You may have never heard of Bonnaroo. It's a large music festival in Middle-Tennessee every June where nearly 100,000 fans camp on a 600-acre farm to watch major music acts like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Radiohead. I've been twice as of this past weekend. I go with my best friend from college who is a liberal.
Needless to say, my view on life in America is an extremely small minority at this venue. However, I've learned to be open-minded and experience different things while trying to examine all points of view. As a result, I observed a phenomenon this year that explained liberalism better than anything I've seen.
Bonnaroo is the liberal Utopia they envision for America. If only that vision wasn’t completely delusional, it would be an incredible place to live. Let me explain.
For such a large crowd, people are very nice and helpful to each other. We got stuck with our camp gear at the front entrance waiting for a ride to camp. One couple took us in the back of their van to our campsite nearly a mile away. That would have been a nasty walk. At Bonnaroo, people share, they don't argue and they’re very laid-back. It's the quintessential ‘live and let live’ atmosphere. In my two visits, I’ve seen no arguments, almost zero tension and not a single fight. That is overwhelmingly impressive given the vast quantity of people packed into one location.
I have to admit, it’s a blast! The music is unbelievable, the food is great and there is nonstop excitement. People leave their campsites for the day and we return with nothing touched.
There are dozens of festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Coachella each year across the country with similar atmospheres: People travel to watch dozens of bands in a very festive and loving atmosphere devoid of pain and full of pleasure.
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Enter Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. Vedder is known for his staunch political views which are very liberal. During the Saturday Pearl Jam concert, he suggested that ‘we don't believe in building walls’ and that if we do build a wall we should build it around Donald Trump.
Vedder went on to tackle the LGBT transgender bathroom issue. He read a prepared letter out loud to Tennessee Rep. Susan Lynn, who has proposed a similar transgender bathroom bill as passed in North Carolina.
"Dear Susan: Susan there’s a timeline right? This is the present. You’re all in the present. I can see you’re in present. I am in the present. This is past. And that’s the future - is this way. You don’t want to preclude us from getting into the future. I want you to be on the right side of the future.
Because this generation, this generation, and the ones to come they’re more tolerant, they’re more understanding, they’re more empathetic of others. And Susan you can either be part of history or you can be history. These people want you to make the right decision, am I correct?
Susan’s made a promise to do this, we want to tell Susan: Susan, look, it’s OK in this case to break your promise. You’d be very proud, I believe.”
The crowd's reaction to this was much more vibrant/supportive than to his comments about Donald Trump.
It was during the reading of this letter that I had a major epiphany about liberals’ views and how they are created. I've always known that liberals react with emotion and very little logic, but I’ve never understood where those emotions are created. They are created during these emotional moments.
Imagine for a moment you're having a fabulous time with family and friends, in a loving and utopian environment such as Bonnaroo, while watching incredible music talent like Pearl Jam. It’s the pinnacle of excitement, fun and emotional euphoria (an escape from reality). So, when artists like Vedder implant these ideals at such a deeply emotional moment, it becomes a part of the psyche of many attendees. It is then reinforced throughout our entertainment industry and political affiliations.
In other words, when you're wondering why an evil Islamic extremist shoots up an Orlando nightclub (killing dozens of people) and the liberal solution is taking away our guns - remember they're mentally living in a ‘Bonnaroo utopia.’ Guns aren’t needed at Bonnaroo!
When the answer to poverty is forcing businesses to pay more than is affordable there's clearly a prevailing belief that the sharing in utopia can translate to our society. Our country has clearly migrated from a logical thought process to an emotional one. Life is not a vacation.
In other words, at Bonnaroo this weekend, I realized that the root of our problems are in the blurred lines between life, Hollywood, the music and entertainment industry. These artists thrive on exploiting the emotional moments they create in our lives. Given their complete lack of understanding on major issues, their emotional deductions become effective and destructive.
As a result, we develop the culture of political correctness that ignores serious threats. As a result of the delusion of tolerance, we have stopped discussing our issues out of fear of offending people. We have damaged the culture of our country, beyond repair, for at least a generation.
There are many very talented actors and musicians who are destroying our culture and clearing the field for radical extremists to exist amongst us. These artists’ delusional and emotional commentary is being used to ‘stupidify’ America.
I wish life was as utopian as Bonnaroo. But it's not. So here's my written note to Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam:
“God gave you the talent of being an incredible musician. He gave you zero talent in politics or understanding the world. Stick to your music and leave your delusional diatribes on the tour bus.”
Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Cher, Shawn Penn, et.al: these words are for you too.
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