For What It’s Worth

I got bit by a black widow spider about two weeks ago.  I didn’t see the spider but I saw this on my leg a couple of days after the intense pain started (see photo).  I was beyond sick.  The pain was almost unbearable.  Felt like I was a dishrag being rung out.  Missed an entire week of work. I still feel like shit.

This past weekend when I was starting to feel almost human again, Ray and I decided it was time for a little Spring cleaning in the garage.  We moved things around, shop vac’d and sprayed the hell out of the place.  My karaoke machine is set up out there.  I was organizing the discs and straightening things up when Ray suggested we have some karaoke fun later in the evening.

It was a blast.  Ray decided to sing Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” (Stop children what’s that sound…). He did a good job of it so I encouraged him to sing it again.  This Saturday is karaoke night in Old Bisbee and Ray decided he was going to practice the song for the event.

Last night, we were home practicing our karaoke songs and Ray broke out “For What It’s Worth” and started singing.

“There’s battle lines being drawn
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind”

I heard that lyric and realized, just like in the 60’s, we’re going through turbulent times with, well, everything.  Wars, recession, gay marriage, drugs, abortion, religion, global warming, etc.  Face it folks, the times they are a-changin’. (Thank you Bob Dylan.)  There’s only one problem.

No one is speaking their mind.

Where are the protest songs?  Where’s the movement?  The unity?  Even Neil-fucking-Young was recently quoted saying  “I think that the time when music could change the world is past. I think it would be very naive to think that in this day and age.”  Neil Young who wrote Ohio!!

Like the spider venom coursing through my veins, the psyche of mankind has become poisoned by the venom of complacency.  Everybody knows what’s going on but no one is doing anything about it. 

“…stop, children, what’s that sound
Has anyone seen my iPod around?”

And I am just as complacent as the next person.  My only contribution to the “movement” is to observe and blog about it.  It may be something but it’s not much. 

That being said, Mr. Young did say something quite profound.  “I think the world today is a different place, and that it’s time for science and physics and spirituality to make a difference in this world and to try to save the planet.”

The world is different and it’s changing at an accelerated rate.  We need to let go of our old ideals and embrace new ones.  The money we gave to the US auto makers should have been allotted to developing electric cars.  Legalizing marijuana will stop the US/Mexico drug problems, ease up the overcrowded jails and make a profitable product.  Hemp is an amazing bi-product!  Solar panels, wind farms, recycling plants will ween us off oil and clear the air.  Just think, if the U.S. put as much money into making a more efficient solar collector instead of fighting a war on terror (how in the fuck do you fight a war on an emotion?!?), we’d create new jobs and a highly exportable product!  Educate kids on birth control, and not only will abortion rates drop, so will the amount of unwanted children being raised in fucked up situations where they grow up to be completely messed up adults that just reproduce and start the cycle all over again. 

Oh man, I could go on and on but I won’t.  I’m not saying that my rant is 100 percent accurate.  I’m not the expert.  But I do know one thing.  We all know it really…

This isn’t working.

For What It’s Worth
Buffalo Springfield
[audio:For_What_its_Worth.mp3]