Messina for President - 2013

Messina for President – 2013

I went to a JoDee Messina concert a few years ago during Cheyenne Frontier Days, a week-long rodeo-themed booze festival. During the evening hours of Frontier Days, a stage replaces the bucking bulls, broncos, and rodeo clowns, and the nation’s top country singers come out to play. They are lit not only by the lights on stage, but also the distant beams of carnival rides and the orange glow of cigarette butts, and of course the obligatory waving lighters that appear at the beginning of every slow song. And in addition to these various light sources, the one and only JoDee Messina was lit by a righteous fire from within. Her cheeks radiated goodness and her smile outshined even the brightest swaying flame, which was actually a lot brighter than you might think (someone must have changed their lighter for a blowtorch). And she lit a fire in the heart of every listener as she spoke in between songs:

Jo Dee: You know, I think the world would be a much better place if we would just love a little more and hate a little less.

Crowd: Yeeessss!!! Yeeeahhhh!! Jo Deeeee!!! [The fans raised their voices with their glasses and drank to the brilliant words spoken by their fair JoDee]

Jo Dee: You know, I don’t know why we think we need to buy expensive clothes from Armani or Goutier or any of those other designer labels. You know where I bought this shirt? Wal-Mart!

Crowd: Yeessss!! Yeahh!! I love you JoDee!!! [The roar bellowed from the crowd and tears gushed from their eyes]

Jo Dee: You know, I think if we just stopped fighting these wars and started loving one another, there would be peace on earth.”

Crowd: Oh yeahhh!!! Yesss!!!! JoooDeeeeeee! [Hands burst forth from the crowd, all raising the sign of peace toward Heaven, and strangers fell upon strangers, offering free embrace in the spirit of good will]

Jo Dee had transformed the heart and soul of every individual in attendance that night. That is, until the concert ended and those individuals hit the town. Bottles were popped, cans were cracked, and drunken debauchery ensued in all its forms.
For some reason, as fundamentally pure and good as JoDee’s words sounded, and as inspired as some in attendance felt, it all added up to nothing, because the words were never applied to real life.
So please, let’s not shed tears over the slick words spoken by our new President, Barack Obama, until his words get applied to real life. Remember, he still hasn’t done anything.

Please allow one more analogy:

As I looked at the faces of those present at the Presidential Inauguration, I couldn’t help but think back to clips of the Beatles on tour, and the mania that gripped the teenage girls in their presence. Their worship of these musicians led them to complete hysteria, almost to the point that it looked painful for them to be there, screaming, crying, pulling their hair…
I have seen that reaction from fans only one other time, and it was at an Oasis concert. That’s right. Oasis. The difference between those two bands (among many) is that the Beatles actually had a few platinum records under their belt, while Oasis had succeeded only in convincing a few poor saps that they were as big and successful as the Beatles!
Obama has succeeded in convincing the world that he is The One, or at the very least, the new Lincoln. For all we know, the mass hysteria might be getting spent over just another one-hit-wonder…