WEDNESDAY THOUGHTS: PARTICIPATION--SHE'S "NOT GOING"

Hmmm.

This is one case where I could agree and say without reservation "It's a GIG"--and I don't even LIKE that word. 

My song would have made it crystal clear whose side I was on--even if I had to pen a new one. 

What a lost opportunity for someone to have had a hot microphone in hand. 

Imagine what they could have said or sung. 

We say this is the land of the free, but it seems to be the land of "You'd better do what I say, or you'll never work in this country again."

Performing at the inauguration is not a declaration of undying love or allegiance to the President-elect unless, of course, one is enamored and in lockstep. It's participation in an historical event. 

Participation wouldn't say that I'm deliriously happy about the results of the election. It says I'm an American citizen, who may not be thrilled about the transition, but respect it just as I did 8 years ago. 

I could sing my song, hope it educates, moves, or encourages someone to think, and then put the mike back on the stand, roll out, and go home. 

Why are we holding every performer’s feet to the fire? 

Why are we so angry with the ones who have agreed to perform?
Does participation really make a person a sellout or indicate that they can be bought? 

I'm so tired of bullies of every ilk. Where DO we go to meet to find out what we're all supposed to think? Where is this meeting place where our feelings and opinions are distributed? 

Now I wonder, are the people who are happy that performers are changing their minds, and declining the invitation to perform going to invite them to THEIR events--and compensate them handsomely for their allegiance? Probably not.

People of various professions go to work every day with others whose affiliations, beliefs, lifestyles, opinions, and views are diametrically opposed to their own, but no one expects them to refuse to do, or quit THEIR jobs, boycott, or riot. NO ONE is going to volunteer to assume their financial responsibilities if they DO decide to bend to the whims of bullies, or the principles of others. 

We don't care if our plumbers, electricians, mechanics, accountants, etc. are blue or red—and we don't ask. We just want the work done.

Let me be clear. There are some things that are neither worth one's time nor effort. 

The creative person, however is always caught in a quagmire. 

Where, and in what circumstance does one take and share one's gift? 

The question always looms, "How much is he or she being paid to do THAT?" 

The creative person, whose efforts are often not even viewed as a profession, is ALWAYS expected to make a sacrifice, or suffer being threatened or blackballed. 

That's kind of oppressive and unfair, I think. It says that creative types are not free people; they don't have a right to make decisions for themselves. Their professional and financial futures are always on the line if they don't align with one side or another. 

(We saw how people were appalled that Meryl Streep dared to expound on anything other than acting, as if she's shallow and supposed to stay in an idiot box.) 

People tend to think they own you, and can make or break you. It proves they don't understand why you do what you do, nor do they understand that audiences vary. 

Everyone YOU may have kicked to the curb, has been happily embraced by someone else.

Some people know how to separate a job from an employer, an artist from their art, and politics from a payday. Those who protest your LUCRATIVE choices the most, are usually the people who always want something for nothing, DON'T pay your bills, DON'T offer alternatives, DON'T make purchases (they prefer to burn CD's, watch Youtube, and expect comp tickets to concerts), and WON'T match the dollar amount you are to be paid if you DO that thing they don't want you to do. 

Those who scream "foul" the loudest about the work you choose to do, will be the ones wondering why a GoFundMe account is needed to bury you. 

SO...If it is not tantamount to selling your very soul, go get that coin, and use it for something worthwhile. Yeah, I said it. 

Somebody is ALWAYS going to have something to say about what you do, but they don't know or care if you're one can of soup away from hunger, or one late payment away from homelessness. While they're sitting around celebrating your capitulation, they don't know whether you're in the red or black.

Be yourself, do your job, do it well, maintain your integrity, and then, since they gave it to you anyway, utilize that platform to the hilt. People know who they're getting when they call on you--or they SHOULD. If you don't deliver the loyalty they demand; if you're not easily manipulated, they'll know NEXT time not to call you.

I guess I'm getting old...lol... 

SOOOO many valuable personal and working relationships, and opportunities to positively impact others; share different points of view, share CHRIST even, and build bridges are forfeited because of a need or demand to please people who are contributing ZERO to your life. 

If I'm asking you to give up something, I should be prepared to offer an alternative. I should guarantee what I'm expecting you to abandon--or shut up.