An Editorial by Dawoud Kringle
(Originally published in https://dawoudtherenegadesufi.substack.com/. Reprinted with Permission)

Music has always been a major part of any culture and counterculture. It always will be. This phenomenon is hard-wired into all human society. Music possesses the power to change a society’s character. The cultural upheavals of the United States during the 1960s are a perfect example of this.

The reader should take note of a caveat. This editorial will contain viscous and unapologetic polemics against the republican and democratic parties. Consider yourselves warned.

Within the context of the aforementioned 1960s counterculture, the first decades of the 21st century saw an unforeseen sociological phenomenon in the West. Far-right conservatives and Christian nationalists replaced left-wing and anarchist communities as the counterculture in the US.

The situation has also manifested some bizarre contours. A considerable portion of people from subcultures such as Burners, Rainbow Family, Transformational Festival Culture, Psytrance/Rave Culture, etc., have inexplicably embraced far-right politics and become part of the MAGA nation.

Neoliberal politics and its practitioners are largely to blame for this. Neoliberalism failed to live up to its promises and devolved into its hypocrisy. Its inexorable drive toward aristocracy and abject submission to Israeli Zionism forced the aforementioned subcultures into the same deep-rooted skepticism toward mainstream governmental, corporate, or societal systems that the MAGA movement embraced.

These subcultures share non-conformity, creativity, and community-centered values, offering people alternative ways to experience connection and purpose outside mainstream society.

Trump has brilliantly capitalized on this distrust of the established mainstream and the people’s disillusionment in those subcultures. Conversely, one of the reasons for Harris’ defeat is her failure to do this or even understand its necessity. Trump portrays himself as a political “outsider” fighting against a corrupt system. Trump’s obvious allegiances to institutional authority, government regulation, big tech, elites, banking cartels, and authoritarian oligarchy is lost on his followers (I know people who heard him say these things, and worse, from his lips. They still don’t believe it’s true and claim he’s everything from a father figure to a freedom fighter or even the second coming of Jesus Christ). His pretense of anti-establishment rhetoric resonates with those subcultures who already question governmental overreach and autonomy over personal choices.

I can’t help but recall Adolph Hitler’s admiration for Friedrich Nietzsche’s works. Despite this, he failed to understand the message behind chapter 11 of Thus Spake Zarathustra, The New Idol.

Transitioning from subcultures like Burner culture, psytrance, or the van life community into far-right politics or the MAGA movement may seem surprising given these groups’ progressive, anti-establishment, and communal values. However, certain psychological, social, and ideological factors will explain why some individuals from these subcultures and their deep-rooted skepticism toward mainstream systems have been drawn toward MAGA and far-right politics.

The MAGA movement’s appeals to personal liberty, reduced government regulation, and autonomy over personal choices (often including resistance to mask mandates, vaccines, etc.) may have attracted people from these communities to prioritize personal freedom. We may also consider their wariness of technological surveillance, governmental overreach, and corporate power. Trump’s populist rhetoric appeals to those who feel technology and government are becoming too intrusive or controlling.

Another social need that Trump brilliantly exploited is the propensity to search for community and identity. Alternative subcultures offer a strong sense of community. However, the transient nature of these subcultures can lead some members to seek a consistent and stable community. MAGA’s shared symbolism, rallies, and slogans offer a strong sense of collective identity, belonging, and tribal loyalty that countercultural spaces may have failed to provide.

These subcultures cultivate alternative beliefs, from holistic health to anti-establishment conspiracy theories. The MAGA movement has incorporated conspiratorial narratives, from QAnon to “deep state” ideas, which can appeal to those already inclined to question mainstream narratives. Social media accelerated, intensified, and reinforced these conspiratorial beliefs.

For many, joining these subcultures initially responded to economic or societal disillusionment. The MAGA movement’s promises to restore jobs, resist globalization, and revive a nostalgic vision of national identity appeal to those marginalized or left behind by modern economic policies and societal shifts.

It’s not unreasonable to assume that some of them are merely casualties of excessive psychedelic drug use.

In summary, this convergence of anti-establishment attitudes, skepticism of mainstream narratives, and a search for a stronger identity and community create a bridge between alternative subcultures and far-right populist movements like MAGA. The shift is likely influenced by ideological overlap, disillusionment with modern countercultures, and exposure to populist rhetoric that redefines anti-establishment sentiment in a far-right political framework.

The problem (other than Trump’s incessant lies and ineptitude) is that the only way the MAGA movement can maintain itself is by instituting a right-wing totalitarian state. Just like neoliberalism, it must inevitably protect its power’s integrity while destroying its society. And, inevitably, any counterculture or subculture that allows itself to be assimilated into movements such as MAGA or neoliberalism has willingly chosen its annihilation.

The aforementioned subcultures (Burners, Psytrance, etc.) have always had a musical subculture. This included everything from the varieties of electronic music to drum circles and sound baths and everything in between.

This puts creative musicians in a precarious position. Conservatives have rarely been amenable to innovative music and generally find it incomprehensible. Neoliberals are no better; they have devolved into a blatant will to aristocracy dressed up in the rhetoric of “inclusion.” And “tolerance.” The MAGA movement and neoliberals must inevitably protect the integrity of its power while simultaneously destroying its society. Many among both of them see revolutions in music as a threat (as Plato pointed out). This is because music based on spiritual authenticity cannot perpetuate their political and ideological rhetoric.

Ultimately, the political left and right are equally ruinous to the evolution of music as an art form and business. The only hope for the survival of an authentic music culture (and perhaps of the human and social nexus) is to transcend the left/right dichotomy that has contaminated civilization and human thought since the French Revolution.

In an earlier editorial, I wrote about the future of improvisational music. It may be that improvisational music can confront both sides of the left/right political dichotomy that has contaminated the world since the French Revolution with an intangible yet irresistible power. Then, it can be placed in the hands of those who truly understand the dynamics of human society.

The next wave of improvisational music, free from allegiance to political ideology or corporate structure, could be a weapon that heals, guides, inspires, and counteracts political leaders’ evils, lies, oppression, hypocrisy, and the delusions of those they seduce.

Furthermore, improvised music holds the potential to represent a balance between absolute liberty and freedom, tempered and guided by knowledge and wisdom.

None of this means that I advocate eliminating or abandoning composed music. The value inherent in music composition is so obvious that it hardly bears mentioning.

In this election year, I am reminded of a quote from Plato’s Republic. The Ancient Greek philosopher wrote, “A revolution in music endangers the whole fabric of the most important societal conventions.” On the other hand, 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner wrote, “Only a revolution can give me the audience I need.”

MAGA has rapidly transformed from a fringe counterculture to the mainstream political establishment in America. The left-leaning countercultures have either moved to the far right or degenerated into something unrecognizable. This leaves us with one inescapable conclusion: We are the counterculture.