Today I was thinking about the huge gap that now exists in the U.S. between the very very rich, the .01 percent, and everyone else, when I came across the beautiful rendition of “The Times They Are A-Changing” that Bruce Springsteen performed on December 7, 1997 when Bob Dylan was honored by President Bill Clinton at the Kennedy Center.
The last election in the U.S. was between a .01-percenter, Mitt Romney, and a man of the people, President Barack Obama.
The majority of Americans who voted, voted for President Obama despite attempts by Republicans to limit voting, in particular, to make it more difficult for people of color to vote. We’ve all seen the video of the long, long lines at the polls. Old people waiting for many hours to exercise their right.
And yet nothing really has changed since President Obama was reelected. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives has stopped pretty much any meaningful legislation from getting passed.
The gap between the super rich and everyone else has only widened.
It is with the heavy weight of that knowledge upon us, that I listened to this song of hope and change today.
Sometimes it seems that the “darkness at the edge of town” that Springsteen sings about is covering everything.
Music is such a powerful force. We all know how one song can completely change our mood, turn a bad day to good. The corporate world we now live in wants to co-opt everything. They take music that meant something and turn it into a soundtrack for selling yogurt, or cars. It’s like they want to drain the meaning from the songs.
Yet songs remain powerful.
“The Times They Are A-Changing” is a song that gives us hope. Perhaps it’s a fool’s hope, but I’ll take it where I can get it.
-– A Days of the Crazy-Wild blog post: sounds, visuals and/or news –-
