During my misspent teenage years, I saw this world though the lens of my favorite music. I've long outgrown that particular adolescent quirk, but watching the news lately puts me in mind of the lyrics of one of my favorite groups. And while the Talking Heads song that might seem most appropriate (at least in a titular way) is "Life During Wartime", for some reason, the first two lines of "Psycho Killer" are what I hear when I watch the news (I can't seem to face up to the facts / I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax).

Chaotic times seem to be a breeding ground for good art. Some of the greatest musicians were practicing their craft during the Vietnam war. (Just ask any baby-boomer -- their taste is unquestionable. No, really, it is. They run the media.) No coincidence then, that when the war ended in 1975, Disco began to explode in popularity, proving conclusively that cocaine causes severe damage to the parts of the brain that allow a person to distinguish good music from bad.

During the eighties, a lot of punk and new wave bands came along, springing fully formed from the economic policies of Reagan and Thatcher. Massive unemployment somehow left the kids enough money to get a guitar or a synthesizer. And hairspray. But, there was some good work being done there. In my book genius is not far removed from insanity, and no group exemplified mental anguish better than the Talking Heads, except maybe Joy Division. Sure, they got their starts in the late seventies, but let's face it: so many people were sick to death of the seventies and decided to get the eighties started a little early. Who could blame them?

The history of the twentieth century carries two indelible scars right across the middle of it: World War I and II. Conflicts so terrible that almost no one was able to producing lasting works of art in their midst. But, they weren't so easily forgotten (even in America); people carried with them the memories they made during that time -- those lucky enough to be left alive anyway. Severely traumatized as we were, we managed to create some of the greatest Jazz music in the era following the first world war, and some of our greatest films and books after the second. The works of American ex-patriates living in post-war Paris are still taught in schools, resisting attempt after attempt to be replaced by something written by more politically correct authors. As for film -- well, just try going to a film school that doesn't teach the history of post-WWI German Expressionist cinema.

To widen our focus a little bit, consider the work of Walt Whitman. "Leaves Of Grass" is considered a touchstone of American poetry. It was published in 1855, a scant six years before the start of the Civil War. Keep in mind, the causes of the war had been festering away since our nation's inception, and Whitman's work was the product of it's time -- deeply divided, intensely paranoid. Yet, "Leaves Of Grass" reaches for beauty in the midst of this madness. Whitman was no pollyanna (he went on to serve as a nurse, ministering to wounded Union soldiers). His was a deliberate decision to write about goodness and grace amidst trying times. So did Thoreau and Emerson.

The history of our world seems to be a catalogue of wars, at least if one went to public school. History books seem to jump from conflict to conflict, with little attention paid to brief periods of stability. Even then, they seem to cover only the "Roaring 20's" and the Great Depression. In fact, the USA seems to have spent the balance of its short life at war. The Revolutionary War ended in 1783, and nineteen years later there we were, back at war with England. It wasn't a peaceful nineteen years either, what with the Indian wars (which would continue well into the 19th century), the occasional rebellion, and a scuffle with France. There was a break between The War of 1812 and the Mexican-American war (about 41 years, but keep in mind we were still in the process of violently taking land away from Native Americans).

Frankly, even the least cynical among us should be surprised that it's taken us this long to get embroiled in another conflict -- our record speaks for itself. Not that the United States has a monopoly on armed combat. Our neo-pacifistic friends over in Europe might occasionally say that they've "outgrown" war, what with the horrors of two world wars fought on the continent. But that didn't stop France from waiting until 1954 before pulling out of Vietnam. In most cases, European nations can't afford to wage a war (neither can we; any coming conflict will be purchased on credit).

What does all this mean? The longest period of prosperity in our nation's history has produced some of the shittiest culture ever seen. Bad music, bad books, bad film -- happy times to not make great art. I'm not saying that we should look forward to war, unemployment, epidemic, or any other disaster. But I will say that I might be a little less critical of our lousy pop culture from now on. It's better than the alternative. Personally, I'd rather have the Muzak corporation install a receiver in my head then be forced to suffer like my grandparents had to. Perhaps that what the "problem" is with my generation: We're not willing to suffer enough. But if it means avoiding war, I say bring on "Star Wars: Episode 3". In the grand scheme of things, how bad could it be?

-B. C. Silvia