"Fighting Words"

Most of you know I've spent most of my life in radio.  So I'll have to ask your forgiveness as I indulge in the words of one of my many esteemed colleagues over the years.
Today it's the late Douglas Hoerth.
"Uncle Dougie" to those of us who knew him.
While Doug was a jock who played music on the radio in the early days of his career, he came to reinvent himself years later as a popular talk show host in Pittsburgh on the former 1250 WTAE.
In a series of TV commercials, he and other hosts communicated how they felt talk radio should be for its average listener.
"You can make them happy, you can make them sad," Doug said.  "Sometimes you can even make them think."
I have always viewed music in the same light, and some of those songs can be completely thought-provoking. 
John Ondrasik, the one-man band known as "Five For Fighting" is a great example of this.  While he's been derided by some critics as a "one-trick pony", I'd like to see anyone out there come remotely close to what he's accomplished as an artist.
While I like his music, I have a hard time listening to it, because it's that thought-provoking.  At least it is to me, anyway.
"Superman" is told as a first-person narrative from the would-be thoughts of the Man of Steel that are never verbalized, that show the human side of the native Kryptonian.
"Even heroes have the right to dream," "a home I'll never see", "it's not easy to be me".
Would Superman ever get sick of defending Metropolis time and time again?  Would he feel compelled to break Lex Luthor's neck with his bare hands to put an end to his evil ambitions once and for all?  Just so he could get some peace and quiet? 
Then there's another song..."The Riddle".  I have an especially hard time with this one.
"There's a reason for the world...you and I".  "We're all we've got on this bouncing ball". 
From a religious perspective, if God created Man in his own image, are we behaving in a godly manner to our fellow creatures?  Or from a secular perspective, are we respecting everyone's right to exist?  Or do we see ourselves as more fit to live than others because they don't share our beliefs and values? 
More importantly, what's the message we're passing along to the next generation through our own example?  Are we teaching our children compassion, or 'kill or be killed'?
Pensions are disappearing.  Health care is being treated as a luxury instead of a necessity.  Companies prioritize profits over people and don't mince words about it.  Virtue has become a liability rather than reward.  We celebrate money over morality.  We confuse need with want and fill our lives with possessions that we believe will make us happy for another day, until we tire of it and decide we want more.  And more. 
Don't get me started on those who worship 'scripted-reality' TV and talent shows, looking to be the next big star. 
There are those who choose to get their news from "The Daily Show" or "Weekend Update", rather than CBS, ABC or NBC.  By the way, if you ever want 'real' news, watch a BBC newscast.  You'll learn of the world that exists out of the U.S. that our country seems to turn a blind eye to more and more with each passing day.
So why are we all here?
Well...here's a riddle for ya.
Find the answer.
There's a reason for the world.
You and I.


NEXT WEEK:  Picture Perfect