18 January Is For Videos: Randy Newman – In Defense Of Our Country

You may not know who Randy Newman is, but you’ll instantly recognize his voice from that song “You’ve Got A Friend In Me.” I like Randy Newman. His familiar, timeless, no-bull-crap kind of approach to song writing is something I admire. He’s an old fella, but clever as ever. He and Steve Jobs must be tight; Newman has scored a large number of Pixar movies and appeared recently at the Macworld Expo 2008 during the Apple Keynote. He played his song “In Defense of Our Country,” which, in part, is why I’m posting it today. The other reason I’m posting this video is because I can relate to Randy in having to defend myself and the U.S. as a whole for the current state of affairs. I’ve had similar experiences in the places I’ve been, having the distinct privilege of representing our wonderful country and the awful burden of defending her too. Being over seas can be quite disheartening when the discussion turns to U.S. politics. Often I am forced, reluctantly, to be an unofficial ambassador, explaining why Americans are the way we are. I know we’re not all evil warmongers, we don’t know everything that the current administration is doing, and that it only speaks for some of us, but often that’s the stereotype I’m faced with. I grow tired of defending something I know isn’t completely terrible, but also isn’t the best right now. Mostly, I grow tired of being blamed for it, as if responsibility for the whole situation rests solely on my shoulders. There are over 300 million people living in the U.S. and somehow I’m supposed to give an answer for them? I don’t want to make excuses and foolishly defend bad policies and practices. What good is that? Is that patriotism? Or reckless loyalty? This reminds me of that line from “Drops Of Jupiter” by Train: “Your best friend always sticking up for you, even when I know youre wrong.” Blegh… Makes me cringe every time. The best I can explain it is this: Imagine your brother has done something wrong. You don’t control him; he does what he wants. But because he’s your brother, you have to give an answer for him. You know that what he did isn’t right, and you don’t excuse the injustice he caused, but you defend him because you love him. You know he has good in him and he’s not completely awful. Instead of giving up on him, you see him through it all, so he’ll eventually become a better person. That’s how I feel about my country. Sometimes it’s hard to defend her, but I love this place. I’ve said a lot, but I think Randy Newman has put it best here, in this song.