I admit I am cheating on this one. Instead of being reminded by the music of an event, I picked an event for which a song was written. Again, with my memory, it’s the best I can do on short notice.

Hands Across America was an event held on May 25, 1986. It was meant to raise money for the poor and also show everyone how united we could be as a country. The song
by the same name was written to promote the event.

I took part in the event. My mother, step-father, and I held hands with millions of other Americans. Our segment of the line was on the East River Drive (Kelly Drive) in Philadelphia.

As I watched the video I found on YouTube, I couldn’t help feeling that this type of event would be almost impossible today. Our country is so divided. It’s really sad what politicians, the media, and many of our own citizens do to feed the division here in what are supposed to be the “United” States.

I’m not saying that things were perfect back in 1986. We still had people who had great differences of opinion, but it seemed that, if necessary, we could pull together and solve a common problem. That doesn’t seem the case now; consider the recent healthcare issue, the wars, and unbelievibly, religion.

Perhaps I picked this song so I could rant a bit. But look at the video and listen to the words. Why is it so hard to work together? Turn off your TV’s, or at least stop watching the news, which has become nothing more than sensationalism for entertainment’s sake. It does nothing but continue the division amoung us.