There's a very catchy new tune out at the moment. It's called 'Love etc.' and it's by the Pet Shop Boys. I can't say I'm a particular PSB fan, but in this case I can't stop tapping my toes to it, and the lyrics... well, they're almost spot on perfect for these difficult times we're all living in.
After years during which we were taught (by those who thought that they mattered) that happiness was dependent on one's wealth and possessions, we (society) have fallen headlong into a secular version of the Slough of Despond. Now we find that we can't afford what we want by further indebting ourselves because nobody will lend us the money, and we dare not spend the money we do have for fear of not being able to replace it.
As the song says, "it's tough getting on in the world when the sun doesn't shine" and it goes on to draw a good conclusion: you don't need to have all the 'big bucks' (the limousines, luxury houses, super cars, etc)... what you need is something more but also something 'other' - you need Love.
The song is, however, a little bittersweet. It draws the conclusion that one doesn't have to be beautiful - but it helps, which is a bit of a shame really, even if it's very true that most people will judge by appearances. I think I'm going to take that element of the song more metaphorically: I think that beauty needs to be more than just skin deep but instead becomes all that being human encompasses: your personality, commitment to your friends and those around them, your own love for the world - these are the things that make you beautiful. And these things certainly help distract from material gloom.
So... this foot tapping little song has exactly the right optimistic message for the times we're in now (and repeats what others have said and sung many times in the past). We need optimism and the best optimism comes from the realisation that we can be happy regardless of our possessions and material status. It comes from the love that we can show one another. It comes from our relationships with our friends and families. It comes from the joy we can get from all the things around us that are totally free.
I don't have much money. But I have friends and people that I love. And I am the richest man in the world because of it. And no privation, no material poverty, no recession or depression can ever take that away from me. Thank God for Love!
