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In Matthew Good’s eye, art is indeed political

Singer Matthew Good’s website contains a funny graphic.

Singer Matthew Good’s website contains a funny graphic.

Above a circle emblazoned with elvish script are the words: Occupy Mordor. Below the circle is the rationale: Because one ring should not be allowed to rule them all.

Appropriating this tongue-in-cheek Internet image that references both the evil kingdom in Lord of the Rings and the Occupy protests that are happening across North America is Good’s way of criticizing a movement that doesn’t know what it wants to be.

The Vancouver songwriter and social activist is all about protesting Wall Street, or protesting governments that care more about overseas military operations than domestic child poverty.

But he isn’t about to Occupy anything anytime soon.

“To be honest, I’m just waiting for the Occupy movement to figure out what the hell it’s all about,” said Good. “Do they want more regulations for the financial sector? Why are people jumping on board? What is the goal here?”

Good, who performs on Saturday, Nov. 12, at Red Deer’s Memorial Centre, understands why the grassroots movement started in the U.S., where the greedy financial sector is blamed for plunging the country into a deep recession that’s caused wide-spread homelessness and joblessness.

Protestors south of the border are taking swipes at the “decaying underbelly of a dying empire,” said the singer. “Up here, you are still seeing people driving some pretty decent cars.”

While Good’s home province of B.C. has the biggest child poverty rate in the country, the same thing was true when everybody was celebrating the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He said, “Nobody was Occupying Vancouver then. Why do they give a jack-s--- about it now?”

Good, who is almost as well known for his political stands as he is for his music, seems to expect a certain level of deceit from government at large.

While syndicated political columnist Gwynne Dyer recently expressed optimism at the democratization of some countries in the Middle East and the departure of Western armies from the same area, Good is more skeptical of the situation.

Non Populus, an atmospheric song from his latest album, Lights of Endangered Species, contains the phrase “Let it be unto You,” which is repeated in religious texts in Islam, Judaism and Christianity. “It riffs on ‘Let peace be unto you,’ because it’s not put into action — I mean the peace part,” said Good.

When translated from Latin, the song title literally means Unpopular.

The singer doesn’t think U.S. President Barack Obama’s promise to pull military troops out of Iraq will mean the country will be free of U.S. influence or control — not when staff at Iraq’s American embassy is bring drastically increased, as are state department contracts with private contractors in the country — particularly military contractors, said Good.

“Could that be viewed as occupational?” He added some political leaders in the area are certainly seeing it that way.

Good also remains critical of Canada’s actions in Afghanistan, particularly when peacekeeping operations morphed into active combat after troops were moved near the hot-bed of armed insurgency, Kandahar.

Now that the Canadian military is pulling out, Good questions what our soldiers accomplished, after the loss of 158 Canadian lives? Are Afghan girls any less afraid to go to school?

“It was a song and dance about helping women,” he maintains. “That place has remained unconquered since the time of Alexander the Great, and the Soviets tried for 13 years,” so what was Canada hoping to achieve? To change traditions that have been in place forever?

Good believes something other than military action would be needed to change a mindset that’s been repressing women for thousands of years.

lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com