If music be the food of love, play on.

debt·or  (dtr)

n.

1. One that owes something to another.

2. One who is guilty of a trespass or sin; a sinner.

Click here to listen to Bach's Cantata BWV 168.

A godly man, Bob Marley, is quoted to have said, “One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”.  Marley’s presence and music undoubtedly expanded my view of humanity and of spirituality.  Music is my therapy.  I use it as a way to alleviate stress, let loose and connect with my higher power.  Typically I wouldn’t use, my therapeutic melodies to prove a point in my Government class blog, but Pay Up!  Bach’s Debt Cantata, by David Yearsley gave me a great excuse to make an exception. 

In Mr. Yearsley’s blog, he is correlating Bach’s cantata, Thue Rechnung (BWV 168), written in 1725, to the behavior of our political leaders during the most recent debt ceiling crisis.  I find it hard to translate this delightful blog and doubt I can give it due credit, but I will try.  “Thue Rechnung” translates to “pay up”.  The cantata suggests to listeners that they should manage money morally in life, because when meeting your maker in the sky, he will audit your accounts and it will truly be known what kind of a man that you were.  It urges the notion to not make money just for financial sake and argues that poor men and capitalists alike will pay the same debt in the end.  He makes note of religious political leaders that correlate debt and sin synonymously and relates them to the frantic behavior of the Tea Party members, such as Ted Cruz and Paul Ryan. 

While this blog is not argumentative or  political fact filled, for me, the message of it hits the nail right on the head.  I think it is important to look at our past and listen to those who set out to change the world and succeeded.  Johann Sebastian Bach was arguably the best composer of his time and his intellectual mind was beyond compare.  He  voiced a message written in the Bible that was largely silenced, “No servant can serve two masters, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”  While I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious, this message is very profound to me and I correlate it closely with what has been happening lately with our government crises. You cannot serve healthy morals when monetary gain is the ultimate goal.

Nonetheless, I am unsure as to David Yearsley’s credibility in the political arena. The fact that his blog is leaned left with no regard for the right makes me question his ability to write fair. I do know that he has his Bach facts on lockdown.  I think that this particular message is credible due to its validity in today’s financial based society.  I believe that his target audience is liberal music lovers, but most music lovers could at least appreciate his correlation and quick wit that is found throughout his writing.

As I go forward with my days and I get lost in the hustle and bustle of my work day and busy school schedule, I am going to try and keep Bach’s message in mind… and I hope that my political leaders do as well.  That is, use money wisely, build a solid foundation, do not do business with the single goal of monetary gain, help the poor and to always do business morally.  I do not know the answer to our debt crisis, as I’m sure the majority of our elected leader do not either, but I do hope that they are attempting to make decisions that will carry our government’s financial stability and economic wellbeing into the future.  I guess only time will tell, and it will be FACINATING to be on the sidelines while it all plays out.

The line was drawn at the Alamo....we all know how that turned out.

lib·er·tar·i·an (lbr-târ-n)

n.

1. One who advocates maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.

2. One who believes in free will.

I created this blog with a goal of self-exploration, heightened awareness and a desire to find positive politics in the United States.  I wanted to seek out and highlight political leaders that were acting with our country’s best interest at heart, and making progressive political decisions to guide us into the future. This blog could not have started at a more freaking FACINATING time to evaluate all of my listed goals above.  Through education, self-evaluation and critical thinking I have come to the conclusion that I am a Libertarian at this time in my life.  This being said, I find it impossible, ethically or logically, to place my support with either political party.   Their childish and unethical behavior is an embarrassment and I personally don’t want to be associated with any of their antics.

The Editorial Board for Austin American Statesman published, WE SAY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, Compromise only way out of budget impasse, on October 5, 2013.  The editorial discussed the current state of the government shutdown and shed light on a glimpse of hope for a budget agreement on the debt ceiling before October, 17, when the United States would default on some of its loans.  On Friday, John Boehner, was said to have let a factioned group in his party know that he was fed up with their behavior and would not allow the United Stated to default on their loans for the first time in United States History.  While both parties have stated that they have intentions of raising the debt ceiling, if they can’t get there acts together and come to a compromise in time, the effects are unknown and possibly dire.  The board argues that the only way to end this self-created crisis is compromise from both political parties, but that there will be a lot more “finger pointing” before we get to that point. 

The Austin American Statesmen is often put in a sticky situation when it comes to satisfying its readers. Austin is a melting pot of diversity and its colors tend to blend into purple.  This editorial did an excellent job at making the read comfortable for people of any political beliefs.  I believe that any person with an interest in moving forward beyond the shutdown and debt ceiling would find it a valid opinion article.  It was not slanderous of any political party in particular, but took a stance on dissatisfaction with the behavior that has placed our country in this mess.  For me, the Editorial Boards ability to critique current situations without shoving personal political beliefs and making substantial arguments about solutions without denouncing politicians or parties makes them a very creditable source.  I believe that this editorial is valid not only to our current studies in government class, but also to the placement in my blog.  The editorial shares the common feelings of millions of Americans, Democrat or Republican; we just want our citizens to be back at work, taking home a pay check, for our government to pay its debts as its citizens must do, and make decisions that uphold our strong American ethics.  What they are doing now is an embarrassment on the world stage and a mockery of our political system.