Un-Invited

An hour before I was scheduled to perform “(Didn’t Know I Was) Unamerican” at the University of Miami, I was officially Un-invited. I’d been asked a few days ago to perform “Unamerican” at the showing of Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 911” and an appearance with Lila Lipscolmb, the American mother featured in the film. After several hours of racing down the Florida’s Turnpike to get to the University in time, we got a call about an hour away saying that the University had uninvited us. The reason? “(Didn’t Know I Was) Unamerican” was “too controversial”. Believe it or not – but that’s what I was told.

I’m having kind of a hard time believing it myself, but that was the word. Apparently, the university sponsor of the event had received a tremendous amount of pressure from the Young Republicans and the University administration about showing “Farenheit”. Their argument is/was that the Moore film was “partisan”, a violation of the policies of the University. The event producers with the film showing said they tried every angle, but could not prevail upon the decision maker to allow me to play. Even singing the song without the flash video was pushing things.

Anyway, the sponsor felt that my song would be too much, that it would be the tipping point offsetting what I perceive as the delicate balance of powers between the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech and the preservation of the status quo in the guise of a standard of “non-partisanship.” While I understand the standard – it seems ironic that Farenheit 9/11 was acceptable but a song about (among other things) preserving the First Amendment was not.

It was already hot enough in the kitchen, and the host couldn’t weather it getting any hotter.

I can empathize with the sponsor’s position – it’s a tough job market and being fired from a university job because of political controversy in today’s economic (and cultural) climate is untennable. I don’t have any hard feelings against her. I DO have hard feelings about an environment in our country when the “marketplace of ideas” our universities are supposed to foster falls victim to slimy politics that stifles valuable conversation – especially when the conversation pertains to issues of such vital importance to our future.

It saddens me that it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold our elected officials accountable in public anymore – to ask the hard questions, to expect answers and to engage in open dialogue when the topic of conversation turns toward anything less than lockstep praise of current “official” policy.

It is ironic that a song about the right to protest that policy and the declaration of a vision for a positive future are deemed unnacceptable in public discourse.

Please vote, and pass the song’s URL to any University of Miami students you might know: http://www.sharedvoice.org/unamerican/