Tuesday was spring election day in Wisconsin — ostensibly it’s a nonpartisan election, but there’s no such thing as nonpartisan anymore where politics and government are concerned. I was not in the best mood as I drove to my polling place, and I found myself thinking of my old friend Wally Conger, who believed ethical people shouldn’t vote because it only encourages the, um, bad people.
I am a person who rather ardently believes in liberty and peace, and there is almost no one on any ballot who shares those values, and even the occasional ones who hold some acceptable positions are quite comfortable with the idea that, if elected, they have a right to seize a significant portion of my income and use it for purposes I would never voluntarily support, not the least of which is deploying weapons that kill people and break things.
So, in addition to being the exercise in futility that is election day, the air was thick with the bluster of yet another politician who gained office claiming to be a man of peace threatening to prove his pacifistic intentions by bombing another country into the Stone Age.
I happen to believe that war is not only a crime against humanity and an affront to God but an essentially flawed idea. The intention is to kill as many people with whom you disagree as possible. You can’t possibly kill them all; instead you create a generation of enemies who not only disagree with you but now want revenge for the loss of their loved ones.
Fortunately I was having these sour thoughts while listening to the 60s Gold channel on SiriusXM. The disc jockey said that it was “Make the First Move Day,” and that got me thinking about the woman who made the first move and ended up helping me out of a dark hole of mourning for my lost soulmate. Thinking about her always makes me smile.
Then, in honor of Make the First Move Day, he played “I’d Like to Get to Know You” by Spanky and Our Gang, a lush and lilting song from the late sixties.
Spanky and Our Gang was an underrated vocal group with awesome harmonies who made three brilliant albums during their short time in the spotlight, including Anything You Choose b/w Without Rhyme or Reason, which may be the most joyous and beautiful album no one has ever heard of. The first time I heard the album, I was charmed out of my socks, and just thinking about it Tuesday charmed me out of my funk.
And that’s how a song spun me around and, instead of sulking about matters I cannot change, I found myself thinking about the power of love and music’s ability to save souls.
