ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN, AND DO NOT REPRESENT ANY ORGANIZATION.  I SPEAK FOR MYSELF AND NO ONE ELSE.

Purchase song - www.garrettdevaughnmusic.com/#music

Merchandise - https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/180677037?asc=u 

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Sleep Now In the Fire - A humble cover
“Sleep Now in the Fire” - Written and recorded by Rage Against the Machine 
From the 1999 album “The Battle of Los Angeles”

If you are familiar with Rage Against the Machine, you know they were a very politically outspoken band.  It is this defiant energy that I hoped to tap into when I started working on the “FUmaga” EP.  While replicating the raw energy of Rage feels virtually impossible, their drive and their intentions are things that I felt were accessible.  

Part of why I chose this song, specifically, was to set the tone from the beginning of the album.  I feel like I’ve been fairly transparent and outspoken against trump, maga, and the social inequalities happening around us, but I want there to be no question moving forward.  Just like I wanted there to be no question about exactly what the album represents. “Sleep Now in the Fire” sets a sarcastic, angry, and satirical tone that I try to maintain throughout.

Lyrically, the song is as prophetic as it is satirical.  It paints the picture of a person in pursuit of only power and with no regard or consideration for those they are meant to be serving; or those that fervently support them, for that matter.  This also appears to be THE definition of donald trump, based on his behavior.  

As in my last blog, I’m not going to go into all the facts of why I feel the way I feel.  It’s easy to find information supporting my stance, if you care to do your own looking.  My only request, think about the source of your information.  Is it credible?  Does it placate to maga with no real data?  

I repeat, don’t take my word for it, I’d urge everyone to do their own research and use their own discernment.  

In the meantime, he burns everything to sit by his own warm fire, and we sleep, restlessly.

A portion of the proceeds made from purchasing this song will go to the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, or NICE (https://www.empowernashville.org/).  I chose to donate to this organization as a direct response to donald trump and maga’s actions against the immigrant and refugee community in our country.  These are people just trying to make it.  If we (the United States) are as pious and righteous as we want the world to believe we are, shouldn’t we want to bring up others around us instead of posturing as some dominant force meant to be feared?

Read below to learn more about NICE and what they do for the community. 

Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE)
MISSION - Nashville International Center for Empowerment’s mission is to ensure refugees and immigrants achieve their full potential now and for generations to come. Our goal is to empower refugees and immigrants with resources and opportunities that will aid them in their resettlement and equip them to be successful in the future.
 

We do this by:

• Advocating for refugees and immigrants
• Building strong community of relationships
• Creating sustainable service programs
• Developing partnerships in Middle Tennessee

ALL OPINIONS SHARED ARE MY OWN AND DO NOT REPRESENT ANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.

You can purchase merchandise HERE (Redbubble page)

About my next EP, “FUmaga”
My introduction to political/protest music was Rage Against the Machine.  The album “Evil Empire” is the 1st time I recall listening to music and truly understanding that the artist was speaking against oppression and fascism.  I did not know the details they were speaking about a lot of the time, but I knew they were standing for communities that were under attack against something bigger and I knew that I had a deep response to it.  I feel like this response is a part of what led me to be a social worker.

I may not have always understood the context of their songs, but I understood what it meant to not be understood.  I didn’t understand my own privilege, but having a physical limitation, I understood what it felt like to be viewed as “less than” in comparison to others.  I didn’t understand how opposite Rage Against the Machine’s ideas were to the community I grew up in, but I understood that racism (along with sexism and other fearful, bigoted beliefs) were a very real and powerful thing in the U.S.

As I’ve aged, I have begun to understand the deeper mental and emotional toll these take on a person.

These ideas drove me to releasing “FUmaga”
 

What is “FUmaga”?

“FUmaga” is a protest album, plain and simple.  An homage to artists like Rage Against the Machine, Bob Dylan, Neill Young, System of a Down, and the like.  A cathartic exercise in speaking out.  A painfully aware whisper into a void.

