"Great Divide" by Lovedrug, Monday, January 25, 2021

 

Lovedrug's fourth album released in 2012 transitioned the band from a heavier Keene-sounding piano rock band to a full-fledged guitar driven rock band. This album came out in my last few months in America and proved to be an album that helped me transition to one of the biggest changes in my life, living abroad. The title Wild Blood, while I don't think intentionally done by the band, drew a connection to Flannery O'Connor's novel Wise Blood, which is a crazy story about a backwoods preacher who starts his own stranger religious organization. Whether or not the connection is intentional, the music of Wild Blood makes me think about the novel and vice versa. There certainly are some great tracks on this album, but it's not one that I come back to too often. Today on my walk, however, I took a close listen to this song and remembered the sticky summer of 2012 and the great divide that's come up ever since.

YOUR SILHOUETTE STANDING THERE IN THE DISTANCE. So let's name the great divide. Right now it's politics. I understand that it's pretty easy for me to sit in another country and write about what's happening in America and to condemn the last four years of Trump. I think maybe because I'm outside of the South, I'm less tuned into the voice of Republican ideals. I've seen what Trump's presidency has done to the relationships with other countries. However, if I had taken a job back home, would I have seen it? I often wonder how long I would have remained a Republican? The problem is there is a point to Trump-ism. In 2019 the economy in America was doing pretty good--that's not to say that there wouldn't have been a natural fallout from the Trade War with China--but with what looked like a healthy economy, people attributed the success with a "hands off business" leader. Trump also spent lots of time campaigning and basking in the glory of working class people. He gave them a voice. He united them. The unity was based on fear of other races, genders, sexualities, economics, levels of education--in short fear of the other. Trump listened to a large portion of voters who had been marginalized in elections past and gave them a voice. 

FEELS LIKE WE'RE LOSING, BE WE HAVEN'T MISSED IT. But it was the wrong voice. A real leader who is going to "survive across this great divide" is one who will listen to the working class. One who will listen and educate. Ultimately, Trump did very little to improve the lives and working conditions of the working class. Instead, the controlling party legislated in the favor of big business and against immigrants. Now, the cult of personality with Trump is so strong that his supporters will not listen to facts. So, is the great divide too deep? Will Thanksgiving dinners ever be enjoyable again?

Read “Great Divide” by Lovedrug on Genius.