Living on the Edge

Hello everyone,

I haven't written anything in a while, but after seeing some of the news coverage of the reaction to the court verdict in Ferguson, Missouri. I felt like I had to say something.

My first reaction to the news after hearing about it was hoping that friends of mine in St. Louis were safe. As I heard news reports of theft, vandalism and looting I began to worry for their safety. It boggles my mind to think that people resort to outright violence in a situation like this. It reminds me of the O.J. Simpson court case aftermath in California years ago. It also put the opening of Aerosmith's song "Livin' on the Edge" in my head, because there's something really wrong with the world today.

I'll admit that I haven't been paying too close attention to the details of the case, because I've never been a big news junkie. There seems to be a bit of overkill in the news reporting industry, and negative campaign ads and aggressive campaign reporting has soured me on the news industry lately. 

I feel bad for all parties involved in this case. However, violence and destroying local businesses run by community members isn't a viable solution. I wish that the rioters and protesters would take their frustration to the courthouse and have a civil dialogue with the judge and attorneys handling the case, so that their voices are properly heard. Violence and looting just seems to bring a community down, and the opportunistic news reporters seem to have exploited that fact in the name of television ratings.

I understand the racial divide in this case, but we're all humans when you look at it. I'm very fortunate to have grown up in a family with relatives of different races and religions, because I learned as a child to accept people for who they are as people. We're all different and unique, and I still don't understand why anyone would have the nerve to have hatred or prejudice against anyone because their skin color is different than theirs. One of my favorite cousins growing up is biracial - when he was adopted as a baby, the birth parents insisted that he be adopted by another biracial couple. He, his biracial sister, and his parents accepted me into their family early on, and have always been some of my favorite people. As far as I'm concerned, no one is better or worse than anyone else in this world. We're all people with our own stories and imprints to leave on this world.

Hoping that my friends in St. Louis stay safe and that a peaceful, rational solution is found for this situation in a community that needs to heal right now. 

Well, that's all I have to say for now. Upcoming blogs will be about my year in concerts and some of my favorite new albums of 2014. Until next time, have a great holiday weekend, everyone!