This post will confirm my 60’s roots and the profound impact the experience of the tumultuous events of a decade had in shaping my thinking still today.
While on a solitary daily walk I take to break-up the hours of self-isolation during the Covid-19 crisis, I listen to selections from my extensive music collection as I wander through different neighborhoods.
Today I had programmed a random playlist of older albums and songs. It was an emotional journey down memory lane on a beautiful spring day. The music filled my mind with images of the exhilarating experiences of my generation –– student activism and protests for civil rights, freedom of expression, women’s lib and opposing the Vietnam War.
One song in particular, Blowin’ in the Wind, written by Bob Dylan and sung by Joan Baez, caused me to stop and ponder the troubled times in which we now live and that ultimately it was the power of the right to vote that altered the political landscape of a nation and influenced the course of national and world events.
I have been watching Trump’s “reality TV” briefings live on CNN and am shocked at the socio-economic and political chaos he has created. When the world needs Winston Churchill’s eloquence, courage, and perseverance in the face of unrelenting horror, we see Trump parading around as a “War President” making a mockery of the role played throughout history by truly great leaders in times of crisis.
In Japan, it would appear Prime Minister Abe has learned nothing from the experience of other countries and his ill-advised initial slow response to prevent the spread of the virus in order to avoid cancellation of the 2020 Olympics. Overtaken by events, he was finally forced to act but still, supported by an officious bureaucracy, his political concerns trumped the need for a more forceful emergency declaration.
Fortunately, the Governor of Tokyo, the largest metropolitan area in the world, ignored Abe’s request to wait two more weeks to “see what happens,” decided in the face of growing evidence and fearing a New York City-like experience to take far stronger action. Tokyoites are responding and I will do my part by fully supporting the Governor’s call for unity and compliance.
Incidentally, the Governor of Tokyo is a women!
And, although residing in Tokyo I will cast my absentee ballot in one of the most consequential Presidential elections in American history. I still hear Tennyson’s rallying cry –– Come, my friends. Tis not too late to seek a newer world. I pray my fellow citizens will answer the call.
Blowin’ in the Wind | Bob Dylan
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can really see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind
