By Richard Eber
In a gadda da vida, honey
Don’t you know that I’m lovin’ you
In a gadda da vida, baby
Don’t you know that I’ll always be true
Oh, won’t you come with me
And take my hand
Oh, won’t you come with me
And walk this land
Please take my hand
Iron Butterfly
When I lived in a co-op as a sophomore at Oregon, my next store neighbor Steve A. played the 18 minute version of the Iron Butterfly’s classic one hit wonder 24/7. Even though I liked the song, hearing it constantly drove me crazy.
It came to the point where I ripped the record from the turnstile and shred it into bits of vinyl. Soon, recovering from this momentary bout of insanity, I purchased another unscratched copy the following day to make up for my misdeed.
The lesson learned was either score a set of ear plugs or more effectively deal with similar adversity when the same material is continually forced down ones throat.
Recently, I came to a similar vanishing point situation after being bludgeoned by 28 days of Black History Month. After my In a Gadda da Vida experience as a youth I was reluctant to say anything or take any corrective action.
My complaints were not with the content of Black History Month, but the fact I was constantly being barraged with emails, billboards, newspapers, Television, and virtually every media outlet reminding me of this celebration. Whether I was watching a basketball game or trying to figure out what the weather might be, the results were always the same.
Athletes, Corporations, and guilty White people gave no quarter. For me it was like enduring Puritan Happy Hour. I just don’t like to be preached to unless attending services at the religious institution of my choice.
Making things worse it was difficult to express displeasure with being inundated with Black History Month materials because by expressing such feelings, people would consider me to be racist for not going along with the program.
Left with a choice of joining a militia in Northern Idaho or changing the channel, I took the easy way out and selected another station to watch.
“Excuse me while I kiss the sky” but I just don’t like being bullied by any social movement, cause, or anything else. Even when at home being reminded by my wife to haul the wastebaskets out on Garbage Day, such treatment still bugs me.
As such Black History Month this was not the first time I could remember suffering from media saturation.
I remember in the 1980’s while being a San Francisco 49er season ticket holder in the Golden Age of Joe Montana, each Sunday at Candlestick Park I was inundated with messages imploring me to donate to the United Way Charities. Their not to subtle messages informed fans that in order to be a “team mate” of one of the most iconic squads in sports history, it would be necessary to pony up to the cause.
After awhile constantly being bombarded with the slogan, “Thanks to you it works “, I ended up having an In-A-Gadda-Devida moment with The United Way. My solution was to ignore the mega charity and donate to causes of my choice. This decision did not interfere with my love of the “Niners”.
As it turns out my experience is typical of what most of us endure in life. Everyone’s so called breaking point is different. Normally, if something bothers us, we simply ignore it and go in a different direction.
For me I tend to place situation comedies with laugh tracks, opera sang in foreign tongues, okra, or Andrew Cuomo’s daily press conferences on my do not call list. Recently repetitive messaging from politicians on proper protocol on dealing with Covid-19 has joined the ranks of topics I don’t care to be reminded of.
There are several other things in life that fit this category. Even though the process of “How a bill becomes Law” is a subject worthy of my consideration in a democracy, I don’t care to be saturated with opinions of others on this topic.
It’s called having taste.
There is no reason to apologize for not being fully engaged by any subject. Black History Month fits such a niche even though I find the topic interesting. My only regrets about this year’s celebration are that the conservative side of the Black civil rights movement is usually ignored.
Few remember that Martin Luther King was a registered Republican as were the first 27 African Americans elected to the House of Representatives during Reconstruction following the Civil War. It should also be noted recent Cancel Culture target Abraham Lincoln, who’s Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves, was a proud card carrying GOP member.
With that said lives of such notable Americans as George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglas, Malcolm X, and Jackie Robinson should be celebrated 12 months a year rather than for a mere 28 days in February.
It is easy for me to confidently say by this time in life I can make my own decisions on what Kenny Rodgers described as:
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em,
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida moments need to be avoided at all costs
For some reason maneuvering on today’s PC social Tightrope is no easy task. All we can do is give our best shot and try to have our voices be heard.
Published with Author’s Permission
Richard Eber studied journalism at the University of Oregon. He writes about politics, culture, education restaurants, and was former city and sports editor of UCSB Daily. Richard is president of Amerasa Rapid Transit, a specialized freight forwarder.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal.
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