What's Going On?

Listen while you read:  https://youtu.be/EbZYRZpNc64

Mother, Mother, there's too many of you crying
Brother, Brother, Brother, there's far too many of you dying
You know you've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Father, Father, we don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me so you can see
What's going on

~  Marvin Gaye

The "Motown Sound" was a mix of R&B, pop, and gospel music produced in "Motor Town," a nickname for Detroit, Michigan, in the 60s. Most often referred to as "soul music," the genre initially played it safe, preferring to appeal to all ethnic and socio-economic groups.  And then, in 1971,  Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" was released, and to this day, it stands as "a timeless spiritual anthem."  The song was written by Al Cleveland and Renaldo Benson, inspired by a visit Benson had made to the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where he witnessed young, long-haired people being beaten and harassed by police.  He took his initial work to Marvin Gaye, who tweaked it with lyrics reflecting his own concerns about stories his brother told him upon returning from service in the Vietnam War.  As Benson stated, "We measured him for the suit, and he tailored it."

Motown founder and head Barry Gordy gave Gaye a hard time about the song, resistant to the idea that Motown could make a political statement.  "Motown was about music for all people -- white and black, blue and green, cops and the robbers.  I was reluctant to have our music alienate anyone.  This was a big risk for his (Gaye's) image."  Legend tells it that the song was released while Gordy was away on vacation, but when it immediately soared to the top of the charts, Gordy had a change of heart.

And here we are, 46 years later, still trying to find a way to bring some lovin' here today.  The parallels between the unrest of the 60s and the protests today are not hard to find.  The displays of racism, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the issues behind Black Lives Matter, the evidence of interference in our government by an adversarial foreign country, the fear of involvement in yet another foreign war, Bannon's determined "deconstruction of the administrative state," the threat to women's reproductive health care . . . the list goes on and on, as we repeatedly ask, "What's going on?"

If nothing else, never stop asking.