Omega, Vol. I

The Grand Executive proposed the theory that partisan influence would tear the nation in two. Perhaps, in 1861, the first coming of this occurred, regarding the violation of the country's own “We The People”? Regardless, the wise words of George Washington have played their cards to the fullest extent regarding the nation’s current political climate. Polarization. Pure polarization has led a respectable, Democratic political system to an immature, laughing-stock chicken fight.

An ideal political climate would feature bipartisan norms that could be generally respected by rival political caucuses. Yes, saying so is hypocritical to the original claim of the fact that political partisan damages the nation as a whole, but partisan is simply evitable in today’s day and age. Due to these unforeseeable differences in the nation’s caucuses, a common ground regarding essential issues, gun control being a remarkable hegemon in the conversation would be the least bit of courtesy any high level official of the government could provide to the average citizen. 

   While the increasingly “right” Republican Party, if one may have the audacity to refer to it as such in 2023 (a topic for another discussion), features animalistic ignoramuses pledging for the “Constitutional Rights” of the United States, the equally as “left” Democrats feature a senile Executive continuously attacking those clearly in need of his guidance as Supreme Commander of the land. Riddle me this: In what sensicle political climate can either caucus plan to accomplish for the greatest interest of the nation with these antics taking place? 

Frankly, neither party demonstrates any sense of superiority outside of the apparent control of the branches that make up the once fortified United States government. The constant grasping at the neck of the opposing caucus has led to the unfortunate embarrassment of the nation as a whole across various recent occasions. Notably, two House Democrats of Tennessee were recently expelled from their seats, without any form of Due Process, on behalf of the fact that they were protesting gun control rights following a murder of six individuals, three of them children aged nine, within their state. Rather than addressing the elephant in the room, the fact that some kind of control needs to be placed on who and who not should be permitted to obtain a military issued rifle, Republicans vowed to exterminate these Democrats from their seats. You can count on your fingers how many times this has happened in the history of the nation, one such instance being due to the fact that a House member was accused of sexual assault decades ago. Yet, Republicans deemed it necessary to expel these young men from their positions in their respective state. While this can be seen as an absolute overbreech of power from the Right, the Left cannot be left out of this incident, hence the issue surrounding partisan polarization. These House members spoke out of turn on the sacred House floor, after having been instructed not to. If you intend to be taken seriously, demonstrating the most basic respects of politics is likely a solid place to begin. In addition, while the fact that the two expelled men were black, and their white affiliate, who is a white female, was not expelled, is quite alarming, Democrats cannot seem to shake the fact that there are bigger fish to fry. Rather than obsessing and attacking Republicans over a potentially racial based incident, why would continuing to pursue the issue of gun violence not be atop the agenda?

Although political partisanship is the sole basis of United States politics, it is also proving to be its downfall. Gun control, albeit a perhaps cliche example, offers prime reasoning into the senseless bantering that has resulted from recent partisan activity. At the rate of progression regarding these intense arguments, a second Civil War may be in the near future. 

-Omega.

Going to the River

He wants to go to that river. He told all of Madison Square Garden. But I’m already there. I’m bathing in that river as Jesus bathed in the Bethany beyond the Jordan. I’m baptized by the hands of John and his hands rub across my face, tracing my features. His fingers have no fear in scouring around my nose, traveling to my lips, going up my left eye and down my right. I come up from that water with a new feeling, a new vision, a new life, a new land of hopes and dreams on my horizon and I should fear this sudden change. I should fear this idea that my life will no longer be the same and I do not see myself working here, living there, doing this for them, wanting this because it's normal. 

I fell in that river and I found love. I found the compassion to no longer have aggression for that boy who broke my heart oh so many summers ago and continues to act as an anaconda, choking and taking ahold of every strand of life I have left in me because he doesn’t have a single act of civil responsibility or self love within his being. I found it in me to find that act of love for myself which came out in me blocking that boy, ignoring that boy and putting that river of love in the empty river bed of my soul. That soul has music playing throughout it and that music sings of summer on the Jersey Shore, wanting to do nothing but love, wanting to do nothing but make it, wanting to do nothing but be happy, wanting to do nothing that lives the human experience of pain, trust, compassion, loss and confusion. 

