Which One’s Pink?
Lee Haywood
Last week was somewhat eclectic for me. There is a Pink Floyd tribute band out there touring around. Their name is Brit Floyd and they were at Tanger Center in Greensboro a few weeks ago but I missed them. Word on the street was they are awesomely good. Well, I am a yuge Pink Floyd fan. So much so that I consider them to be my second favorite group, the Beatles being my favorite, of course, and one of my pet likes is listening to good music played loud. Real loud.
So I saw they were booked at Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte this past Tuesday. Long story short, Ovens is an optimum venue for this kind of event, it has great acoustics, I had a seat three rows from the front, and they lived up to their reputation. They were indeed awesomely good.
I tell you this because Floyd’s music is unique in that they match incredibly composed music with lyrics that nail some of society’s most basic ills. For lack of a better description one would be correct to call them anti-establishment. Thus my adoration. This band is tailor made for a 10th grade high school dropout like me that has a suspicious nature and a problem respecting authority.
OK. That was Tuesday. For the first time since becoming voting age I am no longer in the Sixth District. On Saturday I was one of the delegates who took part in the Fifth District Convention and was elected at-large to sit on the NCGOP Executive Committee where I served many years but took a break to run for Congress. I will now be represented by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx who has amassed quite a bit of respect and power since being elected to Congress in 2005.
Now one might make the argument that it would be hard to find an organization considered more establishment than the Republican Party. I certainly can’t think of one, can you?
But wait. The Republican party has been characterized as an organization that requires mindless devotion from its members. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The party I am proud to belong to consists of people from all walks of life, from self-employed political hacks such as myself to preachers, clerical, construction workers, etc. Stay at home moms or professional women, black, white, brown, straight and gay people. You get the point.
I think the things Republicans have in common is our love of the Constitution, our individuality and belief in self-determination. That all people should be treated as individuals and not part of a demographic graph or pie chart.
This is the perfect organization for an anti-establishment, Pink Floyd loving geek like me to belong.
I write this as a temporary departure from the deadly serious business taking place in Israel and elsewhere and to remind everyone how blessed we are to live in a free society such as America. For those that have not been to a Republican meeting in awhile I urge you to do so. The struggles going on worldwide are real and heading in our direction. It is the Republican Party that will be on the front lines and we will need individuals like you to help protect the last bastion of freedom on Earth.
Lee Haywood is a franchise owner for Winzer USA, an MRO supply company based in Plano, TX.
He services industrial and government accounts across NC. Lee and his wife Brenda reside in Summerfield, NC and have been married for 39 years. He considers himself to be quite the dude.