We Will Sustain

 It was Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, with it's second movement "The Air on the G String," better known by its arrangement by August Wilhelmj, that prompted me to rise from rest and pen another blog entry.  I have not always liked Baroque music.  It is not until you hear an entire Baroque orchestra in its unique sonic splendor with continuo and period instruments, until you may appreciate this music.  This must be by an ensemble with the appropriate balance between harpsichord and strings.  There are a few of them which come to mind.  Roy Goodman and the Hanover Band.  Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra.  When you hear one of these ensembles understand the nuances of balance of sound, then the music takes on a whole new meaning.  That is the beauty of art.  There are multiple layers of goodness of which you can chip away.  It is a life long expedition, music.  The second movement of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 reminded me of a chord progression upon which I have been playing for several years.  I guess it is time for me to write it down and pen a melody, in addition to this blog entry.  It has been a while since I have used a pencil to write any music.  This past year has demanded other things of me.  Music took a back seat, and that is okay.  If it's one thing I have learned as an adult caregiver, it is patience.  The adage is, "You do what you can when you can."  The rest will fall into place.  Never give up, and patience becomes a virtue.  My time scale has elongated to years instead of days.  Things show their need when appropriate.  Until then they rest quietly on the shelf.  My inner shelf is getting itchy.  One year gone, contributed to Donald Trump.  One entire year of my life has been lost because of this man.  Still, right now, to this day, this man has projected his ego into the lives of the entire world.  His influence will be epic and historic. Perhaps it will become the metaphor for the return of Satan to earth.  Once I thought that was George W. Bush.  Now I have changed my mind.  For several years I have been writing about an ensuing American tragedy.  The clues were too obvious to ignore.  Whether it would become civil war, a coup, or the destruction of democracy, my instincts told me that this generation, those who are living in 2020 will endure something brutal and trying.  It has happened to other generations, and luckily until now we have avoided such an occurrence.  I felt it was coming, America's domestic war.  Perhaps it began with terrorism on our native soil, which exposed itself as American's themselves.  School shootings.  Mass genocide.  These things were aided by the availability of the AR-15 assault rifle.  I believe in our Constitution's right for Americans to bear arms, because we, a well armed militias are the last defense against a tyrannical government.  Who knew that government would expose itself as the perpetrator, and that well armed militia erroneously would defend our enemy?  Shit.  That is ironic, and perhaps that could sum up the utter confusion of today.  America elected a cult leader, dictator, communist, and demagogue.  Let me reiterate that word.  Demagogue.  It's definition is:  a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.  There you have it.  It is not unusual.  Most other countries in the world all ready have succumbed to militaristic, authoritarian, oligarchical tyranny.  America is the exception, so it was our time.  The attempt was clever, subversive, and tactful.  It not yet is over, until Donald Trump and his family are out of our White House.  The waiting is excruciating, and more disconcerting is we must witness the most significant fall from grace in our lifetimes.  It would seem most parties are content in the knowledge that there will be a peaceful transfer of power on January, except Bill Maher.  He is counting on something else, but also he needs viewers for his show and their accompanying ratings.  The rest of televised media also needs viewers and ratings, and now I am beginning to see the fine line between reporting the news and garnering ratings.  A Fox News tinge has emerged on MSNBC, and it is annoying.  I don't like it when a news media tries to elicit a visceral emotional response from me.  It is not their place, or is it to stand on a soap box and preach fire and brimstone?  One of my biggest pet peeves is having my emotions manipulated.  As an artist I am aware of my own emotions and their connection to my well being.  Having them used as a methodology of indoctrination annoys the hell out of me, because I know better.  Also your instincts necessarily rely upon your emotional responses.  When Satan gets involved they way he does pushing your buttons, the lines get blurred.  Joe Biden is the President elect, but never have I felt more vulnerable to a violent coup than now.  I do not believe the red wave is capable of such a task.  I also believe the United States military, which incidentally is flying by right at this very moment, the mysterious "Generals" charter jet, or Compass Call Command plane, now knows the difference.  It took a year for the military to come around, but they did.  General John. F. Kelly, Jim Mattis, and Michael Flynn all I feel see the inherent danger in Donald Trump.  It is not consoling with Mr. Trump officially still our Commander in Chief.  With his recent spate of desperate, maniacal, and blatant crimes trying to engineer his own re-election in spite of an obvious loss, this man should be removed from office.  He should have been removed upon his own impeachment, and yet Addison Mitchell McConnell Jr. allowed this war criminal to remain in power presiding over the entire nation.  This is what has created the unrest.  A known criminal was allowed to remain President, and this is what we have to show for it.  Let me shore this up.  In the eyes of millions of American citizens plagued with a fatal virus and consequently loss of income and support, the Trump campaign (and I reiterate "campaign"), not the office of the Presidency, wires three million dollars to the state of Wisconsin for a PARTIAL recount.  THREE MILLION DOLLARS!  Those are some desperate souls, but more alarmingly realize what could be done with that amount of money.  This is the fundamental problem with what has become Washington, DC.  Easily all of the problems of the entire world could be solved if it were so chosen.  Instead we, the American people and the rest of the world, have been forced to imbibe the most distasteful, humiliating, and deadly poison of our time.  It is not the Nazi genocide.  It is not the slaughter of Native Americans at Wounded Knee by the United States Army.  It is not the innocent loss of American lives in a flawed Boeing produced jetliner.  Instead right now the temperament, the feeling, the mood of America is what Donald Trump himself is feeling.  Where else could it come?  Americans will remain hopeful, because it is all we have.  A vaccine will be effective.  The economy will rebound under the guidance of President Joe Biden.  Democracy will be saved.  This man on the other hand, his failure is epic.  He has no place to go.  If the New York Times is accurate, the Trump family is four  hundred million dollars in debt.  Donald Trump has committed crimes which have not been indicted only because he is the sitting president.  These things, these ideas, have been instrumental in his platform.  Filing bankruptcy.  Avoiding prosecution.  Bribing officials.  Intimidating workers.  When Mr. Trump finally does step out of our White House, it is a bleak picture for him.  Completely it is at his own behest.  The irony is tangible, and you can see it on his face.  Rudy Giuliani's hair dye dripping down his cheek like a zombie.  Their fate is sealed.  If Donald Trump is the success always he has purported, then his near future will be his reckoning.  This temperament does not apply to the American people.  We have committed no crimes.  We believe in God.  We are honest.  We will sustain.