One of the last times I cried*

About 30 years ago, I was in Washington D.C., close to where I lived in Virginia, and went to a concert at D.A.R. Constitution hall. I don’t remember who besides Nanci Griffith was on the bill, but I think it included Tracy Chapman (As an aside, I saw George Stephanopoulos sneak in a side door with his girlfriend). In any case, perhaps they were playing pictures of the Earth with the backdrop of space like the one above. And she (Nanci Griffith) sang her song, “From a Distance”. Here is a video of her doing the same song. What set me off to crying? Probably the same things that get me choked up listening to John Lennon’s “Imagine” . The idea that there are no borders, no countries, no wars…you get the idea. So, so much of our conflicts in this world are based on borders. Our property, street, neighborhood, city, county, state, country, continent, sure, physical barriers. But they are a completely man-made construct that we have become habituated to. We defend our barriers out of a sense of duty, but that’s all it is, a construct. What if we tore down the barriers in our lives and lived freely? To my understanding most cultures and religions have a “Golden Rule”, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. Peoples’ argument against unfettered freedom is always that it ends in anarchy. But does it have to be? Imagine…from a distance….

*The reason this thought came up at all is really around that last idea of borders. We have so many divisions in our society that are heartbreaking. At what cost do we go through our days in opposition, on so many i$$ue$?

Lyrics

From a distance, the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance, the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight

From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It's the voice of hope
It's the voice of peace
It's the voice of every man

From a distance, we all have enough
And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease
No hungry mouths to feed

From a distance, we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope
Playing songs of peace
They're the songs of every man

God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us
From a distance

From a distance, you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance, I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting's for

From a distance, there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And it's the hope of hopes
It's the love of loves
It's the heart of every man (every man)

It's the hope of hopes
It's the love of loves
This is the song for every man

And God is watching us
God is watching us
God is watching us
From a distance

Oh, God is watching us
God is watching
God is watching us
From a distance

By the way, I’m am in no way religious, and declare my atheism here, but I can still appreciate the sentiment of the song nonetheless. dbc