It's my guess that many of the current politicians were fans of Crosby, Stills and Nash. As a member of the Woodstock Generation, I also am pretty sure many of the same Woodstock Generation politicians believed David Crosby was right when they first heard his song, Long Time Gone. The verse I offer up to you is the following-
Speak out, you got to speak out against the madness,
You got to speak your mind if you dare.
But don't, no don't try to get yourself elected.
If you do you had better cut your hair.
Even though the Woodstock Generation caught a great deal of criticism for some of their antics, there was a basic premise that involved an exciting vision. The spirit and belief was that we were all in this world together. We believed we could make things better by speaking up and participating. It wasn't perfect, yet still it was a group of dreamers with powerful ideals that had world changing possibilities willing to speak out against the madness.
The madness seems to be growing and at times I feel surrounded by it. We are bombarded daily with information that should make us not just speak out against the madness, but scream for some common sense. Politicians from both sides of the isle not only cut their hair, but often appear to have sold their souls for power and money. Not a day goes by without a scandal of some sort due to people worshiping power or the dollar. It can become overwhelming for those of us just trying to earn a living the old fashioned way by working.
There is another line from a song by Robin Thompson that said, "We made it too easy and the spirit went away." I started to worry as I had trouble debating that statement. Is the Woodstock Generation still committed to leaving the world better than we found it? Are we all talk and no action? Did we lose the spark? Did we lose the spirit? Did we lose the dream?
A recent study that analyzed volunteerism in America helped me feel better about the Woodstock Generation. The findings indicated that the Woodstock Generation volunteered in their communities 50% more than the previous generation or the current younger generations. That is an encouraging statistic, but the rest of the story is that only 31% of those surveyed, said they volunteered at all. To bring an end to war, hunger, poverty, hatred and violence, we must increase our participation in the world. We need to speak out against the madness not only with our words, but with our actions. Today is a day you can make a difference and change the world.