Musicians, Put Away Your Flags, and Pick Up Your Pen

Over the past few months, and actually the past few years, we’ve seen a growing number of musicians waving various flags at shows, and making political statements. Every artist is well within their rights to say whatever they want, whether or not I, or anyone else, agrees with them. That said, the flag waving, and statement making, isn’t proving to be having much of an impact.

The issue is that when someone takes out a flag, and makes a statement, they’re limiting their voice to that particular moment, and when that person is on a stage, while the sentiment may be earnest, it always feels like the underlying hope is to create something viral.

A viral moment, however, is quickly replaced by the next viral moment, each one having the lifespan of a Mayfly.

There’s also the issue that whenever a celebrity speaks, no matter how far down on the C-list they may be, it’s the celebrity who will always wind up the center of attention, rather than whatever cause they may have been talking about. This is simply how fame works.

So while these artists may be making noise, they aren’t creating anything of lasting value, and they aren’t actually helping any causes.

What these attempts at creating moments also ignore is the time-tested power of what musicians actually do – make music.

While a viral moment can capture people’s attention for a few minutes, possibly even a day or two, a song – at least a well-written song – is a constant. It can not only reach people in the present, it can reach future generations who will hear it, and think, “What was happening back then that inspired this?" Suddenly a book is being opened, or a Google search is happening, to learn about that particular time in history.

Think about the ‘60s and ‘70s, there were political, and protest songs in every genre of music, and they’re songs we still listen to, and admire today. Whether it was Peter, Paul and Mary performing Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Joan Baez with her powerful “We Shall Overcome,” or Marvin Gaye asking “What’s Going On?” these songs became forever intertwined with the movements they soundtracked.

The key here was that rather than trying to look important, these artists created something that became an important part of history.

You cannot fully tell the story of the movements they were singing about without mentioning their songs.

What might be most interesting is that a significant number of political songs of that time focused on peace, with the main themes being anti-war, and equality. The “bad guy” was oftentimes an ideology. It was writing being done in that way unites people.

A number of years ago I wrote an article where I said there were two kinds of artists who speak about social causes

* Artists who use their voice to amplify a cause

* Artists who use a cause to amplify their voice

It’s “look at this” vs. “look at me.”

With the amount of flag waving, and statement making, we’re seeing today – especially by artists that many would consider to be mid-tier – I think there’s now a third type of artist, and they exist where those two circles overlap in the Venn diagram – they believe in a cause, but would also love it if talking it about it gave them a boost in notoriety.

This makes it very easy to question an artist’s true motivation when they make a political statement. What do they really want from this? What’s really their goal?

If they want to cast all doubts aside, they can put away their flags, pick up a pen, and create something that has a chance to live forever as a part of history … that is, if they’re truly about a cause, and not just looking for a viral moment, and a quick return to the spotlight.

Some of the artists waving flags have made songs, including the very recently talked about Macklemore, but his song fizzled out quickly because it was viewed less as a song, and more as an attempt to have a viral moment. Also, he was viewed a has-been rapper with a sketchy past, who wasn’t all that well-liked in the hip-hop community, trying to get back in the public eye, and, quite frankly, the song wasn’t good. That isn’t exactly a recipe for something people are going to listen to.

If Chuck D, in 2026, were to release a song about a cause – whether it was an anti-war song, or a song about recycling – we’d all listen.

So while not every artist who pens a song about a social cause is going to have a future historical connection, if enough of them give it a try – and perhaps take a cue from the protest songs of the ‘60s and ‘70s – a few will live on forever (of course, if they turn out to be on the wrong side of history, that will live on forever, as well).

If these artists simply continue waving flags, and making statements, however, they’ll be nothing more than a momentary blip, quickly replaced by the next item in someone’s feed.