Fred Gillen Jr.: Fuel for the Revolution Fuel for the Revolution This is my blog. I started it back in 1998 when the term "blog" was new and I'd certainly never heard of it. At the time I didn't know I was blogging, I just wanted to post some non- edited pieces I'd written in my notebooks. I do not revise or censor this material in any way. Please feel free to email me through the "contact" page on this site if you have anything to say about what you read here. Independence Day 2018 Independence day. I think my country has finally killed any patriotism I had. I tried hard to love my country. My country is like the abusive lover who goes to counseling, gets sober, and just when things have been good for a while lashes out and breaks your jaw. The only thing sane to do is to detach lovingly.Get out while you still can. I used to fight injustice for my country because I felt it deserved fighting for. Now I fight because there is no place else to go and I have to live here. Who would take us? "You ran your country into the ground, so welcome to ours." That is not going to happen. I find it to be a necessity to go down fighting. I'll continue to get arrested and fired from gigs for good causes not because I think the cause will win but because as a human being I can not stand by and watch but not take action. I have no illusions about the futility of these actions. I've grown out of hope, a long time ago now. Hope is an election slogan, and that's all. The banks will still be bailed out, the oil companies will still get subsidies, no matter what is said about hope and change. What Trump means to America is we will round up all the black, brown, gay, "different" people and throw them in the fire first, but we're all going to burn. It will be a lot uglier this way and some of us will find it necessary to die sooner in solidarity but the overall result is otherwise the same. It may speed up the process. Our country was founded on genocide and slavery so why would it not be destroyed on genocide and slavery? It is the "American Way." Manifest Destiny. Happy Independence Day. The celebration of the day the white men of the American colonies declaring their independence from the British empire and its central bank, with great nobility and ideals for white land owners (because come on, we're still British after all.) Tea thrown into the harbor to fight the Starbucks of the day so white colonists can make more profit from their tea. Our flag has always been a pretty wrapper for ugliness. Trump has unwrapped it. The shock and awe from the left surprises me because what country have you been living in? Wednesday, July 4th 2018 07/20/2022 Childbirth 06/6/2022 Breakup Songs 05/26/2022 Thoughts and Prayers 05/26/2022 Pro 05/26/2022 Guns and Capitalism 04/30/2022 World Religions 02/14/2022 Spotify 06/26/2021 Civil Disobedience for Climate Justice Verses the Power of Song 05/28/2021 Art work IS work! 05/24/2021 Healthcare 12/28/2020 Inauguration Day 11/6/2020 Facebook Community Standards 11/3/2020 Masks, Red Arrows, and Entitlement 07/29/2020 Stella Immanuel 05/8/2020 Respect the Elders 03/24/2020 Buddha, Jesus, Patriarchy, President 03/21/2020 Covid 19 Virus Days 09/13/2019 9/11 05/13/2019 Look to the Kids 07/4/2018 Independence Day 2018 05/20/2018 Abortion and Guns 05/2/2018 Civil Disobedience 12/1/2017 Price of Progress 01/28/2017 Prayer for America 05/27/2014 "Free" music 12/30/2013 Happy New Year 09/26/2013 Ignorant Bliss 11/29/2012 Gillen & Turk 2008 Opening for Todd Rungren 08/27/2012 Shallow Money Trench 06/22/2012 Crazy Horse 05/9/2012 Talk 01/19/2012 Freedom 12/31/2011 Happy New Year 12/13/2011 Men of Business 11/19/2011 WAR 11/18/2011 Earth And Spirit 10/10/2011 Occupy Wall Street 10/6/2011 Independence 09/20/2011 Anger and Love 09/6/2011 You Can't Have Everything 09/1/2011 The Instruments 08/30/2011 Fathers 08/2/2011 On Being An Artist 05/11/2011 Speaking The Truth 04/25/2011 Tuning the lead vocal 03/17/2011 Instilling Values 01/14/2011 The Current Music Business 11/5/2010 Even The Air 10/19/2010 Rednecks, Racism, This-ism, that-ism 09/8/2010 9/11 07/18/2010 Being Ecumenical 07/6/2010 Dust 06/30/2010 Gay Rights/ Marriage 03/11/2010 The heart 03/11/2010 Culture 01/5/2010 Coats 12/11/2009 Pete Seeger 12/2/2009 Environmental Protest Songs 10/5/2009 Adam & Eve 06/18/2009 The World Rolls Along 06/11/2009 Clearwater 06/10/2009 The World Rolls Along 06/10/2009 War Machine 06/9/2009 alternative media 06/9/2009 alternative media 05/14/2008 God 02/24/2008 broke 02/11/2008 HOPE MACHINE 01/6/2008 Dennis Kucinich 12/27/2007 NYPD 10/4/2007 Mitakuye Oyasin 05/21/2007 The Past 04/15/2007 Kurt Vonnegut, Indian Point 10/8/2006 God 06/26/2006 From the Pe Sla -the heart of the heart of Lakota sacred land -the Black Hills of South Dakota 06/5/2006 Mowing The Lawn 03/24/2006 Gone Gone Gone 02/25/2006 grace 09/26/2005 Sky To Mountain 09/22/2005 Love 09/14/2005 Look Down 04/19/2005 April 2005 01/27/2005 Poverty 01/11/2005 Grace 12/3/2004 Standing Up 2 12/1/2004 Tired 11/29/2004 Standing Up 11/29/2004 Mercy 09/18/2004 Beaten 08/7/2004 Half Full 07/16/2004 Hallelujia! 07/16/2004 Battered Feathers 03/14/2004 gifts 03/1/2004 Ancestors 03/1/2004 A Prayer 12/24/2003 "The Bomb" 05/16/2003 Safe 05/16/2003 Satan 05/5/2003 Faith, Hope, Love 03/10/2003 Tatoo 02/11/2003 Folk Music is alive and well! 01/13/2003 Revolution 01/2/2003 January 2003 11/17/2002 FEAR 11/9/2002 Election Day 10/30/2002 Election Day 10/14/2002 Checkpoint Charlie 06/17/2002 Revolution 06/3/2002 Gold 06/3/2002 WAGE LOVE! 06/3/2002 Mercy 06/3/2002 New World Order? 04/4/2002 Real? 04/4/2002 Billboards 04/4/2002 Faith 03/22/2002 Living into the 21st century 03/22/2002 Comfort 03/22/2002 Barren Ground 03/22/2002 Dreams 03/14/2002 March 11, 2002 02/25/2002 Germany 12/14/2001 NOW 09/19/2001 September 11, 2001 08/6/2001 #5 Taking Responsibility 07/12/2001 Television 06/11/2001 #3: Sprawl 05/16/2001 #2 05/16/2001 #1 [ Home ] [ Shows ] [ Bio ] [ Press Kit ] [ Reviews ] [ Photo Gallery ] [ News ] [ Woody's House Studio ] [ Links ] [ Contact ] [ Discography ] [ Music ] [ Watch Videos ] [ Lyrics ] [ Poetry ] [ Fuel For The Revolution ] [ Hope Machine ] [ The Trike ]