During one of his introductions during the Houston shows this weekend, Don Henley thanked the crowd and said that he hoped that their three hour concert would help everyone forget about the horrendous 24 hour news cycle for just a little while.

It’s true. Things are bad.

The stock-market is tanking, a Stephen King virus scenario is playing out with every news update, political commercials warn us repeatedly that the future of our democracy is at stake and to put it over the top, toilet paper is in short supply. There’s a lot that we should want to forget for the time being. Probably at the top of that list is the fact that as a country...as a people...we are incredibly divided right now. All of the other problems seem to stem from this or are exacerbated by this fact. A Men-in-Black mind wipe set to the strains of “Take it Easy” would be a wonderful elixir.

I’d like to propose something else, though.

Rather than have the shows be a tool to forget about our problems, I’d like to see them become an antidote to our problems.

Think about it. For three hours, total strangers from all over the country and all over the world (there was a couple in front of us from Japan) are standing in one place sharing an experience. We come from all walks of life, all socio-economic backgrounds, all political parties. For those three hours, though, it doesn’t matter. We’re all there grooving to the same tunes, singing out the same words, swaying our cell-phone flashlights in concert with our seatmates (who may or may not post things on their social media that would get us all hot-under-the-collar).

For those three hours, we aren’t divided. We’re together. We agree.

We agree that beer at a concert is way overpriced.

We agree that Timothy sounds like an angel when he sings.

We agree that the harmonies on Seven Bridges Road are the best ever.

We agree that The Last Resort is a lyrical masterpiece.

We agree that we are so freaking proud of Deacon.

We agree that nobody...nobody can play the guitar like Joe Walsh.

We agree that there is nothing out there like Don Henley’s voice.

We agree that we miss Glenn like crazy.

Now sure, there’s some stuff that we politely disagree about. Some people don’t necessarily think Vince should sing as many songs as he does and some might wonder why Don and Joe get solo songs and Timothy doesn’t. Some people might think Stueart deserves to be called an Eagle and some of us just don’t like all of the hats.

Those are just little things, though. I’d like to think that for those three hours, we are one people. One nation. Family.

Music does have a way of bringing people together and I’d like to think that if we could remember the feeling of a concert...how it sounds when everybody sings in unison “...let somebody love you” that we can take on a corona-virus and work together to end gun violence and make sure everyone has health care and a great education and lead-free water and that there’s nothing in their lives that they want to forget. If we forget problems, they don’t go away. If we work together, they get better.

Before I get too preachy or go on too long, let me end with this.

The Great Seal of the United States features the Latin phrase, E Pluribus Unum. Out of Many...One.

On the great seal, that phrase of togetherness and inclusivity is held aloft by a noble bird.

An Eagle.