gagablog 78: Election Day and Gaga

I've written the last two editions without getting to the point, what Gaga has to do with it, what she said at the Denver show. I should start with that but I wanted to try and sum up what I've been trying to say in one or two phrases. And then today the big news is UN climate change panel announcements that we need to move quickly to renewable resources and scientists are "even more certain than ever" that climate change is real and we barely have time to try to fix it. But they were saying that, convincingly enough for me back in the 80's when I was in school: that we only had until around 2010 to turn things around. We seem to need worse and worse disasters to convince us it is real, so much are the stupid people in America sawyed by the oil companies and republican party. This gives much more emphasis to the point I've been trying to make this month in my gagablog: I've been writing it in response to the strife in Syria and Iraq, in response to police brutality, and in response to ebola but also to the whole mid-term election political climate, the incessant ads in Colorado about the Republicans who want to outlaw abortion and birth control. And the fact that they would try to roll back the legalization of weed, even if that is not what the ads are about, the candidates have made that clear. The whole climate change and energy debate got shelved for political reasons in Colorado, but as they are projecting Republican victories here it really makes me wish they had made an issue of frakking in this election because people are, and should be, upset about it. I was so proud, again, of the Simpsons for making an episode all about the dangers of frakking, the last episode to come out before election day. To me this is the media magic I'm always writing this about, but you get that if you read this and I need to get to the point. The two phrases I wanted to sum it up with are something like this: We Can't Possibly Live in a Future World where we have addressed climate change with the global cooperation it will require - we can't live at all if we don't - but there is no such future in which we can come together as much as is required to address this dire issue but we don't also take care of the problems of war, poverty, and injustice. We won't have gender equality and still have police brutality, we won't have a green economy and also have illegal weed: all these problems are fixed together. And in the future that can exist, when they are fixed, we won't be able to look back and see only the feminst movement, or only the environmental movement, or only the anti-police brutality movement, or only the marriage equality movement, or only the Occupy movement, or only the universal health care movement, or only the legalization movement, or only the immigrants-rights movement, etc., as being the initial or sole cause of the change - it all comes together. You can't really have any of these solutions without having them all. And in Colorado we are in the unique position of legalizing weed, a huge step towards this future, a pioneering example to everyone else. And we are about to, potentially, lose this and go backwards if the republicans get their way to outlaw reproductive freedom and backlash against any gun control. But if we vote that way, if we still have that many dumbasses in the state, we deserve that evil, I guess. Just like I guess we deserved the Bush presidents and Reagan, but we weren't the only ones to suffer, the whole world does. And the whole world will suffer if Colorado, specifically, does not do the right thing and vote liberally in this election. I feel confident and magically intend that we will, that is the real purpose of this gagablog right now. And i just want to sum up how it is Gaga's will, the will of the Goddess of Love, and give the examples of what she said at the Denver show and basically what Gaga means to me, to tie it all together. This Is What I Remember Gaga Saying at the Denver Show, and I haven't gone to look for videos to remind me yet like I want to, and it has been 3 months, so I won't get the words right, but you'll get the idea. She said Always Remember This Time we Have Together and I can't begin to say all that means to me, but in this context it means don't forgetwhat this is all about and vote, remember me on Election Day. I keep thinking about one thing she said at the end, If You Have a Dream, Chase it Like The Fastest Horse You've Ever Seen. This has been chiding me to be an artist, and this is one way I know Gaga will save the world, even if we don't universally give her credit for it. Just as I was trying to say last time, doing anything to raise awareness and educate on issues is good, whether it is fashion or social media or protest or activism or a mission or art. There is something special about art and the ability of art to inspire across generations, to connect people with issues of the past, or ensure that issues of the day will be known and recognized in the future. Another news story, here in Colorado, was a recent report detailing the responsibility of the Territorial Governor in the massacre of a tribe of people in Sand Creek 150 years ago, the Sand Creek Massacre. These things are important and it is artists and activists who keep issues alive when it takes so many generations to get justice, in some circumstances. I feel like I can barely do this anymore, write