I know I am supposed to be on sabbatical this week, but I read an article about Woodstock and wanted to share a few thoughts:
Its been almost fifty years since the three days of music, mud, and magic occurred in Woodstock, NY. Although most of the stories are about epic crowds, wonderful music, drugs, and young people going wild, the author pointed out the true story of Woodstock.
A city of over 400,000 young people sprung up one day on a hillside in New York, and there was no violence, and thousands of young people fed, clothed, and cared for each other and then they all disappeared back into society.
I choose to think that those people and thousands more continue to do the same every day of the year. They remain peaceful, share what ever they have, and care for their fellow men and women.
Sadly, we never never talk about those thousands, because most of the time we are talking, and hearing, and arguing about their opposite. I admit in my waning years I am tired and weary of hearing about the opposite. I do not think that evil, greed, and violence are inherent to our species. Just the opposite, as evidenced by the millions who hand out water, blankets, and food to people around the world everyday.
The owner of the farm, Max Yasgur, died a few years after the concert. He said right before he died, that if people would just join together in the spirit of that sudden city on his hill, we could push past our problems and fears and become a new kind of country.
The spirit of Yasgur and Woodstock survive in every food line and disaster relief station around the world. The message of Easter lives in those same places as well.
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