An Altered Reality

Perhaps I grew up in an era, the 70's and 80's when America was determined to excel.  We had just  pulled out of a nasty baby killing war in Viet Nam, a country on the other side of the world.  Why were we there?  Another Afghanistan.  Why are we there?  War, continual and brutal expensive war.  A war economy.  We don't know how to do anything else.  Those things which were paramount to Americans seeking peace, popular music, communion, and free love are deemed silly.  An industry which fueled the economy in America for decades, the music industry, which usurped the film industry in revenue was castrated by the internet.  It was a communal result championed by Steve Jobs and his iTunes program, Napster, and the laptop computer in general.  Being able to stream music and share it undercut America's ability to be able to sell music for an equitable price.  Consequently America's music today has no value.  A commodity with no value certainly does not make the quality improve.  Instead like all things including television, the value continues to decline.  Music, a once potent force in America capable of shaping our culture, now is a meager byproduct of internet content.  If you can't make a living performing and creating music, it can't sustain.  There were many great artists who died paupers.  Jazz musicians lived and died in lives of despair.  Mozart died penniless, but that music which was created still aspired to the highest artistic ideals.  We don't even know what that is anymore, musical excellence.  Certainly the film industry archives musical excellence, but we are seeing fewer and fewer quality productions.  Music also has suffered in this industry for monetary reasons.  The money once that was reserved and spent on great art, film, music, and television now sits in overseas banks.  America is being starved on purpose, just like a viral pandemic is a constructed vehicle for human oppression.  Wake up and smell the coffee.