this gagablog, because it has been an outlet while I feel like I have stress and sleepiness from work and feel like I can't get into my art, music, and writing enough to do more serious work but have to do something, but after what she said about the horse I can't do that anymore, it is not good enough to make excuses. I feel like I have been riding along in the chriot, of life and lately of Gaga's art, and enjoying the ride, being carried along and writing this travelogue of the scenery, but now it is time to get out and run, make my own art, really write the books I'm obsessed with, put the time and focus into it, and get some things done. She said she is happy to see so many of her fans making art and being creative, she called us the most authentic fanbase of the new millinium or something, but she said she did not have that encouragement growing up and she really wants to give that to us: that is why she is our Mother Monster, even for monsters like me who are older than she is. And I love my mom and dad as I know Gaga loves her parents, and I'm sure we are totally appreciative of the ways our folks did support us, but I think i can relate to this based on just a social fear of art and past generations being even more wary of it. My folks were encouraging of me as an artist, but as a hobby: they always insisted I find "real work" and pursue art/music on the side, and I know that is just wanting to look out for what they saw as my best interest, but it is not true to my nature. I'm very grateful for my work, as stressful, tiring, lonely and isolating as it is, but I always know and believe my true work is art, and it makes it easier to deal with "work work". I love and appreciate my folks for all sorts of support, but that unconditional love for art, for me as an artist and potential artist, is rarer to find, the society is so scared of it, so Gaga fulfills a deep need in that role. This is the difference, this is the point of cultural transformation, and more people are choosing a creative life and it is becoming more accepted. I'm ready to do it now, more than ever, after years and decades of dabbling, and I know other people inspired by Gaga are coming alive in this way and many more will in future years -there is just no way to gauge, imagine, or estimate her impact. One of the strongest statements she made, to me, was when she talked about people trying to say her music wouldn't have an audience in the midwest. She said "there are gay people in the midwest" like what are you even talking about, music-industry guy? She also said something like "Just because you are gay, or you like art, does not make you fucking invisible." And I think this Respect for Art is another frontier that is saving the world. One of our greatest social injustices has been homophobia but we are turning the corner on that. Even the cool new Pope Francis is advocating more acceptance of gay people and held a council on it in which the bishops or whoever are still divided - how does that work? I thought the Pope could just tell them what was right, especially when he is correct. But I guess the world has not changed enough, yet, so it is easier to agree with someone telling you something that is wrong. But we are changing the world, that is the whole point. And society has made certain people invisible, but we are revealing ourselves, Gaga is revealing us, the Goddess of Love, Venus on Earth, is setting these examples in the media and the Goddess of your heart is calling to you, to your artistic soul, even if you don't recognize Gaga or even notice her. I know my art and music will change the world, I have always known that, and I know others will, too, just as artists and musicians of the past helped forge the goodness of the current world and give us vision of an even better future. And voting is part of it, too. I take the magical approach but I know it has to be reflected in the physical world. I imagine few or no people will read this in time to be influenced to vote but I have to put it out there for the magic of it, to declare my true heartfelt desire for the democrats to win, not because they fulfill all the wishes of my heart - I wish they were running against frakking here, for example - but because it is a step in the right direction, forwards not back. And one of the key issues here is weed. Probably the topic Gaga made the most comments about at the Denver show, actually. She read a letter a monster handed her, invited him and another monster to hang out with her after the show, and she said something about how we all share some philosophy and belief. She said one thing we agree on is that weed should be legal, and I think she made a comment on our indoor cloud in the Pepsi Center. She introduced "Dope" by saying she hopes no one misinterprets it as a call to sobriety but she hopes we can fins what she found, a happy middle between sober and a wreck. I think weed is crucial in finding this - many creative people besides me attest to weed fostering the creative process: Gaga herself smokes weed when she writes lyrics, she has said in interviews. She tweeted support for us in Colorado when we first legalized it (and told her friend not to move away, I think) but the number of times she mentioned it at the show point to how central an issue it is. I can't get into all the benefits of weed here, I wrote a whole book on it, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Smoking