The Temptations, c. 1960s.
Fear in the air, tension everywhere. Does that sound like commentary on the current condition of the country, if not the world? The line comes from the hit single, “Ball of Confusion,” released in 1970 by the Motown super group, The Temptations—one of my all-time favorite groups. And it is hardly the only line in the song that it sadly relevant over five decades later.
Where the world’s headed, nobody knows. I hadn’t listened to the song for a while, but recently, to deal with a boring workout on our exercise bike, I plugged in The Temps’ greatest hits album. Amid love songs such as “My Girl” and “You’re My Everything” are numbers of social unrest and injustice, including “Cloud Nine,” “Papa was a Rolling Stone,” and of course, “Ball of Confusion.” Regarding the latter: really? Have we not gotten anywhere in all this time? An eye-opener, to be sure.
Vote for me and I’ll set you free. Isn’t that what all politicians promise, among other things? And once elected, do they ever follow through?
The sale of pills is at an all-time high. Indeed, the fentanyl epidemic, other prescription drugs, recreational drugs. As the song told us: Young folks walking round with their heads in the sky.
And it seems nobody’s interested in learning but the teacher. The education system is failing. Science is looked upon as a pariah. Ignorance runs rampant.
The only person talking about “love thy brother” is the preacher. There is a great deal more of “hate thy neighbor” going around.
People all over the world shouting “end the war.” You can say this is right out of today’s headlines.
There is one other line from this song that struck me as relevant today in a good way. The Beatles’ new record’s a gas. The final Beatles song, “Now and Then,” was released last month!
Ball of confusion. That’s what the world is today. How prophetic. As I said, some things never change.