It was a late afternoon, just over a week ago, and I was sitting in a board of directors meeting.  You can envision the scene:  Business suits, mahogany furniture, bottled water, re-circulated air, and everyone behaving quite “proper.”   About 2 hours later I was transported to an outdoor amphitheater to attend a concert where there were no business suits to be found; bottled water gave way to colorful Margaritas and Mojitos; there was a delightful cool breeze, and no one was worried about decorum.   Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock were about to hit the stage and, in their own way, the crowd was preparing for the upcoming performances.   A genuinely genuine atmosphere.

As Democrats and Republicans were engaging one another in a pitched battle about the debt ceiling, their constituents were listening to great music and beautiful song lyrics.  As you know, some of life’s most memorable experiences are the unexpected ones.   Being captivated by the words of a Kid Rock song was certainly NOT what I expected.  The song is called Care .  A simple word, yet a profound concept.   The chorus of the song goes like this:

Cuz’ I hear screamin on the left
Yellin on the right
I’m sitting in the middle tryin’ to live my life
Cuz’ I can’t stop the war
Shelter homeless, feed the poor
Can’t walk on water
I can’t save your sons and daughters
I can’t change the world and make things fair
The least that I can do,
The least that I can do
The least that I can do is Care

I was not only moved by the lyrics, but also by the audience’s collective sensibilities.  It’s hard to listen to those words and not pause for a moment to reflect on what’s really important in this world and how if we care about something larger than ourselves, it can help us realign our priorities.  It’s not about the left or the right (the people in the crowd know this), it’s about knowing what’s right and caring enough to understand the difference.