WHEEL IN THE SKY

 Interesting experience last evening. Caused many a thought and a firmer understanding of the place of music in society and the reinforced theory of repetitive history. It seems we humans never learn. Never take history's lessons to heart. Much to the negative side of life. Yes, there are songs with optimistic tones and overtures; however, many of these songs are thought of as Pollyannish, naive, and the adherents of the themes of these songs as overly optimistic and not tethered to reality. That is indeed a shame for often those songs are what inspire people to protest, to examine, to fix. In a positive manner rather than negative. Again, sadly so, the negative often overpowers the positive and well, here we are. 

 It was a concert, a tribute to the songs of Journey, a band which had several great hits and in fact, many of their songs were used in the TV show Glee. Last night, a song which hit hard was Wheel in the Sky. The refrain is thus:

", the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'
I don't know where I'll be tomorrow
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'"

Think of it. We mortals struggle, strive, fall back and inch forward, fight each other rather than talk and all the while, that wheel in the sky keeps turning. Nothing we do will ever stop that circular motion, that movement of time which circles back upon itself, the wheel that inspires thoughts of cold winters, hostile environments, and pessimism re the possibility of anything good ever lasting. Sad. So very apt for these times as well as their time of origin. Yes, summer comes, but summer goes, taking along with it a world view infinitely brighter than the ones winter brings. 

Many epics retell, reformat this idea - merely read the multi novel Wheel of Time, or the great opus of George Martin, memorialized on TV via Game of Thrones and House of Dragons. Return to the Iliad and the Odyssey. Read the Bible carefully. Can we not do better than this? Are we doomed to always compare sizes; your force is weaker than mine, hence I'm the boss. Or I am stronger than you, have weapons of mass destruction and am willing to use them. How does one defend humanity against openly destructive powerful figures? Not well at all. Reference history for that one. We truly do not know where we will be tomorrow, and we indeed "can't take it anymore". Yet we must.

The question is thus: why insist on hate, accept temporary dangerous fascism over iffy, often failing, yet so much better democracy? Why do we allow openly fascistic authoritarian figures, plagued within their minds with mental illness untreated and a growing dementia. We ignore the facts and jump on a broken portion of that wheel in the sky, forget the ways of love, of friendship, of language, and turn to violence and threats, to extreme viewpoints, language, and deeds.

The iconic song of The Beatles, Imagine, does just that - a world void of that which divides us, a world of peace. It is a song of yearning, for most people prefer peace, a good peace, over war. That overwhelming wish is seen and heard in Hey, Jude, as audiences round the world stand and sway, almost hypnotically, a religious chant of sorts, in a long, lasting refrain before the song ends. "La, la, la, la, la, la la" goes the refrain. The eyes close and there is an almost palpable deep thrum of air as the wishes of so many converge in agreement, thought, hopes and dreams. So moved are some that tears run down the face. Why can we not morph these deep feelings into action against those who would rather use the negative, be the destroyer rather than the builder.

In Separate Ways, Journey sings of how we stand "worlds apart", a divide apparently impossible to bridge. So alone we remain. Today our world is one of lies, of tension and threats. It is a world wherein the greatest experiment of mankind, especially in modern times, is being existentially challenged. By whom? By a man grossly demented, unafraid to voice his authoritarian bent. and uses music diametrically opposed to his intents but is too stupid to even know that. "Proud to be an American" - not his America or rather AmeriKa.

 I do not feel loyalty or pride in or to that false nation. It is a nation led by haters, by extremists. Using a song sung by freedom fighters, by those wishing a better world for all, the choice of "Do You Hear the People Sing" from Les Misérables is obscene. It is a song of hope and defiance, even as the singers and their companions die, one after the other. But their intents, their beliefs live on after they die. So do the ideas of a true America. A true America. One that turns away from a crazed dangerous man. A man who wants to execute all connected with drugs, even as his dimwit audience of smug 1% cheer. Do they not know that their recreational drug use, their children using drugs are the very ones who will find themselves on the wrong side of the gun? No, apparently, he has them bewitched with his new imperialistic chant: "Make America Great and Glorious Again".

As a Jew, with generational transfer of DNA traumatized through centuries of living under dictators, of 'glorious' nations and leaders thinking themselves great, triumphant over truth, I know this is a monumentally bad turn for America unless we do the right thing. That all come to their senses and reject this man, this dangerous imposter, his followers, his ideas, his hate.

We must hear, internalize and absorb deep into our bones the words and plea of Journey's epic song -"Don't Stop Believin'" -

Don't stop believin'
Hold on to that feelin'

Don't stop believin'
Hold on

We must refuse, defy, shun and defeat.

Lest we find ourselves in a world where this happens:

Brittney Griner. 

Locked up. 

In freezing temperatures sent from Hell. 

Lack of food and health care. 

Cruel inhumane slave labor. 

Lack of freedom. 

Lack of hope.

Bring Brittney Griner Home. 

NOW!!