I don’t care much.
Actually, I do care. That’s just the title of a song that is a favorite of mine. It’s from Cabaret but it does have relevance for our current time. The play dealt with people who turned a blind eye to the growing authoritarian regime that was taking over Germany in the 1930’s. The cabaret was a symbol for those people who just didn’t want to take a side, didn’t want to think about right or wrongs. People who just wanted to have a good time and hope that things would just work out without them.
Wanted to believe that they didn’t have to care much.
That belief, thinking that one could just ignore the coming atrocity without being touched, proved to be less than effective. Ask the 60 or 70 or 80 million folks who died in WW II.
Let’s not make that same mistake. As appealing as it might seem, you cannot hide and just think that things will work out. There is a great darkness clouding our planet right now, one that is built on the aspirations of authoritarian regimes. The murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and how our administration responded so pitifully yesterday is yet another omen of this creeping darkness.
You must stand against these dark changes because they are taking place at an ever accelerating rate and the window for putting a brake on a would-be authoritarianism is closing. And those who stand with the authoritarians will do most anything to keep their march of darkness moving forward.
Life might be a cabaret but the there is a price to be paid. Vote. Get involved. Make your voice heard.
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The painting at the top is an older painting from 2001 called Three Before the Storm. It fits my mood today. Here’s the song I Don’t Care Much performed by Alan Cumming as the Emcee.
I grew up being taken to our polling place by my father. Since becoming old enough to vote, I’ve rarely missed an opportunity — including runoff and bond elections. I often call or email my representative’s office, and occasionally contact my senators. Occasionally, I’ve even made the effort to show up at hearings on local issues or town halls sponsored by candidates.
What I will not do is allow the darkness of some to cloud my own spirit, or the fear being promoted by others to paralyze me. I’ve watched friends who spend their days obsessing over our politics be transformed into petty, spiteful, and generally obnoxious creatures. That’s a kind of price, too.
You’re right, there is the possibility for some to shed all hope and become the very things they fear and dislike. That sort of behavior creates its own problems, causing one to lose their optimism, empathy and compassion. But there is always the need for vigilance and a willingness to speak truth aloud in order to stave off the kind of dark activity we’re seeing around the globe and here these days. I hope my perspective on the current state of affairs proves to be unfounded and hyperbolic. This is one situation about which I hope to be wrong.
Thanks as always, Linda.