It's news to no one that a cultural shift has occured. Evidence can be seen in the popularity of evangelical Christianity, the rise of megachurches, the increased interest in and acceptance of country music, the country's embrace of guys with confederate flag pckups, a general lack of political correctness, an across the board decrease in the standard of excellence, the acceptance and validation of conspicuous consumption, a self-righteous attitude towards greed, and the lack of a significant counter-culture.
The artistic community as a whole has resisted this shift and continued to produce material with progressive messages, in addition to mounting an all hands on deck assault on Bush. The left's pop cultural and artistic tools are indispensable and we'd probably be up shit crick without them. Bush's poll numbers are pretty low now and the artistic community ought to take some credit for that. But the fact remains that the culture as a whole remains conservative and is getting worse.
So how do we counteract the forces of religion and conservatism which have swept across the country and seem only to be gaining speed?
I work at a junior high school in Columbus, Ohio. The population is approximately 60% white and 40% minority, with maybe 28% on free or reduced lunches. My school is a good slice of America. One thing almost all the students have in common is that they absolutely love the band Green Day. I had no idea that Green Day's latest, 'American Idiot', would be such a hit among our students. The band has aged and their message has become more mature and intelligent. 'American Idiot' is ingeniously anti-war, anti-bush, and anti-conservative culture. It has very little of the teen angst, drug, and apathy themes prevalent on their superalbum of a decade earlier, "Dookie". In fact, it's hard now to believe that they even at one time put out an album called "Dookie".
I don't think our students really listen to or internalize the lyrics of 'American Idiot'. If anything, they might have a faint sense that the band is against the president and the government. Most likely, kids enjoy Green Day because they look and sound cool, and kids know cool regardless of the message.
The question for us then is, can kids' obsession with Green Day lead to a more progressive future? Can music have that much of an impact? I groan when I think about how conservative frat boys love Rage Against the Machine, Bob Marley, and Bruce Springsteen. The messages of these artists don't generally affect the politics of their conservative fan base. If this is true about music in general, then Green Day won't have any impact on the students at my school who, as it happens, will be eligible to vote within the next 4-6 years. Maybe ... but maybe not.
Green Day is beginning to drive the culture of the school. Kids are dressing and acting like the band members. They're explicating Green Day's songs in writing classes. They're doing speeches on Green Day. They're talking about the band during lunch and at recess. They carry around CDs and wear Green Day shirts. A counter culture is beginning to form.
The impact of 'Green Day' will not be enough in itself to shift the culture but it's a first step. My hope is that more bands like 'Green Day' connect with kids and help to pull the cultural pendulum back left. I think progressive bands are begining to realize that there is a counter culture void and that an opportunity exists to give kids something more harmonious to believe in.