Wasatch Wipeout, Part 2 (My Adventures with the Verbal Assault Squad)...

Image Credit: Georgetown

Beginning my second fear induced adventure into the Debate/Forensics world. First off, you should know that I am a Novice, and Wasatch Wipeout is an Open (Advanced) Tournament. So, basically, I was feeling like the whole night was just going to be one huge fuster cluck.

Honestly, it wasn't that bad though. I didn't die of anxiety or asthma, and I didn't break down crying every time I gave my speech, because this time it wasn't about the sad parts of life. This Oratory was about one of my true loves, music. 

Here goes:

“That was when I realized that music is the most profound, magical form of communication there is.” Lesley Garrett.

If there is one thing that I believe in absolutely and unconditionally, that thing would be music. Music has raised me, taught me about life, and saved me from some very dark times. I believe that it is a stronger healing force than medication. I believe it holds more power than all the ammunition in the world combined, and I believe it is the true universal language. 

For thousands of years, humans have made music. We even make it within our own bodies, our hearts beating out the rhythm that indicates we are alive, a sort of internal music. It’s no small wonder that tribal people’s have used music in their healing ceremonies for generations upon generations. Many tribes, including the people of the Navajo and Cherokee nations, beat drums in time to raise the heart beat, singing their prayers so that the sick may be healed. In more recent times, music has been used as a healing tool as well. Dr. Oliver Sacks studies patients with severe dementia, and in cases where not a single medication has improved their condition, music has given these patients a second chance, returning a significant portion of their mental faculties to near normal, if not normal, function. 

Another example of the healing powers of music was published in the journal, Trends in Cognitive Sciences. A meta-analysis of many studies was published, and in one of these studies people who were about to undergo surgery were randomly assigned to either listen to music or take anti-anxiety medication to manage their stress. The scientists involved in this study tracked the individuals ratings of their own anxiety and the levels of a stress hormone, cortisol. In the end, the subjects who listened to music had lower levels of anxiety and less cortisol than those individuals who were given the anti-anxiety drugs. This is a strong, scientifically verified marker to the medicinal powers of music.

This healing property that music holds comes from the immense power that it possesses, whether for healing or for change. Jimi Hendrix, one of the gods of guitar, once said, “if any change is going to come about in this world, it is going to come through music.” Take Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s campaign song for example. This song, Happy Days Are Here Again, is usually associated with the ending of Prohibition, but it is also the anthem that helped many people get through the Great Depression. This song boosted morale in the entire nation, and there are many songs in more recent times that have done the same, like Same Love by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, which has empowered the LGBT community, or Don’t Stop Believing, Journey’s feel-good hit that has truly rocked the ages. These songs, and many others exhibit the powers of words and rhythm, and those powers combined equal far more than the sum of their parts.

These powers have also been extended to the purpose of global aid. Some of you may know about the Feed the World Campaign launched in the 80’s, and if you don’t, it was a series of adds in which many musical powerhouses, including Bono, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney, just to name a few, gathered together to spread the message of generosity and caring for those who have less than us (specifically impoverished people in Africa). This campaign made so much money, 6.2 million dollars in 1984 alone, that it was run two more times, once in 89, and once again in 2004. This song had such an impact that the next year Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie teamed up to write the song “We Are the World”, which was sung by the supergroup USA for Africa, which included everyone from Stevie Wonder to Cyndi Lauper. Believe it or not, this song became the biggest single of the 1980’s, and made 9.5 million dollars in its first year of sales. Now tell me that isn’t power.

These combined powers create a force that has permeated the entire world. Music, and it’s base component, rhythm, are commonly understood. This is one of many reasons that music is a universal language. Take, for example, the pink panther theme song. The sultry riffs of this commonly known jazz jingle convey the same feeling to many people, even if those people have never seen the pink panther cartoons. It conveys the idea of something, or someone mysterious, wily, and even devious. Or take something like a waltz, with it’s sophisticated 3:4 meter. Or a saucy latin beat. Even the Jaws theme (play that and tell me you aren’t the slightest bit terrified). When we hear songs, even if we don’t know what they are, they make us feel, and what is more universal than emotion?

I believe in music, because it is one of the only things that has remained constant for the entirety of human existence. Because it is a stronger healing force than medication, more powerful than all of the world’s ammunition, and the true universal language. We all speak it, and if you don’t believe me, then sit in silence for a moment and let the music of the world fill you up. Listen to the bass line that is your beating heart, and, being the musician that you are, do what musicians do best. Make some beautiful noise.

So, if you like me have been having a fuster cluck of a week, then maybe you need to find some time to just groove.

Valete amici!