They can't keep the human creative spirit down

I have been in Chicago for a couple of days and it has reminded me how much I miss real public transportation. I had to take the El from O Hare to the Lake which meant I had to transfer in the Loop at Jackson in downtown. Jackson is a fun place. As I walked up the stairs to the Red Line I could hear the music and eventually came to the source, a rapper who called himself Solo.

He had his little portable amp and sung about being in the subway. His voice drifted in and out with the music in perfect timing. There was a blind sax player and another couple of guys singing some blues on another platform the next day. Then there was the artist doing portraits in the tunnel.

Public transportation is much less stressful than being alone in our cars inching along in traffic. These folks at the subway stations have a captive audience for a few minutes until the next train comes and I could see that people actually enjoyed it, I know I did.

This is street art, human expression from the ground up and in contrast to the way we are all supposed to watch and worship artists rather than be part of the show and often produce some ourselves. We are collective creatures and public transportation is a much healthier means of transportation not just for those of us that use it but for the environment, but we are told we are only free if we can sit in our cars and drive ourselves. We are only really free if we have our own private room in the hospital rather than in wards with others suffering the same fate where solidarity and human compassion mix to provide an atmosphere of security and common good.
The rulers of society don't like us gathering in groups unless it is something they control and organize. We have a natural tendency to feel common bond with our own.

If you're in Chicago and use the subway you'll find no shortage of talent and creativity in Jackson station; it reminds us of the powerful human urges for artistic expression and human solidarity that capitalism finds so distasteful.

I see Solo is on You Tube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWF9J9UWDuE&feature=related -------- but it doesn't really do him justice.