 Arisa Cox
If you're anything like me, you awoke the day after the election to the gory aftermath of yet another Bush victory in the Divided States of America. I had to concentrate hard to shake the impending gloom from the day, complicated further by facing my loss in the office election pool. Blame my idealism, I protested, to no avail. By the end of the day, I had scraped together only a paltry few reasons why the world wasn't about to end. But, gentle reader, by the end of the week my glimmer of hope had turned into a full-blown beacon of light for the future. Although the giant push by the left-leaning celebrity royalty of America proved to be ultimately fruitless, they were finally together on something. "They" included liberal radio (Air America), television (The Daily Show), movies (Fahrenheit 9-11, Control Room), music (Eminem and A Perfect Circle) and every celebrity soapbox this side of Kaballah. Artists across the states, Canada and even the world have come together in unprecedented ways. Who knew that such unity could come from such a divided electorate? Discuss. Admit it. The run-up to the US election had been better than a boxing title-fight. Corruption, lies, propaganda and fear forced everyone, even those not living in the USA, to pick sides. And for the first time - artists on an epic scale made a concerted effort to get involved, to influence real life, even to change the world. And even though Toby Keith proved a potent antidote to Ashton Kutcher, and The Passion of the Christ undid all of Michael Moore's treason, the left triumphed in other ways. For one, the Rock n Rollers of yore would lay down and die before aligning themselves with any political party - because any politician was "The Man." But the rules were abandoned this time around. Suddenly, Naomi Klein had something in common with Sum 41, Ben Affleck with The Boss, Natalie Portman with Eminem. The unforeseen consequence of this disastrous right-wing victory could potentially be a liberal American Artist love-in on a level not seen since the Vietnam war. Since rock and hip hop, for instance, were born as rebel music, something huge and real to rebel against can only make the music better. The lyrics more thoughtful, the rhythms more biting, the sweat more feverish.. A collective enemy ups the ante. To use the words of the mighty De La Soul, Stakes is High. Is that what made Jadakiss drop the ice-grill long enough to ask real questions? Is that what made Jon Stewart's pulpit the number one late night show in Canada? Let's face it - our eyes and ears are better off. Just as Bush galvanized the American South and its army of evangelists, the great divider has also galvanized the youth - for whom entertainment is the new religion. At this very moment, somewhere out there in a non-descript corner of a city is a packed, sweaty dancefloor, where the DJ has just dropped Twisted Sister's "We're Not Going to Take It" over a dope Roy Davis Jr beat. The crowd explodes, united in defiant energy. A not-so-political Clinton said it best. For now, we shall remain one nation under a groove. And oh yeah, for once, it feels good to be on the outside looking in.
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