Rhymes and Reasons

09/12/25 10:43
John DenverDecember 9, 2025 (Vol. 19. No. 47) - As this dreary and dark year 2025 enters its final days - death throws is perhaps a more descriptive characterization - I have been reminded of some lyrics penned by the late John Denver:



So you speak to me of sadness and the coming of the winter. The fear that is within you now that seems to never end. And the dreams that have escaped you. And the hope that you've forgotten. You tell me that you need me now. You want to be my friend. And you wonder where we're going. Where's the rhyme? Where's the reason?



These are the opening lines of Rhymes and Reasons, one of Denver's earliest compositions that reflects the idealism/arrogance of the youth culture of the 1960s. I use those descriptors advisedly, because that was a time when the youth of our nation looked upon with sometimes self-righteous indignation at the supposed mess our parents had made of the world. It was a time of Vietnam, race riots, changing morals, the fear of nuclear Armageddon and outright disillusion. Truth be told, our parents didn't do all that badly. Their scientific achievements, combined with significant social and cultural advancements, weren't all that bad a track record. And, of yes, they survived the Great Depression and won the Second World War. However, people my age focused on the jobs left undone and the challenges we would have to tackle. And, of course, being young also meant that we were impatient as hell.



And now, it is we - the folks of my generation - being called to task by our children for our failings and the things we appear to have neglected. And, just as my generation did 50 years ago, this generation may have a point. Certainly the country is more divided than it has been since the Civil War - even more so than it was in the turbulent 1960s. However, my generation has also made scientific, social and cultural strides that have made life better. There are some things that are cyclical - although I can't imagine a more dysfunctional and incompetent president than the senile, feeble and immoral jackass we have now. That takes me back to the poetry of John Denver:



And its you cannot accept it is here we must begin to seek the wisdom of our children and the graceful way go flowers in the wind. For the children and the flowers are my sisters and my brothers. Their laughter and the loveliness could clear a cloudy day. Like the music of the mountain and the colors of the rainbow they're a promise for the future and a blessing for today.



You may interpret those lyrics differently than I. However, I believe they are saying that everything we need to deal with the problems of the moment are available to us today. So, I choose to focus on the positive message even while sitting in the shadow and chaos of today's trial and tribulations. I am not being Pollyanna and naive. If anything, embracing the positive may be the only way we can maintain our sanity and become the problem solvers our society surely needs. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.