A day after Donald Trump's inauguration, the Women's March took the world by storm. It turned out to be one of the biggest political protests the world has likely witnessed since the sixties.
Later on, to add insult to injury, Trump authorized the Keystone Pipeline to move forward after Obama had previously delayed it, sparking even more national outrage.
Then, he added even more fuel to the fire, by initiating a controversial immigration ban that was met with heavy opposition such as protesters shutting down San Francisco Airport after international passengers were being detained.
After everything that's transpired, I believe it's fair to say that this is likely the first time we've seen our nation this heavily opposed to the president since the grim days of Richard Nixon. Which makes me wonder, could a Trump presidency give birth to another counterculture revolution, like what we witnessed in the late sixties through the seventies?
As most know, music is the root of revolution. The Doors and The Jimi Hendrix Experience were probably the most influential bands America witnessed in the late 60's.
"The Unknown Soldier" by The Doors and "Machine Gun" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience are just a few of the numerous protest songs that fueled the sixties counterculture, in revolt against the Vietnam War.
Today, we are in great need of artistic inspiration. In the sixties and seventies America did not use violence as a main source of protest. To paraphrase the writer, Hunter S. Thompson: "There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning... And that, I think, was the handle — that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply PREVAIL. There was no point in fighting — on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave..."
That is our only possible way to succeed in these uncertain times. It is time to go back to the drawing board, to let our creative output be our source of protest. There are numerous poems, stories, paintings, and songs out there, as a result of political unrest in the sixties and seventies. We need more of that today.
Although, fortunately, we have begun to see just that as a result in the beginning of 2017. There have been a surge of protest songs being released since Donald Trump's inauguration -- most notably, "Land of the Free" by Joey Bada$$.
This is the road we need to continue on, to channel our anger through artistic expression, rather than resorting to violence. If you are opposed to Trump's presidency, process your frustration through any creative skill you possess.
Politically, the two biggest groups on the rise within the Republican and Democratic parties are the Alt-Right and the Progressive-Left, an obvious sign that the nation is beginning to stray away from centrist positions in politics.
Very prominent figures from both sides (Tulsi Gabbard and Milo Yiannopoulos) have been in the news quite recently:
Like it or not, this is our political future. The Alt-Right and the Progressive-Left in their own way, have become the roots of two emerging countercultures, in polar opposite directions, of course. But after the days of beatniks, hippies, punks, and hipsters, what comes next? What subculture could the Alt-Right give birth to? What subculture could come from the Progressive-Left and as a result of the dismayed Bernie voters from 2016?
It will be interesting to see what today's music genres of Hip-Hop, Indie, Rock, EDM, etc. become in the next four years. But, I also wonder if we could see the birth of a new genre like the way Psychedelic Rock came alive in the sixties; the way Progressive Rock, Soul, and Reggae shined in the seventies; how the eighties gave birth to Punk Rock, Metal, and Industrial; and how Hip-Hop and Grunge Rock stormed the stage in the nineties.
What will the future bring? Time will tell...
