Change We Can Believe In - 6/06/2008
Tuesday, June 24th 2008 @ 2:56 PM
The theme for me this past week seemed to be the tension between the forces for change and resistance to change. Maybe its my ADD brain that made me connect these events, but from the historic barrier smashing nomination in this country’s history all the way to the
James Taylor concert I went to outside of Detroit the next day, this theme seemed to be everywhere I looked this week.
The audience at the concert under gently falling rain clearly adored James -- so much so that I guess they felt their relationship (even though one sided) all these years gave them the right to expect there would be no changes; that time would stand still for all of us boomers; and that James would sit on a stool for two hours and sing every one of his old tunes as if no time had passed and as if nothing had changed… in us, for him, or in the world.
I tried to feel superior to those complainers I heard in the bathroom line during the break. After all, I actually loved James’ version during the first set of “Oh what a beautiful morning” from the opening scene of the early Broadway show Oklahoma. Evidently not everyone shared my enthusiasm for change and growth.
Even though I prided myself on the fact that I understood James’ desire for artistic growth, I must admit that deep down I too was struggling to accept the fact that things had indeed changed in the almost 40 years since I last saw him. I was working hard to compromise and accept that only every third song would be one of those real James Taylor songs and that I would get only partly what I wanted.
40 years ago since I last saw James in Detroit… a couple years after the city I loved, the city I grew up in and watched with pride give birth to Motown, went up in smoke, along with the dreams that our generation united through music, were just beginning to believe -- that the racial divide would end.
So to be sitting there right outside of Motown somewhere between the FIRE of those early years and the RAIN of this lovely night, as James sang us a Motown song instead of one of his own, on a night after witnessing those dreams re-emerge in this country for a whole new generation of young people, I remembered that change is not a choice. It is actually the only thing we can believe in and count on. The only thing we can do is celebrate the changes we hoped for and work hard to accept the things we hoped would never change. Our choice is not between change or no change, but whether or not we will enjoy the show anyway, even if they change the tune a little, whether we will respect each other, compromise, work together, and balance our competing needs.
So on this historic week, a night after this huge win for America, regardless of your politics, I must admit that when James came back for his encore, I fully expected him to sit down on that stool, look me deep in the eye through the big screen and sing FIRE and RAIN to me. Instead, he and the band played an amazing rock and roll medley.
I felt sad for a moment. Then, I looked up at James having a great old time. He looked me deep in the eye and smiled. I started to dance and clap my hands. This was the kind of change I can believe in
