Missing the Message

Sitting at my desk with "Just Once" on loop.  Nothing's wrong and it isn't currently relevant in my life, except that it was one of my very first favorite songs and I find myself lately holding fast to all the things I associate with warm fuzzy feelings.  A joy.  A peace.  Simpler times.  This song, for me, is definitely that.  I had to be what - 5? 6 maybe?  I'm sure I didn't know what the words meant, but James Ingram's voice spoke to me, even then.  It's makin me giggle just a little now, remembering how for years I thought his name was Quincy Jones.  Then some other song of his came out and I was all "Quincy Jones" and my mama was like "Girl..." LOL  I was so confused, trying to understand how somebody could have an album with somebody else singing all the songs.  But I learned the name James Ingram, and I could identify his voice in a single note from then on.

It's probably playing for the 9th time, but I'm hearing it a little differently now as I scroll through my social media....   

"Just once.  Can we figure out what we keep doing wrong?

Why the good times never last for long...

Where are we going wrong?

Just once. Can we find a way to finally make it right?"

I know absolutely nobody else is going to make the connection - it's fine - but as I'm scrolling, I'm just thinking what would happen if all you could see were the posts, and not who posted them?  Why can't the message just be the message?  Why do we put our stamp of approval (likes) on bullshit simply because it's from the homie, and scroll past something that genuinely moves us because it's from a person we don't really bang with anymore?  A better question is why do we stay connected to people we don't really bang with anymore?  I know there are reasons for one or two that we probably can't even verbalize  - history, a love, a respect, a.... something that won't let us cut the rope - but by and large, them muhfuckas have zero significance to your life, past or present.  So why do we stay connected?  Why don't we delete all the people whose every post make us roll our eyes?  Why do we do that?

In this case, the question is far more important than the answer.  Much of 2020 has been that way.  I think we're missing the message, people....