This Is Why P!nk Moves Me!

We are searchlights, we can see in the dark

We are rockets, pointed up at the stars

We are billions of beautiful hearts

And you sold us, down the river too far

This is why P!nk moves me!  After a post in which I complained that she'd been absent for too long, I now make my repentance.  I should have known better!  From the very first time I ever listened to a whole album of hers, 2001's M!ssundaztood, I was moved by her music, and that only grew with each new record, Try This, I'm Not Dead, Funhouse, and the ultimate, the one that got me to make a silly video lip-syncing to her, The Truth About Love.  

Yup, the master lyricist and overall uber-talent has done it again, perhaps even eclipsing (sorry, I couldn't help myself!) anything she's ever done in the past, and that's saying a lot.   At a time when we all could use a clear head, without all of the bickering, name calling and such, she's given us this gift, this gem of a tune, and it's from all of our perspectives.  

What about us?

What about all the times you said you had the answers?

What about us?

What about all the broken happy ever afters

What about us?

What about all the plans that ended in disasters?

What about love? What about trust?

What about us?

I've heard P!nk say in the past that she doesn't like to tell anyone the meaning behind her words, that she likes fans to garner their own significance from them, but this time there is no mistake.  P!nk has gotten political before, back during the Bush years with the raw Dear Mr. President, with the Indigo Girls.  That time, there was no doubt which side of the political spectrum she was speaking from. She performed the song during the Funhouse Tour in 2009, and when she did she said that she'd been booed while performing it in certain places.  The partisan divide that's ripping this country apart today was already well into big-crack mode.  

We are problems that want to be solved

We are children that need to be loved

We were willing, we came when you called

But then you fooled us, enough is enough

This time around, P!nk isn't singing from one side of the aisle, though it isn't hard to see from the video to the song that she's still writing from the same perspective.  However, if we can all look beyond what we know to be her views, forget left or right or anywhere else, we can easily see that she speaks for all of us, and maybe if we listen closely, we will understand.

Back in January, Patrick Crowley opined in Billboard Magazine whether the singer would write a Dear Mr. President for Mr. Trump.  She'd been openly vocal about her displeasure with the newly elected President, but at the time there was no hit of any song:

“To anyone reading this: if you think this is a time for misogynistic jokes, or for laughing about voting in a person that doesn't believe in climate change, or humanity. To any of you closet racists, homophobes, sexists..... please block me. Please unfollow me. We do not respect each other. You do not have my respect, and I obviously don't have yours. We are not friends. To everyone else, we shall overcome. Stay on the path of love and tolerance. Hug your kids. Teach them about diversity and about fighting for others, and sticking up for themselves. I will do my part.”

Yes, there is no doubt to how P!nk looks at our President, and things have gotten worse in the seven months since she said that.  But with this song, she's not pointing a direct and angry finger at Trump. The they she speaks of includes virtually anyone who's said they had the answers, made broken promises for our happy ever afters and made plans that ended in disaster.  Sure, that includes our current Commander in Chief, but also past ones, as well as congressmen, senators, Cabinet members, and virtually anyone else who has an R or a D next to their name.    

What about us?

What about all the times you said you had the answers?

What about us?

What about all the broken happy ever afters?

What about us?

What about all the plans that ended in disasters?

What about love? What about trust?

What about us?

Yeah, what about us?  Politicians from all sides have been working for a long long time to create this great divide that is scarily coming to a head, and yet they never do anything really that makes our lives better, fixes our problems, or shows their loyalty to us, the ones who always come calling.  All they've done is point fingers, ridicule, and line their own pockets off the true holders of power, those with money.  And we all suffer the consequences.  

Unfortunately, she seems to hearken something I've been afraid of for a very long time now, something terrifying that I alluded to in my last opinion post:

  Sticks and stones they may break these bonesBut then I'll be ready, are you ready?

