Can we take a break from politics for a minute?

Sometimes I think it’s good to stop and think about what’s really important to us.  I know you care deeply about the direction of our nation, and the upcoming elections, and the battle of beliefs.  And I think I know why you care.

It’s all about the ones we love.

We conservatives are into facts, organization, and logic.  Our liberal friends base their judgments on feelings.  It’s hard for us to understand each other.  Can an artist be a conservative?  Can a progressive be logical?  Do conservatives have a heart?

As a musician and songwriter, and a conservative, it’s an ongoing struggle for me, with one foot grounded in the world of hard numbers and reality, and the other mired in poetry and hope.

I’d like you to listen to a song written by perhaps the most brilliant American songwriter of our generation, Paul Simon.  Whether you are a conservative or a progressive, I’ll bet you connect on a gut level with Simon’s observations about our deepest human emotions – the depth of passion for a partner or spouse, the insecurity and doubt about the choices we have made, and the unspeakable love a parent has for his or her child.

Please enjoy the work of an American master songwriter, Paul Simon.

Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side