I fell in that river and saw magic. I fell in that river and felt magic. I fell in that river and I saw not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven, not eight, not nine, not ten, not eleven, not twelve, not thirteen, not fourteen, not sixteen but fifteen folk who fell in that river to bless me when John could not. Though they never laid a hand on my body and grabbed my brain and soul in their fists and catered to it, watered it and added sun to it so that when I was ready and when the night was over I came out a beautiful flower. I walked in a seed stuck in a shell and left a flower in her prime. 

There's a religion with a king and a boss. No God. well- maybe there is a God. That’s debated like every other religion debates God. The King passed a hunk of his throne down to the boss- snapping his crown, donating a sword, smiling as he does it. The Boss is gratuitous of this King's kindness and that's when the gates open wider. As he kicks it off with No Surrender for the lost, damned, hurt and fighting souls of Ukraine, Bruce Springsteen’s voice fills the air. It fills my ears. My uncles and my aunts and my first hero's voice of my fathers lift me up into the clouds of heaven. 

This is life. We choose life. We choose to get baptized once, twice, every month by going to these concerts. 

This is life. This is beauty. Tears stream down my cheeks as thankfulness fills my heart. This room is not a concert hall, this is not a hockey stadium in Philly, this is a mega church. This is a Bruce Springsteen concert. This is the church of rock n’ roll, baby.

This is life. This is the river. This is the river of life. And it flows through all of us but it screams and it cries and it savors and it kisses and it hugs and it makes love all night long to each and everyone who chooses to just take a dip. There is nothing like it. When you stand in that room and you dance and sing as loud as you can into the ear of your uncle “OOOOOH SHE’S THE OOOONE” and when you turn to your father to sing scream in his ear next and he’s weeping, the harmonica of Thunder Road coddling every little rock n’ roll baby in the room, there’s nothin like it. You forget that one, two, three, four, five maybe even six hours have soared by because you're soaring above your own self. All you feel is beauty. All you feel is the water of that river, and you’re completely soaked, and you’re okay with it.

This is life. This is a concert. This is Bruce Springsteen. This is the river. And there is nothing like it. 

Now anytime I need that life line, that safe haven, that bomb shelter, that hug, that cold water on a hot day, that sunset on an Asbury Park beach, that cry after a long day and that first step as your parents stand around you cheering and freaking… I press play to that album- Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge Of Town, The Wild The Innocent… or I just go back. I step back in that river and I douse myself and I let John baptize me and I let Bruce hold me under…. 

I just go… I go to the river

He once was asked how he wanted to be remembered. All he said was "a good friend."

But he's so much more than that.

A beautiful singer who wasn't wary of taking risks with his voice, the falsetto found more popularity in death rather than in life (sadly), especially within the last few months on social media platforms. A lover, a heartbreaker, a worshipper of Jimmy Page and Nina Simone, the genius only made one album in his days on this earth. 

Grace.

Grace is a 10 song album with one cover, the rest being Buckley's one geniusness. Listeners of the 90s and listeners of the modern era can all align on the common ground of the fact this album is other worldly- ideas that have been explored and exploited time and time again by artists are honored and respected (but also beaten, battered and bruised). I think it sounds better with headphones. This is one album I like better on my phone than on a vinyl. When you have the songs directly harmonizing in your ear, there is nothing like it. You feel the passion dripping from it like warm honey dripping from an overflowed spoon. 

And that's what Buckley left us. Love, lust, longing, pain, power, purity, raunchiness, rowdiness, rock n roll heaven. 

The albums best tracks or ones that can make me cry instantly include, Lover You Should've Come Over, So Real, and Dream Brother. 

The famous cover of Hallelujah is on this album as well. This is the best cover ever made of the song. It's better than the original, as well. 

His voice can be bone chilling and tear jerking and angering and loving all on one track. His range is that of the Rocky Mountains. His guitar playing skills were amazing as well. That was his main goal in life- to be one of the greats. To be a Jimi Hendrix, to be a Jimmy Page... his skills could've gotten him there if he just had a little more time. But that voice... instantly, that voice is what got him up there with Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, and one of his role models Nina Simone. 

Jeff Buckley's father was a musician, Jeff Buckley was in an era surrounded by MASSIVE singer songwriters, and he played small clubs for most of his career. Though he is a powerful, strong, beautiful musician. He cannot be mistaken for anyone else, he cannot be overlooked, and he cannot be ignored as a driving force in the genre he played. He is his own, strong stoic entity, and that is why Grace will go down in history as one of the best albums of all time and why Buckley will go down as one of the greatest of all time.