From a technical standpoint, it’s quite raw, as I have felt an urgency to do (and say) something now and in the moment.  With that in mind, I tried to focus on “feel” more than “refinement” during the recordings.  So, there’s bumps and scratches here and there and I’m good with that.  Perhaps I’ll re-record some of the album later with a more refined process, but right now, I wanted to get it recorded and released.

Why this, why “FUmaga”, why now?
It felt important to be direct and clear in what I’m saying in this album.  I am naturally an empathic person, which means, even when I strongly disagree with someone, I can often understand their thinking and how they got to where they are.  At the same time, this little trait of mine can make it difficult for me to clearly state my own beliefs and my thoughts if they are oppositional to others around me.  
Over the last 10+ years, I’ve felt a growing urge to speak against things happening in the U.S.  Not because I believe I carry such influence that I will change anyone’s mind.  It’s more about my personal values and principles.  

A particularly challenging thing in the last 15 years or so for me has been the balance of:  

• Acknowledging that there are different perspectives, and they are relevant
• Making a definitive statement about my perspective
• The realization that sometimes things go beyond simply having different perspectives and 2 things being “right” at the same time.  Sometimes, there is no explaining away reality with “seeing things differently”.  Sometimes, there is something wrong happening and that’s just what it is.  

When I think about the moral high-ground the U.S. has built its historical narrative around, I think about immigrants being kidnapped by the government, LGBTQIA+ rights being taken, women’s rights being taken, the inhumane treatment of so many of our citizens, and our electing and protecting of a (found guilty in our courts) rapist.  I think about these things, and the absurdity of it all, and I fear the future.  

I think one of the scariest parts of this is that we have always been this way, it’s just more overt now than it’s been at other times in my life (or maybe I’m more aware).  I grew up in a community with very racist and bigoted beliefs.  I know from my own experience that these beliefs have not gone away.  I also know from reading and studying and living away from “home”, that my experience does not represent any sort of social anomaly.  If it did, we would not have people like marsha blackburn and bill lee and cameron sexton running the state of Tennessee, and we would not have people like donald trump holding the office of president of the United States.  

I won’t go into all the data supporting my beliefs. It feels like that moment may have passed, and many people appear to be beyond accepting information and changing their stance.  I fear we are at a point where people need to “feel” the repercussions of what is happening before they will welcome any change.  Maybe I’m wrong, I hope I am.  But it’s hard to believe that when donald trump is able to convince people he was cheated out of an election with no actual data/evidence to show it; when despite proof, people believe all immigrants (except the white ones) are rapists and violent criminals; and that even though the LGBTQIA+ community has been around since the dawn of humankind, people still refuse to accept them as human beings.

In short…I believe trump and his ilk are U.S. history incarnate.  They are the victors ever playing the victim, only to justify being the oppressor all over again.  With that being said, I do believe the U.S. could be a beacon of hope and leadership in the world.  One that connects us and pushes all around us to be better (including ourselves), but right now, we are not that.  Right now, we are more like the self-righteous bully on the playground that thinks intimidation and power-over is leadership.

I do not know how all of this ends.  I am hopeful that things will turn out for the better in the end, I’m just not optimistic about the collateral damage it will take (and has already taken) to get there.  Either way, I want to be able to say that when I felt something wrong was happening, I said something, even if I was late to the party (as I’m wont to do). 

What are you doing about it, other than yelling into a microphone?
A portion of the proceeds made from the album will go to non-profit organizations, with special focus on supporting immigrants, refugees, the LGBTQIA+ community, and violent crime victims.  

 

Below is a letter I sent via email to my representatives ahead of the Senate vote on the SAVE America Act.  Communicating with our representatives is one of the ways to show dissent, or support, for whatever they are working towards.  Does it guarantee any change? Absolutely not.  However, it is a documented way to show they are not as supported as they say, and that their logic is broken.  And therefore, I've decided to start sharing my communications with these lawmakers pubicly.  I'm not sure how often I'll do this.

