Means of preservation?

Hey everyone, today we are in DC, you know, Washington DC...and in this city, sadly enough, you can see the income gap very clearly, maybe it serves as a kind of microcosm for the whole of the United States. The other day, a friend and I were talking about the grammy's, and I made a quick scoff at the whole organization, and I admit, I wasn't really being all too serious, just being a jerk for fun, and my friend made the remark, "But you have to change things from the inside"....meaning of course, that it is better to become a part of an organization in order to change, rather than stay on the outside and bitch about it, and that is very true, and it is a very mature way of looking at it. Although, I got to thinking, and naturally, I will share this with you. When it comes to art, and specifically music, is it better to expose something you care so much about to the insensitive and indifferent vice grip of the industry, and the mainstream masses, or would it be better to leave it be and let the movement live and die on its own, existing as long as it's supposed to, free from manipulation and exploitation. Bringing a band, a culture, a youth movement into the mainstream current, I believe the intention and ambition is all well motivated, but how often does it go the way of the industry hammer, becoming watered down and more "accessible", and therefore making it a mockery of itself. Of course, there have been bands who have successfully navigated the turbulent waters of the music business and have been able to use its obvious resources to their advantage (ie. Pearl jam, Radiohead, U2, etc), but how many times has a movement been exposed and in many ways, and on many levels destroyed? The music industry has changed so much in the past 10 years, and now it is nothing more than a joke really, and how arrogant do you have to be think you can actually make a difference? Is it arrogance or courage? Obviously, there is this tipping point in which your ambition and desire to change things has to cross with the temptation of financial gain and even a priority shift in which you have a family to provide for, and your ideals have to take a back seat to survival. All we can do as a band is write music that is honest to us and hopefully it'll work out. People have often said to me that I'm living "the life", but I have to just say that is not any kind of secure life at all. While I am designed to do only one thing...play music, it's rather ironic that my well being depends on the subjective opinion of others, and how much is that opinion shifted by trends and market manipulation controlled by the same people who we have to do business with in order to get to a point in which we can live comfortably and provide for our loved ones. Quite an ironic predicament, and don't take this post for any kind of complaint about being a professional musician, I am extremely blessed to be doing what I am doing, and I thank all of you for the opportunity. I just want to be aware really, and not ignorant to the currents in which we have to navigate. Forgive my spelling on this post.