Bless The Beasts and the Children – The Lesson of Music in the Face of Tragedy.

Music. It means something different to each any every one of us. Much of what a specific piece of music means to an individual has to do with not only what the people creating the music have been through, but also what the listener has experienced in their life. A song can inspire, enrage, turn off, turn on, calm, upset, or soothe. Sometimes the effect can be a combination of emotions.

In light of the tragedy last week in Connecticut, I found myself repeating the line from the old Carpenter’s song, “Bless the beasts and the children” in my head. The echo drove me to YouTube this morning to revisit the song.

When “Bless The Beasts and the Children” first came out and was being played on the radio, I thought of it only as  a song to endure until something good came on. I didn’t care for it and it didn’t affect me. With the thought of what happened last week in Sandy Hook, the song took on a whole new meaning and within seconds of it beginning to play, I was weeping uncontrollably. 

I had to share.

 I believe there is a lesson to be learned here. I believe the lesson is to never begrudge someone their opinion, be it about music, politics, spousal choice, career choice or lack thereof, or any other topic that finds it’s way into the public forum. We can never fully understand what someone else has been through, and to annoint ourselves as the final word on every issue is ludicrous.

Bless the beasts and the children. Let us hope and pray that the adults in this country can respect one another’s opinions long enough to begin to solve the problems that lead to tragedies like the one last week, and also all the other issues we face as a nation and a people. We are the adults, after all, and the children are counting on us.