The power of music...

I'm sure I am not alone is saying music has a very strong emotive power.. Yesterday was a day of finding solace and comfort in old music. Music of my past. During the day it was Bob Dylan, then watching children in need in the evening, I heard Sting singing "Shape Of My Heart" and feeling compelled to remind myself what else was on "Ten Summoner's Tales" I searched for the CD.

"Fields of Gold" is still one of my favourites but in reality, I love them all. Each one tells it's own story and like everyone else on the planet I read my own history into much of them. But not only was music a feature of the day yesterday, I was filled with a strange, probably ephemeral, sense of resolve and clarity. It was a day for spring cleaning my life and tentatively putting a new five year plan into action. I only hope I have the strength and committemet to follow it all through. It seemed such a good idea yesterday. If this blog is still live in six years time - and I hope it will be, then be ready for many changes.

But life doesn't always go to plan. Yesterday, our thoughts were with a cousin from the little village of Kyleakin in Skye and praying that she and her family in Istanbul were safe. I don't usually "do" politics but when things get close to home it angers me and makes me realise how easy it is for fate to twist things against us. When we heard on the news that a Scottish woman had been killed, my heart missed several beats. Thankfully S and her family are safe, but many families are again mourning the death of loved ones due to pointless terrorism.

It made me wonder again just exactly why George Bush was here? Yes, Al-Qaeda (probably) were clever enough to coincide their suicide bomber attacks with his visit and although it cannot be proven yet, but the probability is high that there was a link between his visit here and the attacks on British targets.

So yet again political and religious fundamentalism in the form of terrorism is the cause of death and destruction to innocent people. Man's inhumanity to man showing itself to be paramount. It raises several questions I cannot get to grips with:

i) Why is Tony Blair trying to uphold links with it's so called "closest ally"? Why is George Bush not visiting any other European country? Quite simply, because no-one else will have him. Tony, apart from pressing your own political self-destruct button you should be listening to the people of the UK. Why can you not attempt to strengthen links with our closer European neighbours? Why are you not concentrating on building up our economy, trade links, culture etc. with them? We have more in common with Europe than the US (perhaps Bush has dyslexia and is confusing UK with US and thinks we "belong" to him anyway). And wasn't it the US who could have ruined several Scottish industries including the cashmere trade by refusing to import products from Europe during the banana wars in 1999?

ii) Religion - nothing good has ever come of religious bigotry. Segregation causes more hostility. Even in the small town of Dalkeith a new secondary school designed to bring the local protestant and catholic high schools together caused problems. It was a good idea but in the first few weeks, believe it or not the children were not permitted to mix during lunch hours and there was a demarcation line in the playground they were not allowed to cross, until angry parents complained to the local council. I have always totally disapproved of sectarian schools. I don't particularly disapprove of different religious beliefs but what ever our beliefs are we have to find a way of living together and celebrating each other's culture. In today's climate sectarian schools seem to have outlived their meaning. Maybe it is a small thing to worry about but what starts in the schools is the foundation for many for the rest of their lives. They are breeding grounds of resentment and racism and just should no longer exist in any shape or form.

iii) Sadly, for a few their strong religious beliefs do lead them to acts of terrorism. I think that when Bush targets terrorists he is antagonising terrorism. I have never felt so vulnerable in my own country. Out of the seven levels of security alert, the UK is now on level six. Had we not been plunged by Tony Blair into the war with Iraq, this would not be the case. I feel it is only a matter of time before an attack is successful. After living for so many years in fear of terrorism from the IRA, powerful leaders have all but sealed our fate for a more widespread threat. I don't know what the answers are, but if anyone else can give me some reassurance that this is not the beginning of a long and slow terrorist campaign against the UK then I'd love to hear from you. As sting once sang "I never saw no military solution that didn't always end up as something worse"

iv) I then started thinking about when the first weapons were used beyond the stage of man hunting for food and for basic survival. Long after they had been replaced by more efficient means of looking after ourselves, greed, power and evil prevailed. If we are meant to be such a peace loving race, why can we not use the thing that separates us from the animal world - our so-called evolved brains - to banish these weapons? In Salt Lake City, it's easier to buy a gun than it is to buy a drink. What is wrong with this world?

In my naïve ideal world I'd like to get rid of every single weapon that has ever existed. Not just the weapons of mass destruction, but anything harmful, even down to the last pen knife. If there were no weapons, no explosives, no chemicals, there would be no resources available to cause such widespread death, destruction and fear. But perhaps that's the problem with hind-sight it always has 20:20 vision.

I'm not sure why music provoked all these thoughts last night, I think probably because when I think of Sting and war the two are inextricably linked in my mind by the disappearing thousands during Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's reign and the beautifully haunting song Sting wrote about it, in protest of US complacancy; Ellas Danzan Solas (They Dance Alone). I know there are really no answers to my fears. I think even if there were no weapons around we would all still manage to hurt each other one way or another. But if the hurt was confined to words only, with no fear of any stronger means of retribution, especially involving innocent people, then perhaps we would find ways of combating that too. Communication separates us from the animals, lets hope our evolution extends to developing peaceful feelings, goodwill and tolerance towards all. No-one should have to dance alone.

Perhaps one day it will even be possible for our hearts to physically change from the shape we recognise and grow to encompass all these feelings in everyone but for the time being, in a race where terror and destruction prevail all I can say is, that's not the shape of my heart.

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