Wintertijd

Hope?

Since my kid was born, the notion of Identity has been on my mind more than before. For all intents and purposes a whole bunch of people are going to label him a Jew, because his mother is Jewish. I would label him half Israeli, half Dutch, because I don't believe his system of morals / beliefs is ever set in stone. How he sees himself later on, and how he presents himself will determine how other people view him, and ultimately might restrict his freedom of movement in the world, but he's not born with anything except socio-economic circumstances.

Brandishing his Dutch identity he would be free to go where he damn well pleases. If he adopts the Israeli Jewish moniker for himself, he will end up with half the world being off limits and parts of the rest biased against him. Still, he's the same blue eyed boy. How fucked up is that?

Having said that, I once got this obscure CD from a friend of mine in Sweden. Ethan Daniel Davidson's "Don Quixote De Suburbia" is a mixed bag, but a very interesting one. I hadn't listened to it for a long time, but yesterday I had put it on my new iPod 80GB, along with 5800 other songs, and while I was thinking about this aspect of Daniel's life to be, this song by Ethan Daniel Davidson flashed by.

By his own admission he's part Jewish, part Native American and looking at his last name, there are Scandinavian settlers in the mix too... Because Ethan and Daniel are Jewish names (or can be) while Davidson can be as Swedish as an elk. So he sings / speaks this song about going to the deep south and partying in a mixed crowd next to the house of the asshole who founded the KKK back in the day, and he managed to put my mind at ease somewhat.

Listen to the lyrics of this funky tune. It's one of the best songs I've rediscovered recently, and it actually has something intelligent to say about the state of the world. Enjoy Ghosts of Mississippi by Ethan Daniel Davidson.

Posted by Chris at March 29, 2008 11:25 AM