Such times of crisis have inevitably brought 'music of conscience' to the fore and I expect we will be hearing more and more of it in the immediate future. When people feel empowered to come together and raise their voices, also will mean raising their voices in song as well.

We Americans are world leaders and we must lead by example - particularly in times that require careful deliberation before any precipitous action - lest we fail to walk in the shoes of those we might injure.

I can't help but react to the painful realities of the two-tiered society we live in, where the signs of poverty and inequity are everywhere. Almost twenty five percent of our children live at or below the poverty line. We expect the no-option life cycle of the poor to be interrupted by the weak social safety net and then wonder why building more jails doesn't solve the problems.

People can overcome their differences, and when united, move toward a world of greater fairness and justice. As in folk music, each person has a unique role to play.

The ethic behind songs of conscience doesn't change, even though the issues are altered from generation to generation.

We can only move to a long-term resolution regarding terrorism and war by planting seeds of peace. We have to start with ourselves.

A flip-flopper is an intelligent person who changes position when the circumstance changes.