Be the Bridge

As someone who composes music, one of my favorite parts of the song is the bridge. It’s often used to build energy and momentum before the final chorus comes back in to take us home. When used properly, it is both the turning point and that which pieces everything together, giving more weight and importance to each of these sections.  

I believe that this moment is a bridge. Yes, we’re acknowledging a moment of hope and the healing that this moment of justice can bring. But it also has the potential for things to fall apart. The bridge is also the part of the song where we can start bringing in additional voices, where we can prepare for that big chorus that is so beautiful, so contagious, that people can’t help but join in. That’s the kind of song I believe we out to write.

A literal bridge is used to connect two different places. It can transcend obstacles and boundaries, it doesn’t pretend that they don’t exist, it doesn’t go around them. It goes over them. There are some so entrenched in the pits of cynicism and denialism, driven by a sense of superiority that comes from refusing to examine the issue rather than honest inquiry. They will attempt to drag you down. But bridge builders have a different course. They’re above all that because the mission of connection is more important than the ego-serving purpose of combat through commentary.

I keep thinking about this idea – that “the moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice.” Even so, I remind folks that this moral arc does not bend on its own, just as a song doesn’t write itself. It requires people willing to do what must be done. It must be created and sung with intention. A bridge can help us get there. If you’re going to be anything in this world, consider being a bridge.