01-25-19

In 2016 most everyone, myself included, thought that a reality TV show host running for president wasn’t anything more than a publicity stunt. Don’t get me wrong, I had seen a glimmer of what could be if the country was forced into a corner, yet I never anticipated all of what has happened since. Death Cab for Cutie was one of the few artists to put out a song against Trump, and not just the opposing party. Million Dollar Loan works to identify a person that isn’t what they say they are.

There are countless number of people that operate in the “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” ideology. They assume that people needing assistance, or those struggling to make it, just didn’t make the right choices, and their circumstances are a byproduct of their own poor planning. We collectively hold the ultra-wealthy on pedestals and praise their business acumen while often neglecting that many of them would not be where they are without the generous support most will only dream about.

It’s like a plant growing. If you have a seed and plant it (read: thought and work-ethic) then something should grow from it (read: profit.) If you were to bury in highly-enriched soil that had sunlight think about how much more would, or if you had all the time to tend to plant and nothing else… or what if you could control the environment altogether, think of how much more you could grow.

Something like a “million-dollar loan,” is like being given the best soil, with really great light, and plenty of water; it’s still maybe not the best but you have something to grow while others are worrying about how to even buy dirt.

I do believe that a person can take the privilege they have been granted in this life and turn it into something remarkable on their own, but most in these positions will forget the gifts of support they received at the beginning, and how pivotal it can be. Some may never need a million-dollar loan to make their own empire, maybe it’s only a laptop and some training material, maybe it’s a guitar and a book of music, whatever it may be these initial investments into a thought are massive, and without them many wouldn’t have been able to make anything for themselves.

Our president calls himself a “self-made” man, a person of strong work ethic and moral turpitude, yet his aversion to understanding the reality for the other 99.5% of the population continues to be the biggest indicator to his disgusting behavior. The world is how he makes it in his head, and he’s made it to where something like “self-made” looks only like how he did it… tax aversion, fraudulent enterprising, philandering, and all.

From Ben Gibbard (Frontman of Death Cab for Cutie): Lyrically, “Million Dollar Loan” deals with a particularly tone-deaf moment in Donald Trump’s ascent to the Republican nomination. While campaigning in New Hampshire last year, he attempted to cast himself as a self-made man by claiming he built his fortune with just a ‘small loan of a million dollars’ from his father. Not only has this statement been proven to be wildly untrue, but he was also so flippant about it. It truly disgusted me. Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unworthy of the honor and responsibility of being President of the United States of America, and in no way, shape or form represents what this country truly stands for. He is beneath us.

Lyrics:

[Verse 1]
From a great height
He’s looking down on his city at night
From gilded room
Of gold, marble, and soft perfume
And he’s proud to say
He built his fortune the old fashioned way
Because to succeed
There’s only one thing you really need

[Chorus]
A million dollar loan
Nobody makes it on their own
Without a million dollar loan
You’ll reap what you’ve sown
From a million dollar loan
Call your father on the phone
And get that million dollar loan

[Verse 2]
His enemies
Can’t contain the flames of jealousy
With brutish charm
The women flock to be on his arm
Because it’s a sign
Of weakness to apologize
And he counter sues
From any corner he’s backed into

[Chorus]
A million dollar loan
Nobody makes it on their own
Without a million dollar loan
To cast the first stone
You’ll need a million dollar loan
Every ascension to a throne
Starts with a million dollar loan
A million dollar loan
Nobody makes it on their own
Without a million dollar loan
You’ll reap what you’ve sown
From a million dollar loan
Call your father on the phone
And get that million dollar loan

[Bridge]
A siren screams
Through the city as he falls asleep
The campaign
Begins again at the break of day

[Chorus]
A million dollar loan
Nobody makes it on their own
Without a million dollar loan
To cast the first stone
You’ll need a million dollar loan
Every ascension to a throne
Starts with a million dollar loan
A million dollar loan
Nobody makes it on their own
Without a million dollar loan
You’ll reap what you’ve sown
From a million dollar loan
Call your father on the phone
And get that million dollar loan