What’s Going On? Marvin Gaye Was a Nostradamus

Franklin Madison

4 years ago

The year 2020 has not been boring and we’re only 1/4 of the way through. What’s happened so far? (1) We have a real plague killing people and spreading rapidly called Coronavirus. (2) We are on the verge of a new world war, one that could have religious implications. (3) Race relations are worse than they have ever been in my lifetime. (4) Australia has burned. (5) The planet is dying. (6) Politicians are lying at a record rate and to our faces in a way never before seen. (7) The separation of powers has been trashed. (8) We have a U.S. President who seems to think he has the powers of a king. (6) Kobe Bryant and his beloved daughter died in a helicopter crash. Is there a way to restart 2020?

I was at my grandmother’s house when my uncle Richard put on this particular Marvin Gaye album in January of 1971. Little did I know it would stay imbedded in me as long as it has and that the meaning of it would resonate from the early 1970s and re-emerge as a statement of our time and life well into the 2020s. The lyrics are prophetic:

Mother, mother, There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother, There’s far too many of you dying

The mothers crying then and today can be interpreted as the desire of men to still control the birthrights and the bodies of women. The epidemic levels internationally as to the abuse of women in war and in peacetime…women are beaten, raped, treated as property and abused on an international scale. Women, wealthy and poor (especially the poor who aren’t recognized in the #Metoo movement) are under assault physically and mentally on a daily basis with no newspaper covering their particular struggle. Mothers panic, because they send their daughters off to college praying that they don’t fall prey to some arrogant, ignorant self-entitled young fiend who feels that their daughter’s body is within their right to violate.

Black mothers cry daily because they don’t know if their sons, husbands or fathers will return home or fall prey to violence whether that is self-inflicted (Black suicide is on the rise), at the hands of a white supremacist, or a police officer. The rise of hatred that has led to random shootings and assaults on Jews and Latino’s and its not even safe to send your toddler to school for fear of gun violence. Lets not even discuss a visit to Walmart.

The Mother Earth is telling us that we are killing her using the voice of a child. Yet, the powers that be tease and taunt this child while wildlife and climate say otherwise. Scientist have issued warnings literally about the death of our home planet….yet monetary concerns and wealth creation has deafened so many that we can’t even hear a child’s voice. The voice that tells us to rid ourselves of the people and politicians that “deny” what’s in front of our collective eyes.

Father, father, We don’t need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate

December 2019, President Obama stated at a conference in Singapore, “I’m absolutely confident that for two years if every nation on earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything… living standards and outcomes.” according to the BBC. Obama also said that he believes a lot of the world’s problems are a result of “usually old men, not getting out of the way.” Who starts the wars? Was any war in history EVER started by a woman? Its time for us to see women as the leaders they are…period. Since man has kept historical records the biggest flaw in human progress has been the failure to follow women when they lead. And to ensure that as men they are fully supported. The ego’s of old men who won’t get out of the way is clear when you look at the U.S. Government and the blatant hypocrisy and outright lies being told to us on a daily basis. What Obama was saying is that we should try something different because what we have been doing isn’t working. “Because truth and the right answer come from diversity.”

Picket lines and picket signs
Don’t punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see

The world is picketing and protesting injustice, authoritarian rule, hatred, war, sexism on a massive unseen before level. There have been several massive women’s marches since the new administration (for reasons that are obvious to the honest). We don’t know who or if anyone is listening other than right-thinking men and women. People want to vote for truth, honesty, integrity and for what is good for women and mankind. What’s good for the planet and not what’s good for the wealthy, one particular race and the one particular gender within that race. Did we forget our promise to leave the planet better for our children?

Brutality is never the answer. Force is not an answer; it just subjugates, builds resentment and hatred. The brutality in the treatment of immigrants that arrive at our shores that are no longer welcome, even though the people who are closing these very borders are the offspring of immigrants themselves.

The brutal discourse in our country has led to an unprecedented level of lies, misdirections and the deepest division in the history of our young country since its exception. The policies that the Founding Fathers (more old white guys) put into place believing that we could govern based on the separation of powers in that each branch of government would check on the other and that collectively we would consider the oath to country and not one individual.

Washington is ruled by fear, and the Sith who are clearly devoted to the Darkside has used the ultimate mind manipulation to hypnotize 50% of the population in the United States into believing that the past three years have been in our collective best interest and that we are “Great Again”. Forgive me but wasn’t our greatness achieved because when were moving toward a more diverse and inclusive society where even the least of us have a voice and a meaningful role within society?

You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today, oh oh oh
What’s going on
Yeah, what’s going on

If love were used as the currency in all of our interactions with each other, then our world, our families, and our communities would be better off. We could cure our planet and finally act as the caretakers that we were meant to be. It’s really a simple concept. If each of us where kind or caring to one to two people a day, you would see the change. If the decisions we made in business were made out of love and care for other humans and the environment…how business is done will change also for the better.

We have to make love a priority in our lives because it is our most powerful emotion. I dare say that love is more powerful than hate and even though it appears that right now it looks like hate is winning and overwhelming all that we do…it’s the acts of love that shine through every time no matter what headlines hate and acts of brutality capture.

For those of us who are practicing Christians, and by practicing I mean you DO these things, I am not talking about your church attendance, I am talking about how you live your daily life there are some 106 references in the bible about love. https://dailyverses.net/love my personal favorite is 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” Do that and watch the change happen.

Surah Baqarah 2:195 in the Quran states, “Do what is beautiful. Allah [God] loves those who do what is beautiful.” The lyrics to Marvin Gaye’s, “What’s Going On” reflects the hope and promise of what we could be if we listened to each other. If we decided to love one another. If we did what was beautiful. Given the state of the world today, more than ever, we all need to do what is beautiful.

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Watch and listen to Marvin Gaye and the relevance of his hit today.