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The Silence Surrounding Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Perhaps unlike any President in American history – certainly in modern times – Barack Obama began his tenure with hope beaming from the faces of a nation. That word “hope” had been emblazoned on the posters that filled up the nation’s streets, hoisted outside the houses of his supporters and waved during his glorious, historical inauguration. In contrast to previous Presidents, here was a man who inspired change (quite literally) from the get-go.

Not unsurprisingly either. George W Bush, his predecessor, had by the time he left office become the most unpopular, controversial and (in the case of millions of people, American and not) despised man to ever have the privilege of holding the office. The musical community in general were no exception to this rule. In fact, the pop stars and music-makers – maybe more than any other demographic – reserved a special section of their souls for despising this conservative, bastard cowboy. A man who wore Jesus on his sleeve yet seemed to many like the devil in disguise.

In May of 2006, Neil Young (himself a Canadian) released Living With War, a sonic rebuttal of President Bush and his war in Iraq which had begun to make him so controversial, even more so than he had been before his disputed election victory in 2000. The album was a rushed release and in many ways embodied the wide spectrum of visceral, heartfelt and instantaneous hate that spewed from his detractors. American Idiot, probably the most famous anti-Bush track (and album) to come out during his Presidency, was released two years previously by pop-punk juggernauts Green Day. Already members of the great punk tradition of “sticking it to the man”, the band used the track to spit at what they saw as a country that had profoundly lost its way. Iconoclastic and unsentimental about the nation they called home, American Idiot aimed and fired at the rotten ingredients that all seemed to amalgamate themselves in this one, ghastly President. Social conservatism, the “redneck agenda” and even the iconic (almost religious) reverence that was reserved for the American flag were all torn at. In an interview with British music magazine Q, Armstrong commented that “[the flag] means nothing to me. Let’s burn the fucking thing.” Burning flags were things jihadis and terrorists did, not rock musicians. But for this President it seemed the rules of play had changed. Shitting on your country (as some saw it) was apparently OK with such a man at the helm.

This musical hatred wasn’t uncommon since George W Bush can arguably lay claim to being the President who is the subject of the most protest songs during their time in office. He even has the distinction of making Eminem, already an eminent rapper, a politically concious one too. In 2004 his distaste for the man was so strong that it compelled him to register to vote simply so he put a cross next to John Kerry’s name, the Democratic opponent of Bush in the election of that year. 2004 also saw him release the track Mosh, where he appropriates the term “Weapons of Mass Destruction” to describe the President himself: “As we set aside our differences/ And assemble our own army / To disarm this Weapon of Mass Destruction/ That we call our President, for the present / And Mosh for the future of our next generation / To speak and be heard…”

But four years later when the Democrat Barack Obama won the election and entered the White House in January of the next year, it quickly became apparent that things were going to change. Maybe not in terms of policy but certainly in the President’s rhetoric and the way the musical (and “liberal”) community would respond to it. Musicians, celebrities and artisans from every corner of American cultural life and show business all seemed to throw their weight behind the man who would go on to become the country’s first African-American President. This didn’t stop immediately after the election, for much of Obama’s honeymoon period during his first few months in office, the light that emanated from his backside apparently did not dim. Rumours were abound that the sunglasses-adorned celebrities of Hollywood had taken to wearing their shades 24/7 simply due to the piercing glare of the sun they saw radiating from his rectum. “You can’t replace your eyes, look after them,” is what my Mom would’ve said.

I think it’s important to note that a portion of the anger and vitriol that was aimed at George W Bush could be put down to the fact that the man was a Republican and a staunch Texan conservative — possibly the worst kind if you’re the right sort of person. A sizeable chunk of the criticism that came his way started out from (to nobody’s shock) the mouths of musicians who were self-described liberals, a section of society that would’ve despised the man and denounced his tenure even if he’d of ticked every single one of their political boxes. Such is the way of American politics and it’s dramas. But what remains so stunningly salient about Obama’s subsequent time in the White House is the fact that it has been met with comparative silence. This becomes all the more worrying and nonsensical when you consider that their administrations have been strikingly similar in substance, if not in tone. After Obama was re-elected in 2012, Libertarian magazine Reason published an article entitled “Obama Begins His Second Term—and Bush’s Fourth”, a phrase that matched the despair suffered by much of the progressive left, and his natural core base, who felt that his first four years had delivered none (or very very little) of the “hope” and “change” they had been promised on those posters four years before.

