Voices of Mexico no. 118

Our Voice

In the 1960s, The Band sang about the consequences of war in the previous century: “In the summer of ’65/ We were hungry, just barely alive/ By May 10th Richmond had fell/ It’s a time I remember oh so well/ The night they drove old Dixie down.” And, in his enormously complex way, Bob Dylan interpreted armed clashes as a business, asking the Masters of War, “Let me ask you one question/ Is your money that good?/ Will it buy you forgiveness/ Do you think that it could?/I think you will find/ When your death takes its toll/ All the money you made/ Will never buy back your soul.” And meanwhile, John Lennon exhorted everyone to “Give peace a chance.” This pacifist music was a response to the bellicose winds of the day. More than half a century later, what has changed?