We have confirmation that there will not only be no band for the 2022 UMM graduation, there's no choir either. The word on the band had come to my attention through unofficial sources. The final word from within UMM makes it official: "no band or choir." Suppose I should say "symphonic winds," but that always reminds me of Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind" tour.
No band or choir for UMM's graduation? So, this puts me in a spot where I find myself too often: of being skeptical or critical. Why am I having to do this? My official source from within UMM gave me background on how the current decision (to nix) came to be. I might peg this background as "party line." At various junctures in my journalistic career, I have been expected by heavy-hitters in this community to buy into a party line. You might say it's a cross to bear for people who call themselves journalists.
Sanctimonious to say this? Oh not at all, once you have been dragged through various issues. I grew up when our U.S. government lied to us about the Vietnam war. Relief came with release of the Pentagon Papers. What if that had not happened? Watergate came along as an almost amusing web of mendacity or whatever. Apply your own words.
At present the Supreme Court is stepping into the circle of depravity like this. Why can't our highest court in the land project more of an air of cheer, and of facilitating totally for the betterment of Americans' lives? Instead it's defensiveness and anger, finger-pointing and reflexiveness.
Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell have set the agenda, and such will continue until a plurality of Americans decide to give the middle finger to Fox News and its ilk. Ignore the questions from those people, just assert yourself with the kind of standards you want to live by. Those people don't lose any sleep anyway over the issues that they pretend move them so much. Not even abortion. So now we're going to dust off all the old tired arguments about abortion. So we have Joel Heitkamp (a good guy) ask "if abortion is murder, why make an exception for rape and incest?"
Here we go again. But we chose this mess. The Christians of America have chosen it by eating out of the hand of the likes of McConnell and Trump. Clarence Thomas comes across as about the most bitter and unhappy person I have ever seen. His wife Ginny appears to have literally lost her mind. And people like this have reached the top of government influence?
Will the erasure of Roe vs. Wade finally wake people up? Wake people up to the "racket" that has been engineered by Fox News and all its clones? We've been handled like we're marionette puppets. We are all now fighting religious intransigence. And how much can we expect Biden to help? 'Til now he has said that even though he's Catholic, he respects the law of the land as affirmed by the Supreme Court. But now? The new law of the land will be that women do not have the basic right to control their own bodies. Old men like Mitch McConnell will make that decision for them.
And McConnell is pushing a nationwide abortion ban. You just know this will lead to other scary things. I'm just saying.
OK I sound critical. It's a mantle I have often worn. So now let's get into the subject of the UMM graduation. Can't we take for granted certain things in life, like knowing we can enjoy the sounds of the UMM band and choir for graduation? OK, so what are the excuses? That's what I'll call them, excuses.
So the party line is this: "We hope it is just a one-year gap." Continuing: "As you know, there was recent turnover in the discipline over this year and covid lingered, so they just couldn't make it happen."
A rational person would have to find this explanation strange, as the UMM band and choir gave their big spring concert on April 24. So the units definitely exist as we speak, and are presumably capable of doing passable if not excellent work. The April 24 concert was in Alexandria. There was no duplicate performance here. I have already written about this oddity.
So let's not flog this but let's focus on sans music for graduation. Or - horrors - insult added to injury with recorded music. Do you suppose they'll do that?
Would it be wise to skip the event? My critics in this community would say "get lost, we don't give a fuck if you're there." This is how many of my detractors tend to talk. It is also the way Trump talks, so let's remove the stigma from the "f" word. He gets quoted using it, as in saying General Mark Milley is a "fucking idiot," so I sense all the evangelical Christians are good with it now too.
Should a person of good moral character even put himself forward as a Christian anymore? If I am forced to leave the Christian faith, to where might I turn? Jim Morrison might suggest atheism. And I would respect that option. But my late mother would not approve.
So "turnover" is a problem in UMM music? Who directed for the April 24 event? Turnover isn't always a bad thing because you can get young people moving in who are eager to please. But turnover is cited as a roadblock to music for the 2022 graduation. When turnover impedes the normal functioning of an institution, maybe the blame goes to administration.
Who is the executive chancellor of UMM (UMN?) now? The person in Crookston? Well that's true. Now that more people are aware of that, are they contacting the Crookston person about issues related to UMM? I won't do that. I'm sure that person would just bounce the ball back here. What? Buck-passing in bureaucratic institutions? But I get criticized for assuming such things happen.
So I am forced to continue sharing skeptical views about the softball complex in which UMM is a partner. The newest development: to try to "crack down" on the crazy parking next to the place. It's about time. But maybe too late. Are fans already into the habit of parking on both shoulders along Prairie Lane? Maybe we can't blame them.
There are now three signs along the north shoulder: "No parking this side." Yes, and "do not feed the bears." Just kidding on that. So on Friday I checked the place out: the softball crowd appears to be giving a royal middle finger at the attempts to govern parking. I would have expected that. Good luck trying to straighten all these people out. I write at length on this on my companion blog, "Morris of Course." So I invite you to read with this permalink:
I also invite y'all to listen to my newest original song to be put on YouTube. It is inspired by the Russia-Ukraine war. The title is inspired by the famous Rodney King quote. So here it is, and thanks:
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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