Tag: climate change

Categories
Arts & Entertainment current events Economy folk music

Dylan’s Words Echo Still


Bob Dylan wrote “When the Ship Comes In” in 1963 and released it on his “The Times They Are A-Changin’ ” album in 1964. Dylan was in an angry mood when he wrote the song after a hotel clerk refused him a room, thinking the artist was a deadbeat. Dylan finally scored a room after Joan Baez verified his good character. The song is violent and vengeful, but it is also hopeful. The song’s lyrics hint at a vision of a better world built on the ideals of an enlightened generation.

Sixty years have passed since the song first appeared. Aside from a more inclusive social fabric and our ever-advancing technology, I wonder if the times have changed that much. Dylan’s words still ring true in a world where:

  • The cruel and inhuman war in Ukraine rages on.
  • The leading Republican candidate faces numerous indictments for fraud and other misdeeds.
  • The US President’s son faces charges of selling access to his father, and the President may be implicated.
  • Selfish Aramco raises oil prices despite the devastating effect it will have on the world economy.
  • Oil companies make token gestures toward clean energy while sitting on their hands and raking in hundreds of billions in profits from the sale of fossil fuels.
  • Billions of people continue to live under dictatorships and go to bed hungry every night.
  • The clock is running out on Global Warming.

We need the social conscience and action of a generation of young people like the one we had in the sixties. Instead, we have a malaise of complacency and ignorance today with too few bright spots in between. But it’s not too late. “When the Ship Comes In” came to me in a dream. It came, literally, from out of nowhere. It must have come to me for a reason. Maybe Dylan’s resounding words will spark something in us. Here’s my cover.

Categories
acoustic guitar Arts & Entertainment children music parenting

Rise and Shine


Singer and songwriter Raffi has conveyed a central message of respect for children and people of all races during his forty-year career of entertaining children’s audiences around the world. The Washington Post has called him “the most popular children’s singer in the English-speaking world.” Raffi has recorded dozens of albums and sold more than fifteen million records. He has also written books for children and adults.

Raffi Cavoukian was born to Armenian parents in Cairo, Egypt. In 1958, the family fled genocide in Turkey and immigrated to Toronto, Canada. Raffi began his musical career singing to children and parents in libraries and eventually in concerts. He says about those early years:

“I thought about who these children were as people. My audience was full of children ranging in age from three to seven years. I wanted to learn about these young people, and the more I learned, the more I was fascinated by how intelligent, spontaneous, and delightful young children are. I was full of admiration for who I call humanity’s ‘primary learners.’ By observing and interacting with these children, I learned something profound: Play is an intelligence that we’re not supposed to lose in our lives. I came to admire and respect the young child as a whole person. That value of respect has guided my whole career.”

Like many parents, I became aware of Raffi’s music when my daughter was a child. Perhaps having a child is a secret door through which only parents and children can pass to hear Raffi’s music.

Raffi has toured the world with his Rise and Shine Band beguiling children and parents alike with his joyful and magical music. His song, “Rise and Shine” quickly became one of my favorites. I played and sang it for my daughter, Danielle when she was a child. Now, it’s my pleasure to play it for my granddaughter, Ashley.

True love does not need or expect reciprocation.

Categories
issues Politics Uncategorized

We Turned The Lights Back On


We Turned The Lights Back On When We Elected Biden

Ever felt like you were in a pitch-black closet fumbling for a light switch you couldn’t find?

I’ve felt that way many times. More than ever in the last four years.

I was afraid four more years of The Trump Administration would drive this nation into chaos, uncontrollable violence, and eventual destruction. I’ve never been this concerned about an election before. I thought our country was teetering on the edge of the cone of an active volcano. Below us, bubbling lava and acrid, poisonous smoke billowing upwards. If we had taken a wrong step, we would have fallen to our collective deaths in the seething lava a mile below.

Fortunately, there are enough sane and prescient people left in this country to look beyond their limited perspectives and see the big picture. An image of a large, rudderless sailing vessel comes to mind, headed in a zig-zag direction towards a swirling whirlpool in the ocean. We just missed sailing straight into that black hole. Instead, we corrected our course. We turned the lights back on.

Whew! That was a close one.

I’m particularly encouraged by the stance the Biden Administration will take concerning the environment. I’m encouraged that General Motors recently dropped out of the lawsuit Trump initiated against California regarding motor vehicle emission standards. This is an early example that we are regaining our sanity. We are already playing catch up with the programs needed to foster and enforce clean energy development and greenhouse gas emissions. As it stands, we are losing the battle to save the environment. Radical action and a new level of commitment are required to reverse the trends.

Now, at least, we have hope, not only concerning the environment. We have hope that caring attention and fresh ideas will be applied in many areas plaguing life in these United States, starting with an intelligent, cohesive, and coordinated governmental response to the Corona crisis.

I could go on, but I’ll spare you.

If you didn’t like the way the election turned out, then fine. You are entitled to your vote and your opinion. If you wanted more lunacy, then I’m sorry. We’re not going there. If you don’t want to get with the new program, no problem. It’s a free country. JUST PLEASE: DON’T GET IN THE WAY.

And, if you liked the election results, let’s get back to civility. Let’s put aside our differences. (There’s nothing wrong with healthy, respectful debate). Let’s work together towards a brighter future. Congratulations on pulling off this nail-biter. Good work and…

…Shine on.

We Turned The Lights Back On. There Is Hope For The Future.