I once had opportunity to ask a person who claimed to be of the 'ruling class' why our leaders do little to nothing to protect our environment. He replied that to those like himself making money was like painting to a painter, or writing poetry for a poet, and not pursuing the profit motive would be the same as those artists agreeing to stop doing what they do, so it was a no go.

Gangadhara, one of myriad names for Shiva, is based on Raga Bhupali related to "Protector of the Land".

But how does it benefit us to prevail against our enemies in the present time only to inherit a planet ruined from neglect? Does that qualify as prevailing, or are we missing the big picture here, allowing ourselves to be distracted by the opening and middle game (using chess parlance) while forgetting about the end game where you either win or lose ultimately.

- Michael Robinson, July 2018, Los Angeles

© 2018 Michael Robinson All rights reserved

This writing was originally a comment published here.

Michael Robinson is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer (musicologist).