{"id":2227538,"date":"2024-04-22T18:31:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T22:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-world-has-gone-mad-five-for-fighting-lead-singer-john-ondrasik-on-why-he-wrote-ok-we-are-not-ok\/"},"modified":"2024-04-22T18:32:34","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T22:32:34","slug":"the-world-has-gone-mad-five-for-fighting-lead-singer-john-ondrasik-on-why-he-wrote-ok-we-are-not-ok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-world-has-gone-mad-five-for-fighting-lead-singer-john-ondrasik-on-why-he-wrote-ok-we-are-not-ok\/","title":{"rendered":"The World&#8217;s Chaos: John Ondrasik&#8217;s Inspiration Behind &#8216;OK (We Are Not OK)"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-world-has-gone-mad-five-for-fighting-lead-singer-john-ondrasik-on-why-he-wrote-ok-we-are-not-ok%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2227538&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Five for Fighting&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-here-are-the-10-worst-colleges-for-free-speech\/\" title=\"Report: Here Are The 10 Worst Colleges For Free Speech\">lead singer<\/a>,\u2064 John Ondrasik, discussed the inspiration behind his song &#8220;OK (We Are Not OK),&#8221; prompted by Hamas&#8217; terror\u200c attack in \u200bIsrael. Ondrasik highlighted concerns about rising anti-Semitism and the moral decline in society. He expressed disappointment in artists&#8217; silence and emphasized the song&#8217;s theme\u2062 of civilization&#8217;s battle against evil. Your summary effectively captures John Ondrasik&#8217;s discussion regarding the inspiration behind his song &#8220;OK (We Are Not \u200bOK)&#8221; following Hamas&#8217; terror attack in Israel. It touches upon his concerns about \u2063anti-Semitism, societal moral\u2063 decay, and the \u2064importance of artists speaking \u200dout \u2063against\u200b evil.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Five for Fighting lead singer John Ondrasik opened up about why he wrote his latest song \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XDJXo2Gn-ww\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OK (We Are Not Okay<\/a>)\u201d following Hamas\u2019 terror attack in Israel on October 7 of last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Speaking to The Daily Wire, the 59-year-old singer said \u201cthe world has gone mad,\u201d and he called out artists who have been silent amid the anti-Semitism raging on college campuses \u2014 like the current chaotic scene unfolding in places like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/topic\/columbia-university\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Columbia University<\/span><\/a>,<span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> where pro-Palestinian protestors have made Jewish students feel unsafe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cLike so many of us, we were horrified by the events of October 7,\u201d Ondrasik told us. \u201cFrankly in many ways it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/broadway-show-canceled-over-covid-after-audience-already-seated-other-shows-canceled\/\" title=\"Broadway Show Canceled Over COVID After Audience Already Seated; Other Shows Canceled\">brought back memories<\/a> of 9\/11. But I think what really inspired me to write the song was the aftermath of Oct. 7.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThe collapse of so many of our institutions, the moral collapse,\u201d he added. \u201cCertainly the media very quickly started spouting Hamas propaganda. Now, literally as we speak, the raging anti-semitism on college campuses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cAnd to members of Congress, like <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rashida Tlaib<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  (D-MI), who could not condemn the beheading of babies \u2014 that really scared me,\u201d he continued. \u201cThe whole theme of \u2018We Are Not Okay\u2019\u2026 it\u2019s really about the fight for civilization against those who want to tear it down. That\u2019s what this song is about, it\u2019s really about good vs evil.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The singer then compared the response of artists after September 11 attack \u2014many of whom worked to unite and call out evil \u2014 to what transpired after the October 7 attack. Ondrasik says when he played The Concert for New York City after 9\/11 \u201cevery icon in the music business\u201d was there \u201ccondemning Osama bin Laden. But after October 7, it is crickets.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cThere is a hell of a lot of complacency going around right now, especially in the arts. Musicians like to laud themselves for being on the front foot of human rights and all that is good in the world,\u201d the singer said. \u201cI\u2019m ashamed of my industry. The world has gone mad. Many of those artists are Jewish and I think one reason my song resonated so much was because Israel feels abandoned by the arts. Because it has been.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When asked about the silence from his industry, he said, \u201cThey\u2019re scared for their families, they don\u2019t want their concerts protested. It\u2019s disgusting. It\u2019s disgraceful and I think many musicians of conscience will look back on this moment and be ashamed that they did not join the right side of history.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ondrasik, who is not Jewish, talked about recently traveling to Israel for the first time after writing the song to \u201cshow them that they are not alone in this.\u201d He said the trip and the people he met just solidified his support for Israel \u2014 and that it had changed him. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever get over it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cI had no idea I\u2019d be ending up playing the song (\u2018OK\u2019 and \u2018Superman\u2019) in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hostage Square (on 4\/13) three hours before Iran attacked, but I am glad I did,\u201d the artist said, noting <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">how surreal it was playing in the square and hearing the announcement over the loudspeaker beforehand telling people what to do \u201cin the event of a missile attack.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Humbled to perform \u201cOK (We Are Not OK)\u201d at Hostage Square, in Tel Aviv, hours before Iran\u2019s attack on Israel. There are no words to express the meetings I had with hostage families. May we hold them in our hearts as well as all innocents suffering due to the evil that is Hamas. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pq9K6auLyO\">pic.twitter.com\/pq9K6auLyO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 John Ondrasik (@johnondrasik) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/johnondrasik\/status\/1782009268608385464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 21, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He also reflected on getting to meet and play with some of the injured soldiers during his visit, and said the thing that blew him away was how positive they all were. Ondrasik also spoke briefly about meeting with the hostage families, and said \u201che has no words to talk about\u201d the \u201cagony\u201d those families are going through.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ondrasik said, after spending time and speaking with them, he came away understanding why they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-maher-when-is-biden-going-to-realize-immigration-is-a-big-deal-working-voters-feel-abandoned\/\" title=\"Bill Maher: When Is Biden Going to Realize Immigration Is a Big Deal? Working Voters Feel \u201cAbandoned\u201d\">feel \u201cabandoned<\/a>, that the world\u2019s forgotten them.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cWhen was the last time you heard [President] Joe Biden mention the hostages,\u201d the singer said. \u201cThe names of the American hostages. The world has abandoned them in many respects. I wish every American calling for a cease fire could sit for a half hour with these hostage families and see what reality really looks like.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The lead singer, who previously spoke out about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/youtube-takes-down-music-video-critical-of-biden-afghanistan-withdrawal\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Biden\u2019s disastrous withdrawal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">  from Afghanistan, added, \u201cThis Administration has a lot of responsibility for the world being on fire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>\u201c<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When we abandon our allies and our citizens to the Taliban I think that was an opening to all the evil actors in the world,\u201d the singer shared. \u201cAnd we even talked about the next dominoes to fall. We knew [Russian President Vladmir] Putin would have no hesitancy to go into Ukraine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition to writing his \u201cOK\u201d song and performing in Israel, Ondrasik says he\u2019s organizing some concerts for the college campuses that have been dealing with anti-Semitism because, as he says, this is a \u201cgenerational fight \u2026 You don\u2019t win this war without the arts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Five for Fighting&#8217;s John Ondrasik shared insights on his song &#8220;OK (We Are Not OK)&#8221; post a Hamas attack in Israel. In a chat with The Daily Wire, the 59-year-old singer voiced concerns about the world&#8217;s chaos and criticized artists for their silence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":219,"featured_media":2227539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/John-Ondrasik.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2227538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/John-Ondrasik.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/219"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2227538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2227538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2227539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2227538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2227538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2227538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}