03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Tie-Dye Version of Jerry Garcia's Legacy?
To the Editor:
Re 'We Could Use More of Jerry Garcia's Politics,' by Jim Newton (Opinion guest essay, July 24):
Mr. Newton suggests that Jerry Garcia's musical artistry offers a model of living apart from the world rather than trying to change it by engaging in political life. But this oversimplifies the relationship between Mr. Garcia and his audience.
Mr. Newton says Mr. Garcia's music was 'an exploration of what it means to be free.' For some Deadheads that does mean attempting a life with minimal connection to government. Many others, though, find the same music encouraging political action. They see that every work of art rejecting or ignoring societal norms is inherently an act of resistance, because it encourages its audience to break free from those norms and the government that upholds them.
Politically engaged Deadheads note that Mr. Garcia rarely played solo. He knew he was best as part of a group — a community in which each member was free, but always carefully attending to, respecting and responding to all the other members of the community. He knew that only this kind of communal relationship could safeguard and enhance the freedom of each individual.
Mr. Garcia's music, especially as part of the Grateful Dead, communicated that message to his audiences. Many of us find it a powerful model for the kind of society we hope to live in and for the values we want government to enact. His sheer energy still moves us to keep on keeping on.
Ira ChernusLongmont, Colo.
To the Editor:
Jerry Garcia was one of the greatest improvisational musicians of our time. He was, in my opinion, up there with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. When we celebrate his justly enduring legacy, that's what we should focus on — not his 'political legacy.'
The notion of Jerry Garcia as a hippie avatar after the mid-'70s is absurd. Jerry designed ties, for gosh sakes. His family sells everything Jerry-related on a website today. He was, in his own way, a capitalist. That he 'exercised freedom rather than waiting on the government to grant it' is hardly distinctive to any great artist. But his solo on 'Morning Dew' at Cornell '77 — that was distinctive.
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