Fight The Power!

I was a bit apprehensive when I saw that Chuck D from Public Enemy had been scheduled for this morning’s Reg Guys show. His talent has always been apparent to me but I’ve disagreed with his politics since drifting away from my old Leftist views and I wasn’t much of a fan of his tone and disposition even back when Michael Dukakis was a personal hero.

My politics may have changed but my dislike for angry social militant types has held fast. I’ve never seen the need for social militancy in this country. We have elections all the time and if you’re angry about the status quo there is every opportunity to either run for office yourself, or support a candidate who better represents your point of view.

The proper outlet for anger in this country is the system itself. If you don’t like it then roll up your sleeves, get involved, and try to make it better. An occasional political overhaul is healthy but a toppling of institutions from outside the political system is never a good idea.

I’ve been critical of Chuck D because I find that his message, to youth especially, is one of cynicism rather than hope. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that although we agreed on very little during his appearance, he was a blast to argue with.

When he declared that Castro and Che were personal heroes I thought all hell would break loose. I just can’t let comments like that go unchallenged and I was sure all civility would break down when I strongly disagreed- but to my surprise we just went on smiling and laughing and disagreeing. It was refreshing to see that he enjoyed the back and forth of true political debate.

We didn’t have much of an exchange on-air because we were running out of time but off-air I continued to challenge him on Castro’s human rights record- and he agreed in principle to make an appearance on Mad Pundit Radio in the future to continue the debate.

I can’t wait.