Come Together Right Now

I always think of the Mr. Rogers quote in times of trouble: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

This time, though, the helper was murdered for helping.

So where do we look now?

We look to each other.
We look in the mirror.
And most importantly, we do not look away.

We can’t keep pretending these atrocities are happening somewhere else. Not in some distant country where we can change the channel or scroll past the headline. They’re happening here. In our streets. In our communities.

And if we look away, we’re complicit in the terror.
If we do nothing, we’re complicit in the horror.
If we decide it isn’t worth our time because it isn’t happening to us, then we’ve already lost.

I don’t pretend to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to moments like this. But that doesn’t matter. I’m smart enough to know right from wrong, and this is long beyond wrong.

Music has always been a place of comfort for me. A place to soothe, to escape, to breathe. But music has another purpose too. One we need right now. It is a place for rage. For rebellion. For unity.

We the people have to stand against these tyrannical bullies. However that looks. Whether it’s writing a blog post, putting boots on the ground at a protest, or boycotting the businesses that support the tyrants.

We must come together right now.

Looking away is what they want. Standing together is how we remind ourselves who we are.

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