Walking outside after its been raining and the sun is shining while the temperature lingers around 55 degrees is pure beauty. The smell of the air is fresh and everything seems alive, including yourself. It's at these moments that I ponder things that have happened and things that might come. Today, I thought about music.
It's amazing what music does. Walking to a test doesn't seem so bad as long as I can listen to the once popular, "Tubthumping;" more recognizable as, "I Get Knocked Down." It has such an upbeat tempo and I can't help trying to sing along, out loud, as people pass me and think to themselves about how rediculous I look.
Music is such a beautiful thing and I barely understand it. All I know is what other people and I feel when we hear it. Every time "God Bless the U.S.A." comes on the radio, my mother will turn it up and listen to it. Back then, I never understood why she liked that song so much. But as I heard it sung on American Idol, I realized why she liked it. I got chills as I realized the great freedoms I have in this country and how so many people fought for it. The music and lyrics of that song made me realize this.
The National Anthem has this power as well. It's a simple song that sings about this great country. I love seeing a crowd with young, old, white, black, men, and women stand together and respect their countries song. It amazing to watch.
Victor Hugo once said, "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Love, pure joy, and pride fall amongst these things. Words have been given meanings by man, but music is something you feel. It's something that everyone can hear and react to.
When a simple melody is sung with love of any kind and by a crowd of people who were once fighting about who might be president or the troops in Iraq, I would define that as progress.
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