Sunday, July 31, 2011

For What It's Worth

Many years ago, back in 1967, people got right riled up about injustice. I was in the middle of the riled-up pack.

One night that schizophrenic summer I went to a concert in San Francisco. Don't remember if it was the Cow Palace or Filmore West, but it was a big venue. The lead group was just beginning to get a little airplay. Something called Buffalo Springfield.

Their set was okay, until they started a song written by one of its members. Stephen Stills wrote an angry anthem, "For What It's Worth." The crowd went silent, and then demanded the group sing it again. They did.

I kept thinking about one line in that old song: "Nobody's right if everybody's wrong." Stills could have written it today, but for one thing. Where are the thousand people in the streets?

Our country teeters on the eve of destruction (with all due respect to Barry McGuire) and no one seems to care. Why aren't my protest peers out there, contacting their elected representatives, demanding compromise? Maybe they are, but Tweeting and sending emails lacks the newsworthiness of a visual of thousands of people demanding common sense. Anyone know where we went?

Must run and Tweet again. It's just so not satisfying...