If you are interested in communing with your Representative, you can find them here…

Find your U.S. Congress Representatives

Senator,

My name is Garrett DeVaughn.  I am a constituent of Nashville TN.

I am writing to beg, urge, and demand you oppose the SAVE voting act.  

I have found NO EVIDENCE of voter fraud other than Donald Trump making claims for the past 10+ years.  With no evidence of voter fraud, there is no reasonable purpose for the SAVE act to be put in place.  Therefore, the only logical reasoning for it would then be to control the voting, and control the outcome of the upcoming elections.  

As citizens, we have the RIGHT to vote.  We should not have to pay to vote.  Many people do not have Passports.  Many married females in the country took the surname of their husband, and now their ID does not match their birth certificate.  Leaving them needing to acquire a passport, or go through the process of updating information within the system.  Neither of these options are fast and neither are free.  

I recently PURCHASED a passport.  The cost was around $150.  Citizens should not have to PURCHASE voting identification.  We are citizens regardless of our income bracket.  I also recently had to replace my birth certificate, which was also not free.

If you can provide some actual, verified evidence of voter fraud, I would very much like to see it, as it might change my stance on the situation.  However, as it is, I can not see how in good conscience you can support the SAVE act.

I would like a response.  I have ZERO faith that you will take any of this into account.  Your track record has proven that you will do whatever donald trump (or his cohort) tell you to do.  I would love to be proven wrong.

Tis the time of year when we come together to break bread and give thanks to our founds for the resplendent over-abundance of lands and food and freedom (just as long as you're white/christian/straight, and preferably, male).  

Oh what a joyous time it is indeed.  We are taught to celebrate the coming together of European refugees and the Indigenous People that were here long before.  If we are being generous, perhaps when those 1st ships landed, there was some civility and kindness amongst all.  But, as history unfolded, whatever civility there was, was replaced by dominance and an invasive nature.  I am no historian, so I can't preach on the details, but so much is common knowledge, that I don't think it's necessary to be a historian to understand the wrongs that have been done in the time between Plymouth Rock, and today.  For this, I do not recognize the thanksgiving holiday.

So, where did John Wick Day come from???  A fair question.  It started last year.  I woke up on thanksgiving day, excited to watch the Macy's Parade…I made it about 10 minutes into the parade, before a feeling of disgust and anger over took me.  I was not prepared for that shift, and my reaction at 8am in the morning was to turn on “John Wick”.  I wanted to see some form of justice.  I wanted to see some form of retribution.  Thus began “John Wick Day” and “John Wick Week” for me, my wife, and our cat.

For many years, I had enjoyed the Macy's Parade, the performances, the pageantry; it always felt old and warm.  Thankfully, I no longer feel tethered to those feelings, and I believe I see the world just a bit more clearly.  Thanksgiving is a celebration written by the victors, like so many other things.  It is not special, it is not an “honor”, it is the result of a narcistic trait that flows through our society.  A need to be important and special, and to be seen as heroes.  

We are not heroes any more than anyone else.  We are as genocidal and violent as any other.  I know this sounds harsh, and I'm sure some may take the stance of “if you hate it so much, why don't you leave it?”.  To that, I would respond with this...  

Humans are flawed, all humans, from the individual to the community…every last one of us has the ability to be as altruistic and as sadistic as the next person.  I accept our history, and what our ancestors did (and what we continue to do).  I accept it, and I am determined to take a different path, and not repeat the brutal cycles we see around us to the best of my ability.  I may fall flat on my face more times than not, but I intend to try all the same.  

It may look like volunteering to work the holiday for my colleagues, volunteering for the community, or just trying to help a neighbor or stranger in a small way.  I suppose, the actions sound an awful lot like what many people do for thanksgiving day, it's the motivation and the intent that is different.  

My regret and shame is that it took me 45 years to get here.  

And so I say, “Happy John Wick Week” everyone!  Go do some good out there.