For sheer compositional innovation in timing and phrasing, there is no composer to rival Al di Meola. There is not one lyric in any piece he’s written. The story is in the emotion of the music, conveyed by the structure, the rhythm and the surprising transitions that guide you comfortably through an aural experience you could not have prepared for, and which would have made you nervous had you the time to think about where it was taking you. Instead, you arrive where di Meola wants you to, just in time, safe and feeling fine. Refreshed by the journey. Amazed at the experience.
There is no ego in di Meola’s music. In concert, he does not speak. He does not engage the audience aside from the performance. He does not prance across the stage, throwing his head about. He does not punch the air with his fist, tie a scarf around the microphone stand or wear tight black leather pants. Even when he was a young man, his personality was delivered through his music. The music speaks for itself.
What I wouldn’t give for a politician who played the music of democracy so creatively and effectively that it was a pleasure to watch them lead. How inspiring it would be to witness the superb diplomacy of a pragmatic legislator, the dedication of a wise mayor, the selfless devotion to future generations of a Treasury secretary. The music of government, however, is as far from the compositional genius of Al di Meola as the gaseous nebula in Orion. Instead, we find a never-ending series of poor examples that bankrupt the public trust. If it weren’t so funny, I’d do nothing but cry to hear that Congressman Wiener has distributed close-ups of his winkie to women. If it weren’t so ludicrous, I’d feel nothing but dismay over the endless wrangling in the House and Senate over trivialities, while the ship of state sails merrily toward the icebergs.
Politicians cannot earn a living by successful, efficient compromise. They must appeal to those who would finance their campaigns, else they do not keep their job. And after a few years, a former politician is not as able to earn the same living, nor achieve the same public notoriety, as they did when seated in Washington D.C. So the imperative is to remain elected, not to do good work.
Thus leadership of our country has to be guided by the rest of us. It has always been so. We have to get involved. Such as in laying out the facts. And for sheer fact assembly, I give you the Al di Meola of research compilation, Lester R. Brown, author of “World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse.” Brown is head of the Earth Policy Institute, publisher of the book. The Earth Policy Institute’s mission is, humbly, to save civilization. Promoting what Brown calls “Plan B,” his book outlines the volumes of data that show how the ecosystems supporting civilization are declining in their ability to do so. These elements include fresh water supply, global temperature changes, topsoil erosion, desertification, resource contamination and population demographics. The patterns are alarming, and the archeological record shows how prior civilizations were decimated by similar dynamics. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the technological bases for correcting these trends and forming a sustainable ecological foundation for economic stability of the human species are available right now. There are no scientific or engineering hurdles to overcome in order to transition our methods to those that are neutral to the ecology of civilization. None. The hurdles are entirely political.
If “we” can adopt a longer-term mentality and understand the bigger picture’s impact on our own local neighborhoods, “we” should be able to guide our elected representatives (all 536 of them) toward solutions that ensure a successful emergence into a type of economic interdependence that can sustain even 9 billion people indefinitely. Brown’s research shows that at this level, given certain concerted actions of the main global players, population will stabilize, resources will be renewable and human-caused fouling of the ecological machinery will cease.
As a business man, I invest in sustainable industry models that can grow steadily and profitably, creating middle class careers in the process. As an Earthling, I would like my political leaders to take a similarly long-term view of their responsibilities. Fighting over which color, red or blue, “controls” our government is like beating oneself to a pulp because one can’t decide which color shirt to wear.