Although criticism of the President from musical circles remains thin on the ground, it isn’t entirely non-existent. Hip hop duo Rebel Diaz released Revolution Has Come in 2013, a response to the 2012 election bearing the lines “Swear to God on my mama, never supported Obama”. If the fact that this condemnation is a Hip-Hop one (a genre usually strong in it’s support for the President) makes you happy, then I ask you to suspend your glee momentarily. Rebel Diaz are a relatively rare thing in Hip Hop in that they are an explicitly political outfit, something that makes this criticism of Obama somewhat less of a shock, perhaps even expected — a duty, maybe. Furthermore, the song is less a critique of the President and more of a denouncement of politics in general (“The Democrats and Republicans both up to no good/They both got in bed with the multi-nationals”) and an appeal to get involved in your community. Hardly Obama’s American Idiot.

When musicians do find it in themselves to criticise the man in the Oval Office, the music press seems to fill the praise vacuum with their coverage. In an article by MTV, Billie Joe Armstrong expressed dismay at the apparent lack of change that had occurred in the 12 months of Obama’s presidency, saying “I think we’re actually in a worse situation”. MTV would go on to call the piece “Green Day Find A Reason To Rage, Even In Obama’s America” — a title that would’ve made sense if only “Obama’s America” was evidently different from the one “Dubya” headed, which it isn’t. Billboard have gone to the extent of listing the “10 Best Songs About The President”, a media display of affection that would’ve been near unthinkable under Bush.

One solitary dissenting voice from the musician’s corner has come from Ted Nugent, a Michigan-born rocker who has been the loudest critic of the incumbent administration to hold a guitar, even threatening to kill Hillary Clinton and the President in 2007 (and calling the latter a “subhuman mongrel” more recently). His political leanings, however, make it hard to raise an eyebrow, having blamed “stoned, dirty, stinky hippies” for “rising rates of divorce, high school drop-outs, drug use, abortion, sexual diseases and crime, not to mention the exponential expansion of government and taxes.” A rant singling Nugent out as a man – if you hadn’t already guessed – who wouldn’t vote Democrat even if the Lord Jesus Christ had asked him to personally. Criticism from a super partisan conservative such as Ted means infinitely less than that from a genuine past supporter, or even a musical individual with delusions of neutrality and objectivity. This loud, almost irrational hatred from hard right-wingers and silence from the traditional Hollywood liberals has been the defining trend of Barack Obama’s time in the White House and his interaction with the music world. Sure, his stance on gay marriage, opposition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and his initial hostility to neverending foreign warfare all deserved praise — Hollywood have given it to him in bundles, not only with their campaign endorsements but also their conspicuous quiet. But a strong and loud slamming for his unkept promises and rhetoric that does not match up with action is in order too. NSA spying and the plights of Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden among them.

Previously as a Senator for Illinois, Barack had been open – even forthright – about his love and appreciation of Hip Hop music, something that kicked out against the received wisdom that the genre was politically toxic and that being an avid listener somehow equated to condoning criminal activity, gang culture and rampant sexism. Having a Hip Hop man in the White House seemed like a fair enough price to pay for a relative political silence in the eyes of much of rap’s elite. Whether self-enforced or brought about by fear, and regardless of how persistently similar he seemed to his predecessor.

In putting their liberal, metropolitan mindset above the duty to critique and remain as activists that hold government to account, many musicians have relinquished their status as political juggernauts. Kanye West seemed to lead the charge against President Bush in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but his (and others) comparative silence when it comes to the enduring errors and hypocrisies of the Obama administration speaks to his bias. “A black Democrat is about as good as we’re going to get,” is a dark, despairing thought you could imagine him – or someone closely politically aligned – resigning themselves to in private company. Understandable given the context. A head of state hailing from one of the western world’s most historically persecuted minorities acts as a potent symbol of change, but it doesn’t mean change in and of itself. Protecting the legacies of incumbent Presidents has never been in the job description of cultural warriors and icons — titles that people like Kanye West (in particular) claim for himself.

Perhaps the stakes are too high though? Since the days of Bush, the rival ends of the spectrum in American politics have been pulled further and further part. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Centre, in the past two decades the number of people self-identifying as either consistently conservative or consistently liberal has doubled. Less and less people are inspired by the common ground, or what’s left of it anyway. The emergence of the far-right and the Tea Party has meant people are less trusting of those on the other side of the debate too, and less inclined to look upon their enemy’s win as anything but a national injustice. The number of Republicans who have “very unfavorable” opinions of the Democratic Party has jumped from 17% to 43% in the last 20 years. Similarly, the share of Democrats with the same very negative opinions of Republicans also has more than doubled, from 16% to 38%.

Why call out the best of a foul lot and spoil it for the team? The lesson in so-called “liberal”, “progressive” music circles – as it is much the same everywhere else – is to shut up about your villain and his or her misdemeanours. Open critique, after all, would only feed your enemies ammunition and ensure their less-than-squeaky-clean mascot gets in, and not yours.

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