I'm kind of struggling with This Land. It's one of the few -- and honestly I can't think of another just now -- songs in The Canon that is an explicit expression of class struggle. And the point of having a Latina sing it at the Inauguration was not to troll Natives, but to troll Nativists. As between settlers, working class people ha…
I'm kind of struggling with This Land. It's one of the few -- and honestly I can't think of another just now -- songs in The Canon that is an explicit expression of class struggle. And the point of having a Latina sing it at the Inauguration was not to troll Natives, but to troll Nativists. As between settlers, working class people have as much right to be here as owning class people, Latinas as much as the descendants of WASP colonizers. And, other than the Indigenous Erasure, it's a really good song. Great tune, catchy affirming chorus. Our parents/grandparents sang it as children. (That Dave Rawlings version on the internet, a medley with I Hear Them All, is particularly inspiring. Other than, other than . . .)
The obvious issue, of course, is the 'Other than The Indigenous Erasure Problem' which pervades so much of everything, in an 'other than that Mrs. Lincoln' kind of way.
If he was alive today, Woody would be working at a way to resolve this. Obviously, the hard work falls to all of us (unequally, of course) to develop a new consciousness and a new Canon. Joe Biden isn't the Second Coming, and no one has a magic wand to undo 5 centuries of injustice. All we can do is plod forward, take our lumps when we misstep, and help our grandchildren understand the obligations they will inherit to continue the work.
I'm kind of struggling with This Land. It's one of the few -- and honestly I can't think of another just now -- songs in The Canon that is an explicit expression of class struggle. And the point of having a Latina sing it at the Inauguration was not to troll Natives, but to troll Nativists. As between settlers, working class people have as much right to be here as owning class people, Latinas as much as the descendants of WASP colonizers. And, other than the Indigenous Erasure, it's a really good song. Great tune, catchy affirming chorus. Our parents/grandparents sang it as children. (That Dave Rawlings version on the internet, a medley with I Hear Them All, is particularly inspiring. Other than, other than . . .)
The obvious issue, of course, is the 'Other than The Indigenous Erasure Problem' which pervades so much of everything, in an 'other than that Mrs. Lincoln' kind of way.
If he was alive today, Woody would be working at a way to resolve this. Obviously, the hard work falls to all of us (unequally, of course) to develop a new consciousness and a new Canon. Joe Biden isn't the Second Coming, and no one has a magic wand to undo 5 centuries of injustice. All we can do is plod forward, take our lumps when we misstep, and help our grandchildren understand the obligations they will inherit to continue the work.
Oh, yes, the work is now ours. And plodding seems to be the best description.