Meadowood Park Concert

There has been some discussion on NextDoor in the past day or so regarding the concert that occurred in Meadowood Park yesterday (Saturday, 10/14).

As an initial matter, I was not there and would like to extend my apologies to the organizers. I have no good excuse for my lack of attendance, I have erred, and I am sorry.

However, with respect to the discussion on NextDoor, this is ridiculous. People are on there complaining about the language of some local rapper.

Granted, the rappers should know his audience and not drop the f-bombs when he is surrounded by small children. However...

1. Kids These Days

Maybe the next discussion on NextDoor will not turn into an opportunity for people to brag about how they raised their own kids right but nobody else raised their kids wrong. It will be a first. The other thing I particularly love is how people "back door brag" about themselves by invoking their parents and "I was raised a certain way . . .".

Look, if you think that you're the last person to value hard work, you're not. You're just a narcissist. Similarly, if you believe that you are the first person in the world to think that "kids these days" just "don't have any respect" and feel "entitled" to everything, you're looking and a lot like my grumpy old uncle who died in the early 1990s. Care to share any complaints about "kids these days" with their "rock n' roll" and their "sock hops"? "Why, in my day, we listened to the sound of the belt hitting our behinds, and daggumit, we liked it!"

Simply put, take a broader view. The kids are fine. They are doing fewer drugs than "we" were doing, they are having less sex than "we" were, and they are studying more in school than "we" were. If we think their music sucks and fails to pay proper respect to their elders, perhaps that is normal and to be expected? If we didn't feel that way, perhaps something would be amiss.

2. First Amendment Thoughts

I've spoken a lot about the First Amendment on this blog. This is particularly interesting because I do not practice law in any area that is remotely associated with First Amendment (or Constitutional, for that matter) jurisprudence.

However, I want to be clear. The First Amendment does not apply to private actions; it applies to governmental actions. The suggestion that a permit to hold a concert in a public park should be contingent on the content of the speeches/performances in the park is blatantly unconstitutional. To withhold such permits because you don't like rap music is no different than withholding the permits because you don't like what Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump want to say at the political rally they (hypothetically) intend to hold in the park.

Inasmuch as we have obscenity laws, it is certainly within the purview of the SPD to write the rapper tickets or shut him down upon the explication of said profanities. Insofar as we don't, perhaps the Town Council wants to pass some (or not). If enough people in Speedway were passionate enough about the issue, one would presume that our political system would respond. Personally, I don't think that it's worth it, but I'm also not on the Town Council.

3. What DO You Want?

As I noted at the outset, I am very appreciative of the effort to put on this concert. I wish more such efforts would be undertaken in this neighborhood. I could hear the bands from my back yard, and I thought they sounded amazing!

I think that Speedway, the Home of the American Dream, should encourage local kids to play in rock n' roll bands (and by that term, I include rap, hip hop, metal, etc.). Playing music is a positive form of expression and a positive expenditure of youthful energy and exuberance. The kids who are good at basketball get a world of support, but the kid who likes to play drums is mostly looked upon suspiciously and given an "opportunity" to march in the band. (Don't get me wrong, I love the marching band. However, it is my experience that there are a lot of kids who love to play music but aren't wild about the opportunities to do so in school. Imagine if the only sports that Speedway offered were polo and cricket; I think a lot of kids would yearn for football, basketball, and baseball).

These musically inclined kids/young adults are the beating heart of this community, and we should be encouraging them to participate, just as the organizers of yesterday's festival did. Otherwise, what is the park going to be other than a place where people walk along the trail and look at the woods? (I note that a lot of the same people complaining about the music also complain about the kids in the park. I can't even . . .).

Bottom line on this is that Meadowood Park is going to be as awesome as we allow it to be. We can use it for positive purposes, as noted above, or we can fail to do so and allow the worst element to fill that vacuum. One way or another, the park will be put to use. I prefer it be used for positive and fun things, such as concerts, festivals, farmers markets, etc., as opposed to neutral or negative uses.

Just my opinion.

4. Yesterday is Gone

It ain't coming back folks. The days of having the sock hop with the Beach Boys cover band are over. If we are going to have events that are designed to encourage young people to live in Speedway (or even visit here), we have to accommodate modern preferences. Speedway can't, and shouldn't, remain Mayberry forever. The more we allow this Town's discourse to be dominated by a longing for yesteryear, the more this Town's discourse will neglect tomorrow.

I vote for an agenda focused on improving tomorrow, as opposed to a spiteful and futile attempt to recreate yesterday.

In conclusion, I heartily thank the organizers of the festival and all of the people who came out as spectators as well as all of the bands that participated. To the bands, I know you probably didn't get paid, and I thank you for donating your Saturday. To the organizers, I know you likewise probably didn't get paid, and I thank you for putting the needs of your community (regardless of how broadly you define "your community") ahead of your own needs.

To the detractors of this event, I understand your point; I think that inasmuch as you are concerned about this community, please dedicate those concerns to positive efforts that will enhance the value of the community and refrain from the backbiting and second-guessing that is destructive of our community.