Your Mind for a Hairdryer

Happy Earth Day. Here are some John Trudell nuggets of wisdom for you, as a present. The first is a snippet from the documentary Trudell, the second a video of Look at Us from his recording Tribal Voice. I listened to this song over and over again on the drive to and from Lansing when my dog had surgery. Most of the lyrics are below. But not all, so you have to listen. Please?

This man freaks me out, in a good way.




We see your technological society devour you before your very eyes we hear your anguished cries exalting greed through progress while you seek material advances the sound of flowers dying carry messages through the wind trying to tell you about balance and your safety. But your minds are chained to your machines and the strings dangling from your puppeteers hands turning you, twisting you into forms and confusions beyond your control. Your mind for a job your mind for a t.v. your mind for a hair dryer your mind for consumption with your atom bombs your material bombs your drug bombs your racial bombs your class bombs your sexist bombs your ageist bombs. Devastating your natural shelters making you homeless on earth chasing you into illusions fooling you, making you pretend you can run away from the ravishing of your spirit. While the sound of flowers dying carry messages through the wind trying to tell you about balance and your safety.

Trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness leading us into the trap believe in their power but not in ourselves piling us with guilt always taking the blame greed chasing out the balance trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness economic deities seizing power through illusions created armies are justified class systems are democracy god listens to warmongers prayers tyranny is here divide and conquer v trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness greed a parent insecurity the happiness companion genocide conceived in sophistication tech no logic material civilization a rationalization replacing a way to live trying to isolate us in a dimension called loneliness.

Look at us, we are of Earth and Water. Look at them, it is the same. Look at us, we are suffering all these years. Look at them, they are connected. Look at us, we are in pain. Look at them, surprised at our anger. Look at us, we are struggling to survive. Look at them, expecting sorrow be benign. Look at us, we were the ones called pagan. Look at them, on their arrival. Look at us, we are called subversive Look at them, descending from name callers Look at us, we wept sadly in the long dark Look at them, hiding in technologic light. Look at us, we buried the generations. Look at them, inventing the body count. Look at us, we are older than America. Look at them, chasing a fountain of youth. Look at us, we are embracing Earth. Look at them, clutching today. Look at us, we are living in the generations. Look at them, existing in jobs and debts. Look at us, we have escaped many times. Look at them, they cannot remember. Look at us, we are healing. Look at them, their medicine is patented. Look at us, we are trying. Look at them, what are they doing. Look at us, we are children of Earth. Look at them, who are they?