A few weeks ago I was chilling out at home and I was flipping through the channels and stumbled upon a Motown Tribute featured on the PBS series In Performance at the White House. It was really cool to watch President Obama and the other government types take in a show full of Motown Classics performed by Jamie Foxx, John Legend, The Jonas Brothers, Sheryl Crow and others. But ya know what really got me thinking and struck me the most as I watched this show unfold?
Well, I couldn’t help but wonder how this Motown tribute and the large amounts of pleasure President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were having impacted world events.
Sure, we’ve explored how Obama rock the stage during his 2008 campaign.
But what about now that he’s in office?
How has his live music experiences like the one with B.o.B influenced the day to day decisions that he makes?
Live music profoundly changes all our live in so many ways. We can go to a concert with one emotional m.o. and then come out on the other end of the concert feeling completely different and forever changed. And I imagine the same would be true for President Obama on some level too.
Let’s take it a step further…
Yes, we know that live music has changed the course of history. And we know that many historical concerts themselves have forever altered the paths many leaders, fans and bands have taken.
But what about the micro impact?
What about the unseen emotional impact that goes on inside our hearts and minds. What can we see when we watch President Obama and other government officials experience the pleasure of live music at the White House? And how how does that emotional transformation influence world events?
That said, As I watched smiles of joy, pleasure and satisfaction spread quickly across the faces of the The President, the First Lady, Vice President and the others, I wondered what was going through their minds.
I wondered on what on level did this Motown concert did provide Obama and the rest of the audience insight into their own life, like live music has done for me so many times before.
Did they gain insight into personal relationships? Did the concert give him emotional or mental clarity about major decisions about Egypt, Japan, Libya and Health Care reform?
Did the Motown concert help them journey back to a favorite moment as mental act of refuge and escape? Were they thinking about major decisions they had to make about our country and thus find clarity they needed as Jamie Foxx and John Legend crooned their favorite Motown tunes? I didn’t see or hear any screaming ladies but I’m sure someone was screaming their heart out on the inside.
And I also wondered…
What is President Obama’s favorite concert experience and why? What was his first concert experience and how has that moment impacted his life and the influenced his vision for our country?
After I successfully received my last letter from a government official, I’ve decided that I’m going to write letter to President Obama to find out how exactly this Motown tribute did impact him and whether or not it did change the course of history in any way. I’ll keep you posted on the feedback.
But in the meantime, you can watch the full performance on PBS.org and…
Tell me what you think might’ve been going through the mind of our government leaders. Tell me how you think this Motown tribute impacted world history or American life.