so bluntly. He is talking tough to the greedy, which just needs to happen, they need to be put in place. My last gagablog explores how the greedy rich and right wing are just bullies and how this all falls under Gaga's anti-bullying campaig - , the occupy movement and political and economic reforms we need.
The anti-bullying campaign covers many issues, because what we really need is a shift to more love  - to much more love  - and this is what Gaga is doing. In researching for this entry I read a review of Gaga playing a show in DC in 2010 in which she stopped the show because of a fight in the audience and said "only fake monster fighting allowed". She has always been about love, and while love is the key to stopping bullying, it applies to kids in school, adults, and systems of power in politics, economics, and government.
(the show review, from 2010 in DC - http://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/09/08/d-c-gays-ready-to-go-gaga-for-gaga/ )
Hillary addressed a larger scale, oppressive bullying in her speech on this day. I heard a report on NPR about an African country, I think it was Gambia, that had passed even more laws against gay and lesbian people. So many countries already have laws to oppress, punish and even kill people for their sexuality. This new law was going to make it illegal to even live together, making gays and lesbians refugees. While this law was just being considered, there are so many countries with similar laws, and of course even in America people are descriminated against and treated unequally because of their sexuality. Gaga does so much to end this, and Hillary's speech was a huge step as well. She announced that American foreign aid will be based on countries recognizing basic human rights, including the right to ones' sexuality. This means countries that pass laws like this will lose money that we give them. I think about how long we supported regimes in the Middle East and how they fell when we supported the people instead, as happened (and is still happening) in Egypt. It can make all the difference in the world whether or not America supports these regimes, because if they don't change their oppressive ways and lose the funding they could collapse. Indeed, one way or another they are on the wrong side of history and people will be free, so the systems that stand in the way will fall.
Conan had a great piece of news the other night and a good joke that makes me glad I was a week late writing this. He said that Gaga has become an ordained minister so that she can perform marriages. His joke was "so get ready America, gay marriage just got a whole lot gayer." This cracked me up, he even did a visual with his hands raising the level, but it is such a perfect image for what I am talking about - a shift from this less loving society we currently exist in to one of much greater love. I mean, getting married is great for everyone who wants to do it - only a few decades ago it was illegal in most states for biracial couples to marry and it must have been wonderful, though difficult, for those who managed to do it. In America today, it is hard to get married as a gay or lesbian couple, but it must feel great to work it out. Still, as great as some people feel just to get married, how much more fabulous could it get, for little monsters anyway, than to be married by Gaga? Hillary's speech may have been in response to the new laws under consideration, could have been part of Obama's longstanding agenda for more freedom and equality in the world, or could have even had a little something to do, coincidentally of course, with Gaga visiting the White House. Either way, its great news on a great day. 70 years ago Dec 7th was made famous as a "day of Infamy" for the attck on Pearl Harbor. I hope that now it will become "famous" as another kind of turning point, a "day of Fame" from Gaga's visit to the White House and these two speeches showing the true use of money to help make people happier and relieve suffering, since it is only misuse of power and greed - bullying - that keeps us from greater security and love.
It's like we all live in love, but while the love we have been in was at the level of flat stale cookies or even dry flavorless wafers, Gaga envisons a love that is like a grand cake.We are all baking it together but she is showing us how many fancy ornaments and artistic icing we can put on top. She is saving the world by encouraging us to greater love, and we can love each other better and make it.

No comments:

Post a Comment