“Springsteen Rocks Cleveland with Political Fury” was the headline on cleveland.com Saturday morning. I wasn’t at the Friday night concert, but reportedly “the Boss” shared his rage about and hope for our country with his audience for nearly three hours. Must have been quite a show, a blessing to his fans and a bane to his critics. (I hope both would defend his right to express his convictions freely.)
Meanwhile, just a few miles away the Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus and a team of absolutely riveting soloists were performing Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. The Sunday afternoon performance, which we attended, made clear Beethoven’s rage at injustice of any kind, including illegal incarceration. But the libretto does not end in rage, but in a celebration of freedom. As is well known, Beethoven firmly believed in the worth of every human being as a free member of our human community.
Right at 300 years separate the lives and art of Beethoven and Springsteen, yet I am quite sure they would celebrate each other’s convictions if they could ever meet. To those who dare to hope, the longing for better ways to live together as a human family is neither diminished by time nor compromised by set backs. Out of such hope artists of every age critique what is wrong and point us toward what can be set right—what we can set right, if we have the courage to take a stand.
Then, last night, we watched the annual Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington. We remembered again and shared our thanks for the men and woman who sacrificed their lives to protect our nation and its vision. That concert, plus hearing Fidelio and reading about Springsteen’s show, reminded me to honor not only the deaths of our defenders, but also the ideals and hopes of the United States of America they died for--all worth our remembering and our defending.
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