We
are fatigued. We are spirit-worn, afraid, and sore. We have been bloodied and
bruised and bloodied again by our own race – the human one, the one in which we
all have a stake.
Whether
it’s Paris. San Bernadino. Beirut. It hardly matters any more, for we’ve turned
against ourselves. On December 1, 2015 the mother of a six month old deliberately
shot and killed other mothers. And had there been a six month old nearby, she
would have killed an infant as well.
My
mind tries to make sense of this and fails because the pains of Sandy Hook and
so many other shootings dwell within me, festering again each time another
atrocity takes place. Imagine the agony of those who loved these innocents.
This
morning, quite by accident, I came upon an old DVD, the Concert for New York, which
helped the world get through 9/11, and it occurred to me – the time has come
again: We need another concert – a big
one – the biggest ever – the most united ever. We need to stand up and sing
together. We need to raise our voices and praise who we are when we’re at our
best. We need to show the strength of our hearts and the power of our spirits.
And
while the music plays, we need to weep – together – to mourn who some of us
have become and to lead the rest of us toward each other. We need to reach out
and find ourselves together, offering shoulders upon which to cry and hearts
with which to meld. It is the music that will do that.
The
concert I produce in my head stars every great voice and instrumentalist of our
times. It goes on for days – just blasting music from venues all over the world
into the air, filling it with song. Then, at a designated moment, musicians
worldwide begin to play “We are the World,” and we all – the world - come out
of our homes, with speakers raised to the sky, and voices singing about who we
are.
“There comes a time when we hear a certain call.
When the
world must come together as one
There are
people dying and it's time to lend a hand
To life
the greatest gift of all.” *
So how’s this going to affect the savage beasts whom music does
not soothe? Well, it’s not about them for a change. It’s about us – the good
people, the people you and I love – the ones who want love to prevail. We are
the world, and we need to stand together and say it.
So that’s my plan. Any
takers? Quincy? Lionel? Bono? Bruce? Beyonce?
Suzanne McLain Rosenwasser is the author of several books:
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*Songwriters
RICHIE, LIONEL / JACKSON, MICHAEL
Published by
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc. |
