Years ago, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder recorded a song titled, "Ebony and Ivory." In that song contain the lyrics, Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony. Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord,why don't we?
Hmm, why don't we? Well, due to the fact that as a nation, we have lost our collective minds regarding race relations, or should I say the lack of race relations, I'm prone to believe that we can't live in perfect harmony because, although we are people and not piano keys, just as the ebony keys and ivory keys on America's piano are not only playing out of tune, but also not playing the same song, neither are we.
Let me explain.
My paternal grandmother played the piano for many years until she was no longer able to do so. And what I learned is that the main reason piano strings change pitch or get out of tune is because they move, due to humidity and temperature. But, check this out, even if a piano isn't played, the tension in the strings will get weaker and weaker, and the piano will still go out of tune.
And the latter is what's happened to America.
For far too long, too many people have lived under the false notion that we live in a post-racial society. Laws were passed that allowed the "ebony keys" on our nation's piano to sit beside the "ivory keys" in restaurants, theaters, and anywhere else. Heck, ebony keys could even use the same restrooms and go to the same schools as ivory's. Too many thought that electing the "First Ebony President," meant we not only had the ebony and ivory keys playing in perfect harmony, but that we were also playing on a Liberace styled grand piano.
But we were wrong, and we got comfortable.
Those keys just sat together on the keyboard without trying to create music...together,which caused us to become more racially divided and out of tune with each other than ever. Why? Because the tension, the strength that all of us "strings" had, and tension we needed to hold us together just got weaker and weaker, and now, all of the notes are falling flat.
See, too many people are trying to play the piano who have never had a lesson. Yeah, there are particular "ivory pianists," who only know how to play the ivory keys, but who somehow feel the need to chastise the ebony keys about the way they sound. These certain ivory pianist believe their songs could have the same sound if they didn't use the ebony keys. For them, the ebony keys are disposable, and should be happy they are even included on the keyboard with the ivory keys at all. Thus, these particular ivory pianists are focused on the ebony keys that may be out of tune, instead of focusing on the fact that because there are more ivory keys, those keys being out of tune could be the reason for the majority of the disharmony and thus may require more tuning than the ebony keys.
Then there are those "ebony pianists," who only want to play the ebony keys because they believe the ivory keys feel they are superior, so they want to make sure the ebony keys know they are needed. Yeah, those ebony pianists also believe that the ebony keys could make better music on their own, and thus try to play songs that use ebony keys exculsively. The problem is, some of those ebony keys have gone without being tuned or even heard for so long that when they finally have the chance to have their strings tightened, their keys stick, and they are unable to make a sound. They've given up believing they can play beautiful music or even be included in the song. But, get this, there are still other ebony pianists who don't believe they truly belong on the same keyboard with the ivory keys, at all. So, they have no problem relying on the ivory keys to provide the music they feel ebony keys lack, and will themselves neglect to play the ebony keys as well. But here's the thing, when pianos are tuned, all the strings must be tuned at some point because all the keys, ebony and ivory, are needed in order to give a song its perfect harmony.
Now, although all the strings must be tuned, not all the strings are tuned at once. During piano tuning, sometimes, a "mute" is used to silence strings that are not being tuned. That could be because those strings are already hitting the right notes, and don't need any extra tuning, or because they were tuned the last go round. However, regarding America's piano, those who are already in tune to what's really happening are the ones whose notes need to be heard the loudest. As a matter of fact, I think America's piano might play a lot better, if the "mute," were used on the keys who have been making the most noise, even though every note they play is flat.
All I know is, the song American is playing now is not music to my ears, and it's not one that needs a refrain. So, why can't we live together like piano keys? Because although we may be ebony and ivory, unlike piano keys that are tuned by one technician, 2 or 4 times per year, we, as individuals, have to tune ourselves... daily. We are the ones who have to come to the realization that we will never be in perfect harmony until we constantly check to make sure the tension in our personal strings remains tight and that we don't become weak. Otherwise, America's piano will remain out of tune, and we, as a nation will continue to hit sour notes.
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