Undoctrination.org

I have been a fan of singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins for nearly 15 years now.  It all started when I was 16 years old.  I was driving home from my job bagging groceries and listening to the radio when I heard one of the most enchanting, sweet and harmonious songs that I had ever had the pleasure to experience.  From its opening instrumentals and vocals to its ending fade out, it absolutely captivated me.  Every time I entered my car, I was hoping for the song to play.  That song was “As I Lay Me Down” by singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins.  For the better part of two years, it got significant radio play and I was ecstatic every time it came on.  Given its 67 week run on the Billboard top 100, which set a record at the time, its very obvious that I was not alone in my deep appreciation for this amazing piece of music.

Some time later, I heard her song, “Only Love” over the speakers at a gas station and I was equally captivated.  It was being played on the local light rock station and I waited by my car for it to conclude so that I could hear the radio host announce the title and artist.  Having learned that, once again, I was captivated by a Sophie B. Hawkins song, I immediately went to Napster, which was not taboo at the time, and surveyed as much of her catalogue as I could.  Consistently, I was blown away by her music and soon had her CDs.  For years, I had enjoyed her music but eventually lost track of her career after graduating college and getting distracted by life.

Around January of this year, I decided to actually flesh out and interact with my previously dormant Facebook page.  I was adding as many musicians as I could think of under my interests, when my search for Sophie B. Hawkins came to her personal page, which had approximately 3000 friends at the time.  I was incredibly surprised to find that she interacted with her fans directly and I checked her wall frequently over the subsequent weeks.  Her fans absolutely adored her, with good reason, and would frequently post the most thoughtful images and sentiments on her wall.  It truly was awesome to see how many people that her music had touched and the general positivity amongst her fans.

While I had been a fan of her music for 15 years, I only then learned that I was equally impressed by her philosophies, her perspectives and the manner in which she communicated them.  From her Facebook page, I got cued onto her website and started reading her blog (http://sophiebhawkins.com/wp/).  Upon reading her blog, I quickly learned that I was equally captivated by the message she spoke of and the straightforward manner in which she was communicating.  Up to that point, I had only been a fan of her music and knew nothing about her personal philosophies and perspectives.  In her entry for 1/16/10, she wrote the following.

“I wrote before about this country, America, which I love so passionately and I hope is as unique and free for Dashiell as it has been for me. I see the amount of aide Americans are giving to Haitians and I am proud of us, yet why don’t we do this for each other? Why don’t we text a 10 dollar pledge to a family in Wilmington Ohio, or readily open up our families for adoption of desperate kids here?  When I talk about America I mean the people, us, not the government, what it has become. I have endless faith in the people, and that’s why  we need all of our rights and freedoms in tact, to do good, to make good, to create good … we don’t need to be crippled by banks, by the system, we need us.”

These two statements cut straight to the heart of the matter.  First, it is freedom and not government action that will bring about good.  Furthermore, it is not banks or systems that will improve the quality of our lives, it is US.  Too many people in the world, especially those who get the majority of media attention, see government as the channel and the means by which social justice and social progress occurs.  Far too many people in this country are indoctrinated to the point that they can’t see social or individual welfare being advanced through any means other than government, so to hear Sophie speak against this widely held misperception was an incredible delight, one which this article exists to share with as many people as possible.

As I continued to read her blog entries, I learned of her hands on activism with the Waterkeeper Alliance (http://www.waterkeeper.org/) and her partnership with a Wisconsin entrepeneur by the name of Dan Sinykin, his partner and Gigi Gaston, whom were all partnered towards using a newly developed wool based technology to clean up the oil spill.  At one point, Dan was producing 22 million square feet of wool based compounds to clean up the Gulf, all out of pocket simply because it was a cause he believed in and was willing to put his money where his convictions were. This philanthropic act, brought about not by compulsion but rather a personal sense of conviction and integrity, is inspiring beyond words.

