Here’s a short playlist from Kim Porter of yesterday’s voices. Don’t miss his final paragraph: “I met Joan Baez in a church in Washington DC preparing for an anti-Vietnam war demonstration…” The arts may save us.
Dear Neighbor,
Yesterday’s voices speak to us today as never before.
Fleetwood Mac said dreams are “like a heartbeat that drives you mad, in the stillness of remembering what you had and what you lost.” Have we lost as a country, due process?
“When you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” (Rush) Staying silent when the Constitution is crumbling is sinful.
Creedence Clearwater Revival once sang: “When the band plays hail to the chief, they point the cannon at you.” Life is still about social injustice and class privilege.
“There is a man with a gun over there, telling me I have got to beware.” (Buffalo Springfield) Was he speaking of ICE?
Was Neil Young a prophet when he spoke of Kent State: “What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground, how can you run when you know?” Running away is avoiding humanity.
And let me not forget Jackson Browne: “So many live in poverty while others live as kings, though some may find peace in the acceptance of all that living brings. I will never understand however they’ve prepared how one life may be struck down and another life be spared.” Have we moved on? Or have we forgotten you cannot underestimate quiet power?
The Eagles gave us hope when they said: “We thought we could change this world with words like love and freedom.” Have we given up as the line from the Eagles imply?
And this brings me full circle to Taylor Swift: “I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending.”
I met Joan Baez in a church in Washington DC preparing for an anti-Vietnam war demonstration. I found myself sitting on the floor of the church, just 3 feet from her as she poetically and prophetically sang. Her song reminded me that silence was offensive and challenging the establishment was needed. As we left the church she handed me a banner and asked that I gather 2 others and lead the march. It was my first protest and her words hang with me today. She is yesterday’s voice for today’s struggle. She is not a relic.
“Dear Neighbor” authors are united in a belief that civility and passion can coexist. We believe curiosity and conversation make us a better community.