There are, of course, multiple reasons for this change ranging from returning soldiers with PTSD to baby boomers with easy access to the drugs of a culture of convenience to say nothing of the havoc experienced by people who have played by the rules only to find themselves overwhelmed by the economic upheavals of the past decade. Let me say out loud, however, that at least some of this death is what happens to a society that has lost a sense of meaning.
Without an ethical center - without an experiential connection to a love that is
One of the many reasons I am committed to sharing beautiful music beyond the confines of my church - and certainly within it, too - is that like Dostoevsky I believe that beauty can be salvific. If a bit of joy, a sense of love, something of compassion and hope can be shared as we shake, rattle and roll the house tonight, maybe somebody close to the edge will take notice. Maybe they'll stop by and talk to one of us.
There are no guarantees, to be sure, but maybe our exuberance can be a hint of something greater, deeper and healing? Maybe that's bullshit, but Springsteen once said that "music saved his life." Hearing the sounds of sweet soul music, the close harmonies of the Beatles, the quotidian operatic quality of Roy Orbison to say nothing of the sensuality of Elvis or James Brown led him into a new world. Lord, may that be so for someone tonight.
(thanks to Leo Mazzeo for the pix)
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