Where is the music?
Plus Weekly Insights and Analysis: Devastating impact of sanctions on Russia's economy; Blinken-Lavrov telephone call; Pro-Russia parties poised to win September 25 Italian elections
Part One—Main article
Where is the music in our lives?
It seems that for those who follow the news closely, there is nothing but endless war and tragedy, the endless Covid pandemic, and the endless stories about those who sought to overthrow our democracy and who may do so again. And endless worries about bread-and-butter issues like the price of gas at the pump, and the costs of groceries and everything else which reflect a rate of inflation that seems to be out of control.
Where is the music?
Where is the music in our lives, and the art and the beauty that can open our hearts to the joys of life, like the joy of being in nature or of simply being with friends and laughing over jokes and other silly things?
Fotunately, perhaps, most people are probably not news addicts.
Yet the country and the world depend on us all being news addicts, at least some of the time, in order to know what is going on around us and to prod others to act in reasonable ways.
How can we strike the right balance? That is the question.
Perhaps we should reserve at least an hour a day for listening to good music, reading poetry or a good book, and just experiencing art and culture in one of its many forms.
That could mean one hour less of cable television news, one hour less of the repetitive banging on our heads of the news anchors and their guests.
It could mean one hour less of wandering on the internet, or keeping up with social media.
It could mean one hour of freedom from the noise.
It could mean one hour of music in our lives.
Why don’t we try it, if we’re not doing it already?
One hour of freedom from the noise.
One hour of music in our lives.
Every day.
Part Two—Weekly Section
Insights and Analysis
Authoritative Yale study finds that economic sanctions are having a devastating effect on Russia’s economy.
Antony Blinken and how not to negotiate a hostage release.
Pro-Russian parties in Italy in position to win September 25 elections