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Jewish World Review Oct. 31, 2012/ 15 Mar-Cheshvan, 5773 Unmusical pro-Obama ditty is seriously laughable By Marybeth Hicks
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | About the new video from a group that calls itself the Future Children Project, which promotes its pro-Obama message in a song performed by a children's choir: You people must be joking. Really. This agitprop is so bad I thought it was political satire. It didn't seem possible that anyone would seriously expect American voters to be swayed by a song filled with lyrics that lament the unemployment of Big Bird, warn of dead polar bears and threaten a guilt trip for moms and dads if they don't pull the lever for Barack Obama on Tuesday. No, despite the fact that the lyricist, advertising executive Jeff Goodby, was a member of the Harvard Lampoon while a college student, the "Future Children" song -- while worthy of a segment on the "Colbert Report" -- is, in fact, meant to be a sober glimpse into the minds and hearts of the next generation. Some context: Mr. Goodby, along with his partner Rich Silverstein, co-chairmen of San Francisco- and Detroit-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, were asked to contribute to a project called "90 Days, 90 Reasons," in which artists, writers, "creatives" and hipsters offer justification and motivation to re-elect the president. As you can imagine, reason No. 1 is that Mr. Obama is the first president to support gay marriage. Hipsters have their priorities. Mr. Goodby and Mr. Silverstein, famous for "Got Milk?" and the Budweiser lizards, to name two of their most successful campaigns, did not simply contribute a quote or an essay, as others did. Mr. Goodby instead was inspired to write song lyrics such as these: Imagine an America Where strip mines are fun and free Where gays can be fixed And sick people just die And oil fills the sea We don't have to pay for freeways! Our schools are good enough Give us endless wars On foreign shores And lots of Chinese stuff And the chorus: We're the children of the future American through and through But something happened to our country And we're kinda blaming you "Blaming you" refers to you, Mom and Dad, if you heartlessly cast your vote for Mitt Romney. Never mind that it's one of those songs in which the lyrics don't fit the phrasing, so the singers trip over themselves to get several syllables onto a single note. Maybe Mr. Goodby didn't focus much on iambic pentameter back at Harvard. And forget about the simplistic tune of this singsong piece, which makes a commercial jingle sound like the opening movement from "Carmina Burana." Songwriter David Michael Ruddy probably was in a hurry. What's important is that the "future children" song reveals the incredibly immature and emotional thinking of those on the political left. There are no broad ideas conveyed. No references to the tenets of our system of government — things like freedom and liberty, the pursuit of one's destiny, or even a love of country that might inspire a voter one way or another. Instead, it's liberal fear-mongering set to an irritating tune. To wit: Find a park that is still open And take a breath of poison air They foreclosed your place To build a weapon in space But you can write off your au pair It's a little awkward to tell you But you left us holding the bag When we look around The place is all dumbed down And the long term's kind of a drag See it for yourself at www.futurechildrenproject.com. www.futurechildrenproject.com. Just don't sip your coffee before it starts or you may snarf it out again, and the dang tune may get stuck in your head, but this Obama anthem is good for a laugh, that's for sure. With less than a week to go until Election Day, who couldn't use a giggle? • Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Marybeth Hicks, a wife of more than 20 years and mother of four children, lives in the Midwest. She uses her column to share her perspective on issues and experiences that shape families nationwide. To comment, please click here.
© 2009, Marybeth Hicks | ||||||||||||||||
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