All the inspiration you need

CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

If I were ever on a golf cart, here are some of the things you might hear me yell:

1) "Help! I've been kidnapped!"

2) "Why are my kidnappers forcing me to wear all this tacky synthetic-fiber sportswear?"

3) "Does the clubhouse make a mean mojito?"

4) "Nice ass!" (After I've visited the clubhouse and had a few too many mojitos)

I cannot imagine any circumstance under which I would feel the need to yell "White power!" Perhaps if I were especially excited to see a Martha White baking supplies delivery truck pulling up to my favorite grocery store. But even then, I think I could muster some restraint.

Sorry, I know it is not a funny situation, but it's either laugh or cry most days, and today I sweated all the tears out of my system by assembling some exercise equipment in an overly warm apartment. 

This particular incident--you know, the one where the King of the A-holes tweets a video of a couple riding on a golf cart yelling "White power!" as they pass by a group of protesters, then claims he didn't know (about this or about the Russian government paying a bounty to the Taliban to kill U.S. soldiers? It's hard to keep up!)--feels like a new low for all of us.

So what's the solution? 

Vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote, vote. And vote some more until it becomes a habit and you can see it make a difference. Because it will. If it didn't, so many people wouldn't be trying to stop you from doing so.

Even if you're feeling uninspired by this year's crop of candidates--and how absolutely precious of you for feeling that way!--vote as if your life depends upon it.

Because, whether you're dealing with racial hatred, police brutality, the Taliban, COVID-19, or a myriad of other tragedies, clearly your life and the lives of your fellow Americans does depend on your voting. Not doing so or doing so badly clearly has catastrophic effects on all us. 

The only inspiration you need right now is making sure your fellow Americans are safe and well. The revolution, or--choose your own adventure!--whatever it is you want to happen, can likely wait a little longer.

Got to give up $7.3 million

Robin Thicke performing in 2013 by Melissa Rose;
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

I have been a fan of Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up" since it was first released in the late 1970s. I have repeatedly heard Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' "Blurred Lines." (Who hasn't? Like a drunk guy at a party, it was pretty much inescapable for a while.) I have no idea where the line is between inspiration and plagiarism.

So I'm familiar with both songs, although admittedly one more so than the other. Having said that, I never noticed a strong similarity between the two. I never had a "how dare they!" moment where I smelled ripoff and wanted to condemn the song solely for its sound.

For its lyrical content, that's another matter.

I think there's a Marvin Gaye "woooh!" lifted and embedded in "Blurred Lines." There's a similar percolating beat. Perhaps more lies underneath, when you take a note-for-note accounting of the two, but I just don't hear it. A vague similarity? Maybe. But couldn't that be ascribed to inspiration more than plagiarism? I'll leave that for the experts, but goodness knows, content is locked down enough already by overzealous copyright owners. (Hello, Disney!) I shudder to think that this might usher in a new era of lawsuits trying to parse the line between plagiarism and inspiration, all the while filling the coffers of certain companies, lawyers, and individuals that have the clout and power to sue.

Regardless, there is one bright ray in the midst of this dark cloud.

If for just a moment it wipes that smug smile off of Robin Thicke's cocky mug, if it spares us a few rotations of that incredibly sexist video on TV or YouTube, it will have all been worth it. Every penny of the $7.3 million.

Sorry, Pharrell. I respect you--just not your choice in songwriting partners.