Just what is the "moderate" political position in America today?
Dean Esmay asked the hard question: is there a moderate position today? He concludes -righly, I think- that "moderate" is an approach or a temperament, not a political position.
On the other hand Alan, of The Yellow Line argues that centrist is a more appropriate word. But "centrist" is just as bad as "moderate." The reason being that one is still defining a political position in terms of other people's political positions, especially when you consider that Alan says that centrist/moderates "are more interested in moving outside the dichotomy of left and right." In that case, they aren't centrist anymore, because they've changed the frame of reference.
I also have to severely disagree with the definition of moderate as "socially liberal/moderate and fiscially conservative." Is that "the" moderate posistion, or is it just one of them? And just who defines moderate? Is there a central (aha) comittee for the Centrist/Moderate Party no one's heard about? Or is this some sort of alleged statistical measurement of a mean or median? If so, who measured it, and how?
What is a moderate, except someone who is willing to compromise? If so, are they willing to compromise on all issues? If that's the case, they're spineless jellyfish. There are some things worth fighting for; but as soon as you take a definite stand on an issue, whether free speech, gun ownership, small government, or the war on terror, haven't you stopped being centrist/moderate? If not, why not?
If you read Alan's post (which you should), you'll see that he explicitly defines centrist/moderates as "middle of the political spectrum," but this contradicts the rest of the article, which relates more to a moderate approach to politics than a "center of the road" moderate position.
One of Dean's questions is: what are the political principles which define the centrist/moderate position? That's a good question. Alan objects to this, and calls the reasoning "ridiculous," but neglects explaining just why this is so. He does go on to explain what centrist/moderates are not, and therein lies the clue.
Centrists in America aren't defined by what they are, but what they aren't. Listen to a self-labled centrist/moderate; what you'll hear is "we aren't..." Jack Grant takes the same (flawed) approach at Random Fate.
Listen further, and you will percieve that these people are, indeed moderate, but not politically. There's no generic "middle of the road" political position. But they are moderate in their approach to political questions.
Now, generally, this is a good thing. Certainly I'm sick of the mindless mud-slinging of "fascist!" and "traitor!" we've seen the past five or ten years. But is a moderate approach by itself neccessarily a virtue? Recall that all "moderate approach" means is that one discusses an issue in a civilized manner.
Suppose a communist or NAMBLA member tries to discuss their cherished views in a civilized manner? Does that make them moderates? I have to say "no," since one follows a corrupy, vicious ideology, and the other buggers young boys.
So a moderate approach, by itself, does not define a "moderate." And we still haven't managed to define "moderate."
I don't think we can. Why? Exactly because moderates generally define themselves in terms of other ideologies; even Alan does this when he defines moderates as "socially moderate/liberal but fiscally conservative."
But there is yet another clue in Alan's approach, and I've already quoted it, in part:
Centrists are more interested in moving outside the dichotomy of left and right and finding new solutions altogether. ... my solution isn't to just decry the methods of idealogues but to convince enough people that they don't have to be right or left. Politics is not a straight line. It's not either/or.
So what he's really saying is that he wants to go to the root of the problem (perception of a left/right dichotomy) for a solution. Do you know what you call someone who attacks the root of a problem?
That's right! A radical.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Alan Stewart Carl is a RADICAL!
Lock up the kids and hide the silverware....
Just don't ask me what a moderate is. :)
Or is that country and blues?
As is not unusual {g}, Dean got me to thinking when he started a thread discussing the close similarity between country and blues music.
What surprises me is that this is news to people. I suppose it's one of those "everyone knows" things; everyone knows that country and blues are really, really different.
There's some good stuff over there; Alan of The Yellow Line points out one of the roots of country: Irish folk music.
Country music can trace a lot of its roots back to Irish folk music. Many if the 19th century Irish immigrants ended up in New Orleans and then worked their way up the Mississippi into Tennessee and the surrounding areas. These immigrants often worked alongside blacks.
