Politics By Other Means

I often fantasized spending one year in a foreign country where they didn’t celebrate the same holidays or follow the same obligatory rituals. I should have been more careful what I wished for, as now, everything has changed, and I don’t have to go anywhere.

I think political conventions, especially the most recent ones, have been sort of useless. Truth be told, I have always had a little bit of a problem with them, stemming from early childhood, when my favorite afternoon children’s TV shows were pre-empted by days of convention coverage. Boring speeches by old people. It all seemed to take forever. I won’t tell you which administration was in power, but I can say that TV was a fairly young technology.

At least in the old days, party conventions were necessary for delegates to agree on a presidential nominee, so there was some suspense involved. They weren’t the long infomercials they have turned into. By necessity this year, conventions will be decidedly unconventional, as we won’t see thousands of sign-carriers crammed into a big hall. Mr. Eastwood really would have to talk to an empty chair. Instead we will have the virtual version.

I do think it’s kind of a relief in a way, though we will all drown in media “hit pieces” that are much more hyperbolic than usual. On the other hand, we need to relieve boredom, as this summer includes life without the Olympics.

The road to November will be definitely less-traveled, but the destination remains the same. At this writing, Joe Biden has not picked his running mate yet. Above all else, she (how many times have we said THAT?) will need to be not just smart and aligned with his views but a spare President, able to take the wheel if something happens to him.

And it’s not just about him and her. With all the talent in his party, Mr. Biden should not be hesitant to drop a few names as to who the members of his cabinet  might be – for no other reason than to convey to the opposition that it’s facing not just two people but a team.

In my own opinion, should Mr. Biden win, there may be a need for a whole new cabinet secretary to head an agency called the Department of Undo.

 

America, and the World, Have Talent

How many sentences begin with, “A Facebook friend told me about…”? True for some of you at least. But such a friend introduced me to an FB page called Socially Distant Fest.  Run by a Georgia startup called Stay Home Productions, LLC, Socially Distant Fest operates on the principle of providing a virtual stage for artists and performers currently unable to appear before live audiences to entertain from home.

These are not people we have heard of. They are primarily regular folks unable to get to their day jobs, so they have time on their hands. About 99 percent seem to be singers who play acoustic guitar, but not all. Also featured are those who play other instruments, like the piano, the harp, and even something called the theremin. There is an 11-year old boy raising money to buy a new drum set. Yes, these folks can raise money through a “virtual tip jar” system. While most are musicians, I have run across a couple of Tarot card readers, a woman who dances by her pool with curved light sticks, and an artist who makes patterns on fabric. I also found someone who leads medit

So are these people worth watching? I don’t think the site administrators let everyone on, but the vetting process, if any, doesn’t appear too restrictive. The quality of performers is surprisingly high, though.

Among my personal favorites are two sisters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina who sing almost every day and have built up a large following. But it’s not just America that has talent. There is a young woman in Transylvania – yes, THAT Transylvania – who sings jazz, pop, rock, even a little rap, in both English and Hungarian, her native language. But don’t worry. While now Transylvanian, she does perform during the day as well as at night, and Dracula lives (so to speak) at least 100 miles away.

Many of these amateur or semi-pro musicians are covering hit songs, but a surprising number are showing off original work. Maybe, before the coronavirus, they were reduced to making their own solitary YouTube posts, but now there is a stage for them. I recommend Socially Distant Fest if you’re tired of the politics, COVID rants, memes with quotes from unknown sages, invitations to share, quizzes to find out which superhero you might otherwise be, or, of course, the endless parade of selfies. I find Socially Distant Fest a refreshing escape, kind of needed right now.

 

A Tale of Two People, One City

I used to live in Palm Springs, California, long enough to call it my ex-hometown. It has current controversies involving two celebrities, one widely and the other more locally known.

First, there is Mary Hart, globally recognized as the longtime co-host of Entertainment Tonight, and more recently as emcee of the annual Gala at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. But her latest emcee gig, President Trump’s July 3 fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore, has some demanding that she be relieved of her Film Festival duties. So now it’s a free speech thing.

Mary Hart is a South Dakota native, a friend of the state’s governor, and was free to accept her role. But Trump opponents are also free to react. If we’re talking about a movie-industry awards show, the idea of changing hosts is hardly shocking. I’m sure Mary was aware of the possible consequences of doing the Trump event, For the moment, there are no plans to fire her from the Film Festival.

The other controversy is a little more complicated. Frank Bogert, the oft-called “cowboy mayor” of Palm Springs, served two stretches in office, one in the 1980s and the other in the 1960s. A statue of him on a horse has been in front of City Hall for some 30 years. The late mayor, who spent the better part of his 99-year life in Palm Springs, gets much of the credit for turning the city into a Hollywood getaway and international resort, He was the town’s premier historian as well. But in 1966, he supported the abrupt clearing of Section 14, a blighted square mile of land near downtown, almost overnight displacing hundreds of low-income residents, many of color. The action brought a sharp rebuke from the California attorney general. Now, in keeping with our times, petitioners are calling for the removal of the Bogert statue.

I know how I’m supposed to feel about this in the current climate, but I’m not sure I do. In Frank Bogert, what we saw was what we got, and most of us approved. I cannot deny the unfortunate events of 1966 (before my time in Palm Springs). All I can say about Mayor Frank is, I never knew him to be a racist. That’s not to say he didn’t have a tin ear at times, but he was never mean, and he had a genuine love for his city. From some accounts, he was interested in helping Indian landowners, including those of Section 14, gainfully develop their property, not in oppressing poor people.

Ideally, I would favor a ballot measure on this statue issue, so that voters who have lived in town longer have as much of a voice as more recent arrivals. Survivors of the abuses of the 1960s and their descendants could also have a vote.

Yeah, a nice idea, but it would just prolong this dispute. I can only hope then that members of the City Council stay off bandwagons and recognize their obligation to hear all voices and go beyond who turns in the longest petition.