On June 13th, she was featured briefly on “Fox and Friends”(http://video.foxnews.com/v/4237746/sophie-b-hawkins-speaks-out/) where she spoke briefly and performed her song, “The Land, The Sea and the Sky” (which is available for download at http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-land-sea-sky-single/id376474788 and all proceeds go directly to the Waterkeeper Alliance). In her brief talking time on the show, she noted that “Americans are the most generous and wonderful people in the whole world.”  When inquired as to where the disconnect was in response to saving the Gulf, her response was admirable.  “The disconnect is coming from the lack of leadership.  If we had someone like the president of the United States saying ‘This is what we need to do.  All you guys who voted for me who believe in hope and change, we need to get on buses, those who are on school vacation, get on planes get down to the Gulf, we have the Waterkeeper Alliance who is going to train you, we have Sierra Club, we have farmers with hay, we’re gonna teach you how to throw it on the water.  There’s a lack of connection with the people of this country.”  She only had 20 seconds to speak, but she really maximized the impact that her time had and communicated a very powerful notion in a very short amount of time.  The critical distinction she made was that true leadership appeals to voluntary acts from concerned parties rather than engaging in compulsory acts from a general tax base.   Individuals and volunteer networks were put at the center of the proposed solution rather than direct government action.

On June 15th, she was featured on the David Gibbons radio program, which was possibly the best interview that I’d ever heard conducted.  Due to some errors on behalf of the radio program, it was archived later than programs that had been recorded at a later date.  I fastidiously checked for the archived program daily for a week and once it was posted, I did my best to promote the heck out of it.  The interview is 48 minutes long and can be found at http://www.davidgibbons.org/id173.html.  To play the interview, just click the arrow in the lower left hand corner of the web site that pops up on that link.

In the interview, which also featured a gentleman by the name of Pat Williams, Pat and Sophie spoke of the lengths that the EPA went to to impede cleanup efforts by private charities, private companies, state governments and international entities.  Additionally, she spoke of the importance of Americans feeling individually and personally empowered to affect changes they would like to see in the world, as well as the disconnect that exists between the American citizenry and its government.  Most notably, the role of private companies to bring meritorious results where government entities were failing was incredibly refreshing, as most celebrities face considerable career consequences for criticizing government and praising the private sector, especially when the presidential administration is criticized in the process.  Sure to form, several media outlets did engage in a smear campaign against Sophie in response to her “daring” to criticize the actions of the government in the Gulf.  I sincerely hope this article does a good job of bringing the other side to the story that you won’t hear of through mainstream media channels.

When the interview was archived a week later, I did everything possible to promote it to my friends, notably those who are libertarian and anti-statist in nature, to show that private sector solutions, both charitable and for profit, had a refreshing new voice.  People like myself often carry reputations that make Ebeneezer Scrooge look like Mother Theresa.  On the other hand, Sophie, through her music, her writings and her demeanor radiates warmth, compassion and optimism.  Her extensive work with philanthropic, environmental and social causes through her own voluntary volition backs this up beyond any doubt.  Hearing Sophie’s voice speaking towards an end that I have advocated for years was, once again, beyond refreshing.

Many people have instinctively hostile, or at least distrustful, reactions towards those who advocate self-reliance and personal responsibility, preferring to label us as uncaring, greedy or exploitative.  Sophie, who worked low-end blue collar jobs for years prior to attracting the attention of a record label in 1992, became the success she was through dedication, initiative and personal responsibility.  Having achieved fame, she retains her down to earth sensibilities and is a very refreshing voice towards such virtues.  It is not our government, but our own freedoms and our own initiatives that can reverse the economic and social malaise that has dominated this country for the last couple of years.  We, as individuals, not a group collectivized as a political force, but individuals acting towards the same ends in our own ways hold the power to bring prosperity and relief to our beleaguered nation.  This mentality is typically grouped with the label “conservative” and is tied in with perceptions of intolerance and irrationality by a great many Americans.  As Sophie and I have both frequently said in the past, its time to look past labels and really analyze the ideas being circulated so that we can bring prosperity and happiness back to America.

In short, I wholeheartedly promote both the music and the writings of Sophie B. Hawkins on the strongest of terms.  For those of us in the liberty movement, we have especially compelling reasons to listen to what she says and how she communicates it.  As I have noted in a previous article, freedom IS compassion and forced collectivism is both cruel and ineffective.  This notion, while embraced by a great many, also serves to trigger defensiveness and distrust in others.  If we wish to maximize our blessings, it is imperative that we distinguish ourselves from the heartless straw men that we are frequently made out to be.  Others seldom care how much we know unless they know how much we care.  Sophie has a special gift, through both her music and her writings, to pierce that barrier and communicate in a manner more conducive towards positive and productive interaction.  As such, I hold her to be a true inspiration and a voice worth listening to.