Head-banger and Limey Andrew Ian Dodge of Dodgeblogium sez
I always described country music (traditional) as "white boy blues."
You have a lot of company, my friend.
Bithead raises some interesting points. If the Allman Brothers came out today they'd probably be labled some sort of "alternative" country.
They'd have company, too. Charlie Daniels started out as Southern Rock in the same vein as the Allman Brothers, but they've definitely "gone country." If you go back and listen to what Steven Stills did (besides CSN&Y), you'd hear a lot of blues/country influences. Try to find his live (acoustic) rendition of Crossroads.
Actually, Stills provides a starting point which leads to a fascinating series of intertwining threads. Stills and Richie Furay were members of Buffalo Springfield. Furay moved to Poco (Richie Furay, Jim Messina, Rusty Young, George Grantham, Randy Meisner), with Meisner later joining the Eagles. Furay went on to create Souther, Hillman, and Furay, with Chris Hillman having previously been with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Stills' Manassas. JD Souther's songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Roy Orbison, James Taylor, CS&N, Warren Zevon, Joe Cocker and Hugh Masekela. He appeared on Roy Orbison's last album, and there's that pesky rockabilly again... ;)
Jim Messina was in Poco, and did a lot of engineering work, which is how he met Kenny Loggins.
Messina's Telecaster licks gave Loggins & Messina a distinctive sound; I challenge anyone to characterize his solo in the extended version of Angry Eyes as belonging to any particular genre!
If Loggins & Messina came out today, they would almost certainly be seen as "mainstream" country.
Lest I forget: what about Jimmy Buffet? He's been moving towards country since his 1984 Riddles in the Sand. Not only are more country artists doing his stuff, more country stations are playing his work. And -in case you didn't know- there are two Jimmy Buffet Capitols in the US: Cincinnati, Ohio, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Marshall Tucker Band would probably be considered country, as well as Pure Prairie League, and maybe even Little Feat. Actually, Cincinnati-born Pure Prairie League included Craig Fuller and George Powell, both of whom ended up in Little Feat. Oddly enough, while double-checking some of the group lineups tonight, I found out that country legend Vince Gill was a member of Pure Prairie League for a few years. Go figure...
Bithead mentioned Rainy Night in Georgia. Well, earlier in the thread I mentioned the PBS special Rhythm, Country, and Blues. It's about ten years old; I have a very well-played tape of it. :) Basically they interviewed a wide variety of artists and music historians, and their conclusions pretty much agree with what's been said here. Country was frequently called "white man's blues," with both "white" and "black" blues having strong rural and Gospel roots. If nothing else, you should watch it just to see and hear Rufus Thomas's impressions.
Anyway. Part of the show was filming various artists record songs which could be blues, country, or both; and before I forget one of the guys involved was Don Was. Those who know, know. :) The truly interesting twist was that they paired a country artist with a blues artist on each song. The results were ... interesting.
The reason I'm reminded of all this is that one of the songs used was Rainy Night in Georgia. The two artists? Conway Twitty and Sam Moore. Before you laugh, recall that Twitty started out in rockabilly before he went full-bore country, and the man still has great pipes.
The songs?
-Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby, Vince Gill and Gladys Knight
-Funny How Time Slips Away, Al Green and Lyle Lovett
-I Fall to Pieces, Aaron Neville and Trisha Yearwood
-Something Else, Little Richard and Tanya Tucker
-When Something is Wrong with My Baby, Patti Labelle and Travis Tritt
-Rainy Night in Georgia, Sam Moore and Conway Twitty
-Chain of Fools, Clint Black and the Pointer Sisters
-Since I Fell for You, Natalie Cole and Reba McEntire
-Southern Nights, Chet Atkins and Alan Toussaint
-The Weight, The Staple Singers and Marty Stuart
-Patches, George Jones and BB King
They're all excellent performances. My personal favorite keeps bouncing between Since I Fell for You and When Something is Wrong with My Baby. Both contain unbelievable harmonies.