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Copyrights reserved by the author. If you are in doubt, please click on 'Copyrights' and read the details. The Grammy Awards by J. G. Fabiano I can't honestly say that I've been an avid music fan over the past half a century. I know what I like which includes blues, folk, and some basic rock & roll. One thing the music industry has always represented to me was a voice. I am not going to say that I agreed with this voice over the past too many decades but the industry and its people always had the courage to openly state what they believed in. My image of this industry was destroyed as I watched the Grammy Awards the other night. Only a handful of artists decided to make a statement of peace. I know of no musician who is supporting Bush's war but one after one as they accepted their awards they mentioned little of what will probably be one of our nation's gravest international catastrophes. I was pleased to see that Cheryl Crowe's guitar strap was emblazoned with a "no war" statement and a musician I do not know made a quick comment that he supported peace. Those were the only two that dared to make a political statement during their national event. I, and many like me, was saddened over this omission. Later I heard that the organizers of the event asked all of the participants to not mention anything about the war and to greatly limit their political statements. I think back to the time of the Viet Nam War when many musicians echoed what was felt by many Americans about that illegal war. They didn't care what could happen to them or if their career would be hurt over something they believed in. I doubt any organizer could have stopped them. I can't honestly say that I've been an avid music fan over the past half a century. I used to have respect for the independence of a group of talented individuals who used to shape what our nation was supposed to stand for. But, times are different now. Music has become more mainstream than most want to believe which means the musicians are more interested in what their music can buy instead of what their music means. The End
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