War and Four Part Harmony

(Cross-posted in orange for mass consumption purposes — and at mlw.)

Diaries are sung in four part harmony.   I don’t know why that is.  I didn’t write the rules.  But that is just the way they’re sung.  And they include short snippets of lyrics, too.  (And if you’re gonna start complaining that what follows is not a short snippet, then I’m going to have to insist that you go here and read the whole damn lovely song.

So here’s my snippet.  It comes near the end of Arlo Guthrie’s Alice’s Restaurant.  It was his prescription for what to do when you were called in to see the shrink at your draft physical.  And I promise I’ll explain, if you promise to read the damn snippet.

And friends, somewhere in Washington enshrined in some little folder, is a
study in black and white of my fingerprints.  And the only reason I’m
singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar
situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if your in a
situation like that there’s only one thing you can do and that’s walk into
the shrink wherever you are ,just walk in say “Shrink, You can get
anything you want, at Alice’s restaurant.”.  And walk out.  You know, if
one person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and
they won’t take him.  And if two people, two people do it, in harmony,
they may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them.
And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in
singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. They may think it’s an
organization.  And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day,I said
fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and
walking out.  And friends they may thinks it’s a movement.

And that’s what it is , the Alice’s Restaurant Anti-Massacre Movement, and
all you got to do to join is sing it the next time it come’s around on the
guitar.

With feeling.  So we’ll wait for it to come around on the guitar, here and
sing it when it does.  Here it comes.

You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant
Walk right in it’s around the back
Just a half a mile from the railroad track
You can get anything you want, at Alice’s Restaurant

That was horrible.  If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
I’ve been singing this song now for twenty five minutes. I could sing it
for another twenty five minutes.  I’m not proud… or tired.

So we’ll wait till it comes around again, and this time with four part
harmony and feeling.

We’re just waitin’ for it to come around is what we’re doing.

All right now.

Everybody sing.

Okay.  What does this rather extended snippet of a rather extended classic folk-song have to do with this diary?  Everything, man.  Everything.

Those of us fighting against this illegal, immoral war in Iraq don’t have a draft to protest against.  And some might say we are seriously lacking in great folk music to guide us.  I mean, we do have Neil Young.  But we are clearly a few songs short of a movement — though I don’t want to get off on that tangent.  Oh, no.

The point Arlo was making — and I think he may be right — is that it doesn’t take very many of us to get together to make some noise.

What in the fuck are we spending our tax dollars on folks?  A whole lot of them are going to buy bullets and bombs that are being used to kill Iraqis.  Innocent Iraqi men, women and children, in many cases.

Oh yeah.  And we’re killing and maiming a whole lot of our own young men and women, too.

So what are we going to do about it?  Sit around.  Complain.  Blog.  Elect a Congress that will hold the President accountable.  All very valuable things, to be sure.  But I’m saying that maybe it is time for a few of us to do something a little crazy.  I mean, I’ve already been doing it.  And it’s kind of fun.  But I’m asking you to join in.

In March, my local peace group started delivering flowers to our Republican Congressman (Rogers-MI-08) as a way to protest the war.  We deliver them on selected days when Congress people return to their districts.  So far we’ve delivered about 850 flowers.  In June, Daily Kos, Booman Tribune, and My Left Wing people chipped in and sent so many flowers to Rogers that he locked us out.  Wow!  That was a lot of flowers.  This may just be a movement.

We also started branching out in June.  We set up a schedule and delivered a flower every half-hour or so to Congressman Joe Schwarz (MI-07).  We actually exceeded our goal, because we ended up delivering about fifty of them.  But the cool thing was this — Schwarz’s office responded not with hostility, but by engaging us in dialogue.  We are scheduled to meet with his staff later this month.  And are working on meeting with the Congressman.  We’re opening a dialogue to explore ways to get this war over.

It’s an “Anti-Massacre Movement,” man.  And it is easy.

So here is what I’m proposing.  If you read that long snippet.  And you’re still reading.  I’m thinking you don’t like this war much.  And I’m asking you to do these things.  Easy things.

1.  Recommend this.  We need the exposure.
2.  Join us on July 7, 2006 and deliver a few peace flowers to your congress person.  If you e-mail me (tjayolson@hotmail.com) I’ll explain how to organize it in your area.  It is ridiculously easy, man.  So easy that if you do it, you can’t even call yourself an “activist.”  You’ll just become a blogger, with attitude.
3.  And look for the Petals for Peace diary on July, 7 2006.  So we can deliver maximum flowers.

That’s it man.  I’d suggest we go into our shrink’s office and sing a few bars in four part harmony.  But I know not everyone can afford health care plans with psychiatric coverage anymore.  So it’s the flowers.

If I do it alone, they might think I’m crazy.  And if it’s only a couple of us, they may question our sexual identities.  Three — and they might ship us to Guantánamo  — because we’re organizers.  But if fifty of us do it.  Man, that might just be a movement.  Thanks Arlo.

And thank you.  For singing along.