Musical Musing

During the Thanksgiving holiday, I listened to my CD of Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt.

And I was struck by how the music mirrors what is happening in our politics -- on both sides.

I suppose no other composition reflects the presidential campaigns in both parties as masterfully as "In The Hall of the Mountain King."

If each instrument is (metaphorically) assigned to a different candidate, you realize as you listen to Peer Gynt that each campaign is saying the same things, only in different pitches and tones. The Democrats speak their party line, and the Republicans speak their party line. On just about everything. Very little variation from anyone.

In politics as well as Peer Gynt, as the cacophony builds, so does the tension -- but also the agreement.

In the end, you have a resounding "Me, too!" from the final instruments.

There you have it. The state of our politics boiled down to a few minutes of classical composition and performance.

No answers, though. Those are harder to find.