It's the start of us, we cannot come on

Are you ready? I'll be ready

I don't want control, I want to let go

Are you ready? I'll be ready

And now it's time to let them know

Yes, I am with her.  I am ready!  There are a great many of us in this country who recognize the ominous state that this Administration is leading us towards, and I hope to God that it never comes to pass, but if it does, yes, I'll be ready.  I would hope that many will take a hard listen to the words of this song and will recognize that the two sides in this struggle are not necessarily what we think they are.  Though we may think differently, we are all a part of those billions of beautiful hearts and we all just want to be happy.  We need to recognize this and let them know.  Take a listen and a look at this cleverly written piece and accompanying video and you'll realize that P!nk is such a gift.  There's a reason why this song has resonated with so many, but it needs to resonate even more!  

  

A Special Song of the Day Post, with Commentary - Dear Mr. President - P!nk, with Indigo Girls

Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me
Let's pretend, we're just two people and
You're not better than me
I'd like to ask you some questions if we could speak honestly

Well, after months and months we are finally here.  The day of reckoning!  This is undoubtedly one of the most momentous days in our 240 years of history, the world is watching, and the stakes couldn't be any higher.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray to at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

Today's song was written about another president who took office after another very contentious election season 16 years ago.  Back then, so many of us were angry.  We'd felt cheated and we feared for our future.  Unfortunately, those fears came to pass as 8 years of that poor choice brought us two wars, one plausibly acceptable, and the other completely unnecessary and based on lies.  Thousands of people lost their lives as those in the inner circles enriched themselves off of the misery of others. We tortured our enemies in questionable violation of international law.  Our economy was in shambles.  The housing market crashed.  Unemployment rates and the deficit soared as the stock market fell.  We all suffered...but we survived.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother hs no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me, in the eye, and tell me why?

It was 8 years ago now that we made history.  We'd finally said enough as a nation and brought the other party back into power.  A black man had been elected president.  Hope was at hand. Unfortunately, whatever popularity this new President brought to the office was despised by many, either because he was a black man or simply from the 'other side.'

His integrity was questioned and every attempt he made at progress was met with unprecedented obstruction, which remains to this very day as the Supreme Court's power has been unconstitutionally and unprecentendtedly checked by the branch of government still controlled by the former president's party. The supposed outrage that's been spun over the past 8 years truly boggles my mind, as the previous 8 years of absolute misery seem to be an aberration to those on the other side.  Perhaps there is a case of mass amnesia.

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
How can you say, 
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind
They're all sitting in your cells
As you pave the road to hell  

So now we have this...an anti-establishment billionaire vowing to "Make America Great Again." Does anyone out there really believe that we are no longer a great country?  Please look me in the eye, and tell me why.

Of course, our choice is minimal.  One out of two, well in reality four, people.  But that in itself is a problem we must overcome.  Yes, the establishment is crooked all over.  Both sides of the aisle work first towards their own personal gain before helping us, the little people.  It's been that way for a long, long time.  The United States of America has become the United Corporations of America, where special interests gain favor to our detriment.  Yes, we need an anti-establishment president.  This isn't the one, though.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father mght hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way, from whiskey and cocaine

The climate of our politics has been dividing us for too many years now.  Politicians tell outrageous lies simply for their own gain.  And we believe them, yet our lives never seem to change that much for the better, no matter what they say.  Right?

Today we all have a huge choice to make.  For seemingly all of us, the choice is clear.  Unfortunately, that choice isn't the same.  While I see it as the choice between a seasoned, yet admittedly flawed candidate and a misogynistic, inexperienced and impulsive bully, others actually believe that the bully would do us better.  Well in my eyes, that bully has cheated our country of thousands and thousands of dollars in taxes, gone bankrupt on quite a few occasions, and looks to divide us rather than unite us.  He doesn't deserve to be president.

Let me tell you about hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you about hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you about hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you about hard work, hard work, hard work
You don't know nothing about hard work

Yeah, those 8 years were terrible!  But they seem like nothing now compared to what could happen in the next 8.  It truly makes me sad...and a little scared, too.  Why do we spend so much time hating and being sheep rather than keeping informed, loving one another and really making the world and our country a better place?  We should all be on the same side.

I only hope that today we get it right and we make it better.  Maybe someday in the future we will find a true anti-establishment hero willing to lead us all into a brighter future.  Until then, we need to make the right choice, or the next time could be even worse.