Havent You Had Quite Enough
being an american can feel
all kinds of ways in 2020 i typically
take solace in a wide array of american
music
dolly parton donnie hathaway nina simone
willie nelson the chicks lizzo
and the late greats john prine and bill
withers
all speak to where we’ve been and where
we’re headed
i’ve had the great fortune of
experiencing music as a super power
in human connection i’ve belted out
johnny cash and june carter tunes with a
complete stranger in an irish pub in
galway
bonded over celine dion with haitian
construction workers
as a result of my very poor ability to
speak creole
learned how to whip and nae nae with
some elementary schoolers in richmond
virginia
and spent six months singing
all the country hits in a cruise ship
casino
headed to mexico from mobile alabama
these moments spent connecting with
people who look
sound and live differently than me are
merely slices of life exchanged
but these exchanges can carve pathways
to a mutual understanding that can help
us see
each other for who we really are and if
we stay in the room long enough
the time we spend singing together in a
classroom
or hanging out in a karaoke bar can lead
to more humanizing moments and real
empathetic conversations that i know can
open minds
and shape the world what i found
is we all have a lot more in common than
not
we love a good hook about love loss
learning and longing and in that cruise
ship casino
the second you start singing proud mary
made famous by both
credence clearwater revival and tina
turner
the most unlikely people with strong
opposing beliefs
can be dancing and singing together like
there’s no tomorrow
we all have a very unique history in
this country
but no matter who you are or what you
look like in america
someone in your lineage whether by
choice or by force
has made it through the impossible in
order for you
to be here and that to me is something
that should unite
encourage and empower us to reimagine
american pride and patriotism
i’d like for us to think about the
american cowboy for a second
a mythological pillar in our society
right usually a white man on a horse
often avoiding the law shooting anything
in his path
what we forget is that these cowboys we
see
in tv and movies were inspired by
working-class blue-collar folks farmers
on a horse
working farm to farm trade to trade
usually on a six-month contract
whose skin color and way of life varied
throughout our
massive country not unlike so many of us
reinventing our livelihoods in covid
over time the media has
represented more non-white cowboys such
as little nazex and django unchained
more women lgbtq and people of color
have been represented
in the americana country genre
but not nearly enough to reflect
the monumental diversity in our country
in this moment i’d like for us all to
think of ourselves
as modern day cowboy superheroes going
out into the unknown
the big iconic hats to house an
ever growing knowledge and acceptance of
one another
a holster filled with radical empathy
to unite us and bring us to a safer more
sustainable home
the addition of a magnificent cape to
represent each and
every person residing in this country
carrying each other on our backs with
pride
and a lollipop so that we can hang on to
the sweet things when times get tough
just like a song we all know the words
too
having you had quite enough is a song
not only about being fed up
with the absence of these attributes but
a call
to examine what we’ve had enough of
what we can give and what we can give up
in order to see
each other thrive it’s a song about both
experiences
of having way too much in this country
and not having enough
in hopes that we can cultivate a less
divided
and more united state of america
thank you
know the plans i’d like
and all the faith you have to
fake and
[Music]
[Music]
night
[Applause]
this is a harsh kind of business
[Applause]
[Music]
you won’t ever scream
[Music]
don’t you say the kids tucked in their
[Music]
cages
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
they’re calling you daddy now
[Music]
[Music]
haven’t you
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
enough