There's no font for sarcasm, and no tone for a megaphone

'Sup, Comrades?

I was lazing around on Saturday, heckling my dad by showing him videos of Stephen Colbert and generally having a good time...When I heard about the massacre in Tuscon.

Holy smokes, what a shame. I immediately went political, thinking of all the overheated jabber that's been choking the airwaves. Having had a few days to reflect, and some of the news stories to emerge, it looks like the shooter wasn't politically motivated, just way gone mentally. (Perhaps new evidence will appear, as this is a developing story.)

But - regardless of this maniac's motivation, the murder of so many innocent people has made me think of a few things lately:

1. The responsibility of entertainers

We spend so much time, effort, and money to reach a platform from which the world can hear us. This includes not only musicians, but also politicians, pundits, writers, and anyone else who has the people's ear. It seems we then forget that there's a real audience behind those TV cameras and stage lights, and we say whatever we please. From "surveyors symbols" over congressional districts to violent lyrics, we often act like we're still obscure, and nobody is listening. We stamp our feet when people are not, and feign astonishment when people actually take our word and run with it. Sure, you can't know how a maniac will interpret something, but come on, we should be able to figure out when singing about shooting cops, or suggesting a second amendment solution might be in order if the ballot box doesn't win might blur that line between words and actions just a bit too much. People say it's just lyrics, or figures of speech, but I think it does affect us. Maybe I'm just impressionable - OK, that's a given, but hey, some tunes have made me think hitmen were glamorous. I've seen people close to me warped by video games. What we put in our head matters.

And, I think, those of us with the stage have a grave responsibility to realize that.

There's no font for sarcasm, and there's no tone on that megaphone to say "oh man, I was just kiddin'!"

Of course, one of my students made the point that metal musicians really don't have anything to worry about, because nobody can understand the words to the songs anyway.

Hey, I'm certainly not for censorship - only personal responsibility. I'm using this opportunity to make sure that I assume full responsibility of what I put out into the world, as an entertainer, and general bigmouth, which brings me to...

2. Shades of Gray It's rare to find an issue that doesn't have another valid point of view. I had the privilege of seeing Tom Chapin in concert a few days ago, and he had a song that made a point by telling kids to "forget rational discourse, because it's not on the test." In this charged political climate, I often mask my ignorance of an issue by literally skimming the information, and latching on to a sound-bite for my position in debate. I have a pretty good guess that the other side will be doing the same. It's a lot easier to call someone a loon than say "well, I understand your concern with the deficit, but still, how do you think we should get out of the recession? And where did you get that hat?"

Complex problems usually don't have simple answers. But man, I'm telling you, I've been training myself to streamline my words (believe it or not), and perfect my elevator pitch when I'm booking my show. Well, while all the world's a stage, it's not my show. So, I'm gonna be giving up the sound-bites, and going to go subtle in the hopes of getting to the truth of the moment.

Two things to honor the victims, and do my part to make the world a little better: Be very aware of what I put into the world, and a dedication to the truth over winning a battle of...I guess you'd have to say phrases, because it's certainly not wit.

Won't you join me?

Peace,

-Josh