How about Hanoi Jane? Just gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling, doesn't it!

C'mon guys, climb on that soap box and preach that crap to the other activist - this old man ain't gonna buy it.

What about John Lennon, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, James Brown? If it were not for their musical talents and audience acceptance of those talents, they wouldn't have a pot to ....

I never really thought of Harry Belafonte as an activist, either. Met him in Baltimore, nice guy, we talked about music - nothing else.

Taking it to the bar wasn't my first thought about this thread. My first thought is what the Hell does this topic have to do with playing an arranger keyboard? My next thought was, "What a BS topic to start on an arranger keyboard forum."

Now, I'm not trying to be an elitist, or anything of the sort. If Chas and others want to stand upon a soap box in a public square and preach to the masses that are willing to listen, knock yourselves out - it's your right as a US citizen. If you really think that will change something, go for it, especially if it will make things better for everyone - and I do mean everyone. Or, as I suggested above, run for political office, get a bunch of folks to fork over some big bucks to get you into the office of your choosing, and put forth the effort to get legislation in place that will make a meaningful difference for EVERYONE - not just some special interest group with their hands out, palms facing up. I'm all for it.

I paid my dues in this light, got some legislation passed that I thought would benefit everyone, spent $20,000 of my own money in just expenses to travel and testify in front of the state legislature and US congress, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Corps of Engineers and EPA. I would never have considered standing on stage while providing entertainment to an audience and begin preaching about the horrors of war, crime in the cities, etc... - it's NOT what I was paid to do.

Yeah, Joan Baez did this with her songs about the horrors of war, but anyone that has been shot at, and lost shipmates, which I have, already knows the horrors of war. I sure as Hell didn't need Joan Baez, or any other singer or Hollywood actor/actress who has never been anywhere near a war zone, to preach it to me in song, or any other format. Every vet I know personally, many of which have been dismembered by war wounds, would go back and do the same thing tomorrow.

I was lucky. The bullets intended to take my life missed their mark, but not by much. I did lose my lungs to my US Naval service aboard ship, and the asbestosis I contracted from that service will soon take my life, unless something else gets me first. I wonder how much time any of those individuals listed above spent in service to their country? I'm guessing that none of them would be pretty close to correct.

Chas, if I recall, didn't you retire from a career in the US Navy? Would you have joined, attended the Naval Academy, became an officer, or any of those things that helped shape your life had you followed the advice of any of those people you cited? In that time that you served, don't you believe that your service to our country had a positive impact on everyone? The answer is a loud YES! And, in that service to your country, you have become a very positive role model to a large number of people that you have come in contact with over those many decades. How positive of a role model was Hanoi Jane? How many GIs died because of her?

Nuff said,

Gary