Giving My Inner Cynic a Time-Out

(Originally posted by Michelle on Jan 30, 2008)

Giving My Inner-Cynic a Time Out

"It's hard to argue against cynics - they always sound smarter than optimists because they have so much evidence on their side"
Molly Ivins

"The opposite of creativity is cynicism" Esa Saarinen

As a born and raised New Yorker, born to and raised by other New Yorkers, I would have to guess that cynicism is in my DNA. It's in the water there. In fact, the reason we moved out of the city when I was 11, was that my parents realized I had already become way too jaded. ("Ugh, Lincoln Center AGAIN!?!?")

I've been thinking about the nature of cynicism a lot lately, because I've actually found myself feeling... um, what do you call it? Hopeful?!? (Full disclosure here: I have an eight month old baby, and it's HARD to be cynical around a baby... even for me!) I'm starting to feel like maybe it's time to lose the "been there, done that" attitude and maybe look forward to some things for a change...

I think Saarinen is right. As an artist of any kind, you have to be hopeful in SOME way. I mean, if I felt cynical every time I sat down to write a song, I wonder how many songs I would ever get written? So this is a song I wrote with my friends Kay Hanley and Kara DioGuardi for our band The Dilettantes, which kinda sums up what I'm trying to impart here.

The Dilettantes: "What’s To Come" (MP3, 4:19)

Now I'm not saying...you know... "drink the Kool-aid." I'm just saying, let's be open to the possibility that things can change for the better. Yes, I'm talking about the upcoming election. But I'm also talking about the Green movement, which seems to moving out of Vermont and Santa Monica and into the rest of the country. I'm talking about music, and film and television... which we now have the power to say yes or no to. ( I mean, look at what Jill has done with her website for her next record! That wouldn't have happened 5 years ago! ) Oh, the economy is rotten and we're still in Iraq and the healthcare system is completely, utterly f**ked. There's a litany of reasons to be bummed out. But let's not!

Who's with me?

addendum: after the other night's State of the Union address, I am no longer with me. But I'm going to post this anyway, because maybe you readers can tell me why you think things may be looking up (other than "cuz it can't get any worse." I've already thought of that one.

Kickin' It Old Skool - The New Hampshire Primary, Part 1

(Originally posted by Michelle on Jan 10, 2008)

Cue the Dr. Dre and the Soundgarden.

Dust off your flannel shirt and pop "Singles" in the VCR. Is it the 1990's? Clinton and McCain?!?! I know McCain was a 2000 candidate, but it FEELS so10 years ago. Jeez. What is UP, New Hampshire???

A paradigm shift took place last week in Iowa. I know a lot of people felt it - what was that feeling? It was the weight of cynicism lifting off of their shoulders. Obama had stirred something up... just the idea of him is stirring. If Hillary were truly interested in the future of America, she would have signed on as a Mama for Obama right then and there. But no. She had to go play the "don't listen to those crazy kids" card in New Hampshire. And now we're back to 1996. Because you know what comes after another Clinton? Another Bush. God for-f**king-bid.

Bush, Cheney and Co have always struck me as perfectly cast for a McCarthy-era spy movie, in black and white of course.

They'd play the evil government conspirators who try to squash progressive thought and free speech, strip away the Constitution, build up the military and concoct a war for their own financial gain ... oh wait, that's not a movie.

Look, how could we NOT be cynical after the past 7 years? How could we NOT distrust politicians? It's just self-preservation at this point!

This isn't Hillary-bashing, by the way - I've always been pro-Hillary. I voted for her to be our senator when I lived in NY and always thought she'd make a good president. I still do actually. But after all the old skool politics we've been subjected to, isn't it time for something a little new?

Gary Hart gets to the crux of the issue in this morning's Huffington post. Casting all of the aspects of race and gender aside (amazing that we can even attempt that now!), he discusses the basic decision the Democratic party has to make this year (notice the radio silence on the McCain win? Its like, "yeah...and?"). As the so-called party of progress, do they take a leap or a step?

Anyway, I guess that's what we'll all be considering over the next few months... interesting times, huh? I was kidding about the flannel shirts, by the way. Lets not bring those back!

I'll Have a Green Christmas Without You

Originally posted by Michelle on Nov. 29, 2007)

Just read the cover story of Sunday's NY Times Style section and thought I'd bring it up here.

To summarize, it was about how this year's Christmas-stealing "Grinch" is the loopy environmentalist in your family, who wants to fore-go exchanging new store-bought presents for more eco-friendly options - like chore trading, recycled gifts, no wrapping paper, etc. The tone of the article was that this person is a bummer and that Christmas is not a time for austerity... or perhaps I'm editorializing.

For the sake of full disclosure, I have to admit here that Christmas is not my holiday. So I read this article through the cool, steely eyes of a Jewish girl who always envied the over-the-top-ness of my Christmas celebrating friends (and, well, the rest of the world) at this time of year. And if those tree-hugging hippies ever came after Rosh Hashona, I would be PISSED. (Um, I'm kidding of course... I mean, how could you make the Jewish holidays MORE green??? We don't really "do" anything... besides eat and walk everywhere.)

Anyway... for conservation to work on a large scale, the Green movement has to come up with some convenient, win/win ways for the rest of the country (meaning, west of Santa Monica and east of Vermont) to hop on board. This shift in attitude will have to be all-encompassing - from our government, through the corporations and institutions, on down to the consumer. I don't think that ix-naying my little niece Isabel's Polly Pocket set (as loathsome as I find those things), is the way to go about it.

I saw Al Gore's movie. And I agree that the smaller things add up. But don't you think there might be a backlash if Christmas becomes the new target of the Green movement? Couldn't this be another way to marginalize a very crucial issue as mean-spirited and a little crazy? Or maybe this could be spun as a WWJD, stewards-of -the-earth kind of thing? Maybe it is the time of year to consider all that our planet gives us and try to give back... For some reason, I doubt it.

Thoughts?