I am just one musician with an opinion. I certainly don't have the fame or sway of Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks or Bruce Springsteen, 3 singer/songwriters who have influenced me over the course of my musical career. But, like them, I have the right to speak up and sing out about the kind of society I want. Lately, Bruce and the Stevies have had a lot to say, and at this moment in time, so do I. As a Canadian, I am deeply affected by what happens in the country south of mine. So I'll quote a Canadian singer/songwriter whose work I deeply admire, Joni Mitchell: " Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got / Till it's gone". To my American neighbours, I say yes, democracy CAN be messy, and it DOES have flaws. But to scrap democracy altogether and vote for authoritarianism would be the worst mistake you could make. Please take Joni's lyrics to heart. Have a say in what your society looks like, because that say could be taken away very easily. I want to end on a high note with some Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes. Last weekend, John Legend performed a lovely and meaningful song called "Wake Up Everybody", and I would like you to hear the gorgeous original version. As John, Gene and Victor wrote, "No more backward thinking, time for thinking ahead"!