Big Day at the White House

Anyone who went online yesterday knows that Kanye West was in the Oval Office, dropped the “MF” bomb with a pool of cameras and reporters present, and blew-up cable news with his stream of consciousness.

My Short Take

Although Kanye's command of facts and the specifics of his opinions are fuzzy, he has managed to raise some important and neglected issues. Many of us recognize that “freedom of speech” is under assault, but Kanye is communicating to his fans the importance of “freedom of thought.” He's brave enough to risk the wrath of the establishment media and most of his peers in order to communicate that thought. Personally I appreciate that his message is love, and his emphasis is on positivity.

Granted, many of us don't look to artists or entertainers to educate or inform us on politics or policy, but their art can influence the way we view the world around us. (Of course, many people are indeed influenced by celebrities' political opinions.) In any case, part of an artist's gift is the fact that she or he tends to think outside the box. That's also true of geniuses in general.

In Kanye's case, he has the charm of being uninhibited and not burdened by the constraints of self-consciousness. Listening to his stream of consciousness is like mining for gold – there's lots of unnecessary stuff that you need to sift through, but occasionally there are sprinkles of gold.

There's a good chance that his originality is a byproduct of his mental state, but that phenomenon is as old as human memory.

There is no genius without a mixture of madness.
SENECA the YOUNGER

When I was about twelve, I used to think I must be a genius, but nobody has noticed. Either I'm a genius or I'm mad, which is it? "No," I said, "I can't be mad because nobody's put me away; therefore I'm a genius." Genius is a form of madness and we're all that way. But I used to be coy about it, like me guitar playing. But if there's such a thing as genius -- I am one. And if there isn't, I don't care.
JOHN LENNON, interview, Rolling Stone, December 1970

Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN

We mustn't forget how quickly the visions of genius become the canned goods of intellectuals.
SAUL BELLOW
The unconscious self is the real genius. Your breathing goes wrong the moment your conscious self meddles with it.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

So I say, let's cut Kanye some slack and recognize that cable news and entertainers have an agenda which isn't necessarily the reality a lot of people experience.

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Photo: YouTube screen capture with effects by @roused