What would Woody do?

i have been feeling sad and confused lately, worried about what the future holds for our beloved, deeply divided, nation.  it seems we can't agree on much these days, and our angry, foggy brains seem incapable of thinking deeply about the proverbial big picture.  we disagree and we lash out.  we feel afraid and we look for someone to blame.  we long for connection and we find isolation instead. 

i think some of us who make songs for a living are having an especially hard time moving forward.  how do we respond in times of turbulence?  what can we say that will be meaningful?  should we strive for social relevance, or simply duck our heads and avoid saying anything meaningful at all?   

woody guthrie, the godfather of american folksingers, said that the job of a folksinger was to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.  that's a pretty lofty job description, but together with my brothers and sisters in song, i promise to continue to reach for that ideal in the weeks and months to come.  perhaps it will be only my own disturbed soul that is comforted and my own comfortable presumptions that are disturbed, but i will reach nonetheless.   

i will reach out.  i will listen.  i will seek the good in everyone i meet.  i will comfort, and yes, i will disturb.  but above all, i will sing.  i will sing with those who wish to sing.  i will sing for those who cannot sing.   

if we sing together, i know we can be louder than the hurt and the anger and the fear and the uncertainty.

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