Weed", but I will just say it relates to every other issue, environmentalism, poverty, feminism, liberty, social justice, and art. It is one of those issues that is so major, that gets to the heart of the problem of our society so well, if we fix it we will fix everything else along with it. It's almost like the massive problems of the world are just a house of flimsy cards: greed, racism, stifling thought, etc - but if you really pull one out the whole thing collapses. We are already seeing some of the benefits of legalizing weed, socially, which should be a great argument for legalization for other places if we can keep enjoying the trends. Yes, people are discovering how many medical benefits it has, which threatens the pharmaceutical industry in a huge way, but more immediate results are evident in some statistics: since legalizing weed our overdose deaths from pharmaceuticals and our drunk driving accidents, two of the leading causes of death in America, have both been reduced by 25%. In One Year. If we keep making progress like that, and get evidence of other benefits, like hundreds and thousands of kids getting pain relief and medicine that pills just can't do for them, well the more of this we can show to the world the more it will become an obvious moral failing to NOT legalize weed. This has been my focus for over 20 years, as long as I've smoked weed, and I'm so appreciative of liberators like Gaga who spoke out about it and of our Colorado voters for legalizing it and I hope we can appreciate what a good thing we have going and preserve and improve it, setting the best example to the world. But you know the evil people, whose companies and interests profit from suffering, not helping people, will try to take over and mess it all up or make it all look bad, and we can't let that happen. In a way I'm freaking out and tense because I don't want to go backwards on this issue, or any other - don't want to make abortion and contraception illegal, etc, repeal Obamacare, arm everyone especially the craziest, or any of the other repressive conservative agenda. But in another way I know we will reach the utopian future, I hope we are already taking off, never to return, but if we do have to learn another lesson about how bad things can be with conservatives in charge then I guess we will learn it. I just know we are better than that, and the polls are just skewed because only certain demographics have landline phones and answer them. I just can't accept that more people don't appreciate the benefits of the liberal agenda, and I would be glad and eager to discuss any of those points with anyone, which makes me want to get active in politics myself, but in the meantime I will do this informal media magic - democrats will win in Colorado and the nation and have a surprise window to make progress in which so much good will get accomplished the republican party will schism and eventually be destroyed. Is that too hopeful? I think not, we need to become effective again and then tackle the really big issues like climate change and justice here and around the world. The sooner we do it the easier it will be. I know we are setting an example in Colorado and I do want to become more active now that I've gotten scared how it could be reversed, but even more it motivates me to make my art and music and change the world that way. I do believe in magic and making this magical intention for Democrats to win - I saw Mark Udall speak at the State Democratic Convention when I was a delegate for Obama and then I stood next to him when Obama came to rally us with a speech and yelled out "Save Big Bird!" at one point and "Hemp!" when the President was talking about alternative energy. I hope I did not embarrass the Senator, but I have those memories and that contact (I also touched Obama's ring finger that day through the crowd, on his wedding anniversary) and I'm envisioning a happy, victorious Udall tomorrow. Hickenlooper, too. And I wish we had bucked national trends and just gone with it, rallied the base by inviting Obama to campaign and be proud of all the progress we are making. I wish a blowjob had not made Clinton a non-factor in trying to elect Gore - if he has just said "screw you prudes" and appealed to the people who aren't repressed, who have maybe enjoyed a blowjob themselves even, then we could have elected Gore, never went to war in Iraq and even gotten started, 14 years earlier, on addressing climate change - and of course all the other issues. Ok, I will end this "short edition" but I have to repeat - house of cards, time for repression and injustice and war and fear to end. And we can end all the bad stuff and make a new world of love and kindness, without fear and hate. We've got to vote today, stay active and engaged tomorrow and in the future and even after "our" personal issues are resolved, even after we can marry and toke in peace we need to seek out any other injustices and get it right by turning left. V is for Venus and V is for Vote, get out and vote liberally and we can take us to a leader of Love, make this a planet of love. This old world can die off like it's always been a little too dead inside and we can be love. We can wake up, come alive, as artists and as society and end this conservative Zombie apocalypse that keeps trying to re-arise. Stake that fucker with a glowstick and lets party into a brave world of art and love!