When Halloween is over and we step into November, most of us want to deny the speed at which all of the holidays and the obligations attached to them approach. It is just too quick, so most of us want the days and weeks to slow down. We would rather live for the moment and ignore the stress that we know is coming. We are in denial.
Denial seems to be the disease of the age we live in. When used properly things get simpler, slower and more manageable. We get the illusion that we are actually in control. We get to breathe easier. This slow-down is the up side of denial. But there is also a down-side.
The down-side seems to be permeating our society at this time. We see it every day in the news, on television and expressed in all of the media. People are denying the need for things which have always been standard issue in all of our lives. Some think that we don’t need the police and law enforcement in general anymore. Some think that we don’t need religion anymore. Some would deny our very history and anything which is connected to it. Some even deny that they are even feminine or masculine. Illegal drugs are an escape. All of this is denial and all of it is ultimately destructive. When we lose our ethics and our moral compass, then this is an indication that our society is in trouble.
The question that looms ahead is “how do we fix this?” This kind of destructive denial has never helped anything, it has only delayed or exacerbated this situation and created many more problems. Since the problem stems from a lack of education in all of the above, then the answer should lie in a proper and thorough education in each area. Not just that things are necessary, but “why” they are necessary. And who fills in this gap? First the parents that have fallen into the same trap and are missing in action with their own children. The idea that everyone else is at fault but me or my kids. In other words a lack of responsibility and a lack of self-reliance. Next the media needs to clean up their act. This includes the news, commentaries, television, movies, music and the internet. All are guilty of misleading the young into the “island of lost boys” (Pinocchio). Escape is good and everything is good is the ultimate idealism which is very seductive and innocuous and also difficult to oppose. But the fixes must come from within. First you have to believe in yourself.
Education, knowledge, involvement, awareness, etc., are all opposites to denial. And if we add responsibility, there is a chance that the problem can be fixed or at least alleviated. It is time to crawl of the mire and to sing a NEW song altogether. Music that deals with more themes than those that are illicit. We must quit feeding the beast that kills by ignoring it and demanding entertainment which features values. Since all entertainment is based on numbers, when the numbers decrease, the beast will die. May the Age of Aquarius let the sun shine in once again…!