Working Man (me), Union Man (Joe Hill), Singing for a Sweeter Tomorrow

I'm doing my best to learn whatever insights experience in the private sector might lend to my commitments in the public and university sectors, and it sure is taking way too much time! I generally don't have the time to read, to post, to think, and (unfortunately), to do the good works that I feel are 1000% necessary for good clean livin'. I'm working on this situation. In the meantime, a really interesting article on the Union Organizer Joe Hill, and the song dedicated to him by Joan Baez:

MLK Monument Mess

The Washington Post and The New York Times have picked up on the incredible mismatch between the man who stood for social justice and the monument attempting to honor him. First, there's the incorrect quotation fully explained by a Post editor.

And then there's the far more important crisis involving the de-politicization of a radical social justice revolutionary into everyone's favorite preacher who just wanted black girls and white girls to be able to play together. In the NYT, "Dr. King Weeps from His Grave," Cornell West points out that King stood squarely against militarism, materialism, racism, and poverty.

These crises are still with us. They're with us in our ongoing warfare and our constant pursuit of disposable stuff at the expense of time spent deliberately. They're with us in the form of whole sections of cities forgotten to urban decay, broken schools, and decrepit infrastructure. We are surrounded by abundance, but acting scared and slashing important services that communicate that, yes, poor children have dignity too. They deserve schools that educate. They deserve opportunities and access. They deserve as much as any child.

West has a sense of what King might do, and it points to our responsibilities too: King’s response to our crisis can be put in one word: revolution. A revolution in our priorities, a re-evaluation of our values, a reinvigoration of our public life and a fundamental transformation of our way of thinking and living that promotes a transfer of power from oligarchs and plutocrats to everyday people and ordinary citizens.

What is a Social Justice Song? - Dylan's Hard Rain?

Justly complaining? Proposing? Moving others to action? Raging? What makes something a social justice song? As I move (ever so slowly) to pulling together the songs I've posted here and the tracks that others have nominated, the question becomes more important. One day, we'll vote. First, any additional songs suggestions or arguments for what makes an excellent social justice song are very much appreciated!

Recent Comer to Social Justice Songs: Kurt Vile, Puppet to the Man

Thanks to a loyal reader for this recent social justice song nomination. Dark, brooding: I can dig it. I'll organize a social justice song vote soon. Please send any suggestions my way or share your favorites below!

The Emerging Global Elite, Protests, Riots, Martinis, Taxes, and American Patriotism

Middle class riots all over the place, from Athens to Israel and with The Tea Party anti-establishment ascendant over here on the Atlantic's West Side. The people are running a muck with rage. Thomas Friedman explains it away with the suggestion that,

• "Across the world, a lot of middle- and lower-middle-class people now feel that the “future” is out of their grasp, and they are letting their leaders know it." The future is increasingly out of reach, as once safe national middle class communities drop farther and farther behind 
• "The Rise of the New Global Elite,"  a phenomenon Chrystia Freeland traced expertly in a January Atlantic Monthly article. The new growing, global elite is characterized by unprecedented wealth and decreasing connections to country and nation, which is very well illustrated by the rising costs of living high on the hog in Brazil, 
• where martinis are topping $35 and apartments are hitting $10,000 a month in the most coveted parts of Rio, this in large part because those with extraordinary wealth are free to flee and relocate wherever they wish, which makes one wonder why a fat cat as cool and plump as the old Oracle of Omaha would ever be so bold as to propose
• Higher taxes on himself and his friends. He must be some kind of patriot or something, caring for education and health care and basic infrastructure for his fellow countrymen and women.   
• If Americans wish to compete, to excel, to continue to do well and lead across sectors and disciplines, or even simply to remain respectable and not lose ground, we need to get serious about taxes. The global elite leaves. Our schools are here. Our middle class is here. There's no free lunch. To win, play the game. To play the game, educate the next generation. 
• That's just to get started. I have to go to work tomorrow. 

Social Justice Songs Return: The General, By Dispatch

This beautiful experience happened into my earphones as I was running to Pandora's Matisyahu station yesterday:

Take a moment to enjoy. Previous social justice songs I love: 

• Stand by Me, by Playing for Change
• Peace Train, by Cat Stevens, along with Waiting for the Great Leap Forward, by Billy Bragg
• Fight the Power, by Public Enemy 
• This Land is Your Land AND Born in the USA by The Boss 
• I hear them all by Old Crow Medicine Show
• I wish I knew how (it would feel to be free) by both Nina Simone and The Lighthouse Family, along with One by U2 with Mary J. Blige and then Johnny Cash's own excellent version

And songs related to social justice that I just can't stand: 

• John Mayer's Waiting on the World to Change 

I'd love to read about your favorites. Please share them if you happen by. Thanks for reading. I hope you get the moment to listen to a few of these today. Peace. 

What Brangelina Should Have Known Before Going to Africa - and What You Should Know Before Your International Service

International service is popular and accessible. One might—at first glance—imagine this is a good thing. Yet the risks are extreme, for individuals in the communities “served” and for those who engage in service.

To engage well in service across cultures (even domestically) is to strike a profoundly delicate balance. Read the full text of this article I wrote for International Educator here.