\u201cDon\u2019t start,\u201d the bass player said, tuning quietly. \u201cWe haven\u2019t soundchecked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m not starting,\u201d the drummer said. \u201cI\u2019m asking. Does war ever do any good?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The saxophonist was assembling the horn with the careful patience of someone who has heard too many bad questions. \u201cDefine good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomething comes out of it,\u201d the drummer said. \u201cChange. Progress. Even new music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAh,\u201d the saxophonist said. \u201cThe \u2018silver lining\u2019 argument.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bass player plucked. \u201cYou mean like people saying great art comes from suffering?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d said the drummer. \u201cNo wars, maybe no Love Supreme.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The saxophonist looked up. \u201cThat\u2019s like praising a fire because it makes the night look dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drummer laughed. \u201cDramatic nights are good for solos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUntil the house burns down,\u201d the bass player said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They sat with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m serious,\u201d said the drummer. \u201cHistory shifts after wars. Borders change. Systems collapse. Sometimes for the better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes,\u201d the bass player said. \u201cAnd sometimes it just rearranges who gets hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The saxophonist slid the reed into place. \u201cWar is a terrible editor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a good line,\u201d the drummer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not meant to be good,\u201d the saxophonist replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bass player leaned back. \u201cYou can\u2019t deny things come out of it though. Technology, alliances, even ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d the saxophonist said. \u201cGraveyards also produce grass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drummer tapped lightly on the snare. \u201cSo nothing at all redeeming?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say that,\u201d the saxophonist said. \u201cI said the good is incidental. Like finding a melody while the building collapses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bass player nodded. \u201cAnd then people point to the melody and say the collapse was worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The drummer paused. \u201cSo we\u2019re just supposed to say it\u2019s all bad and that\u2019s it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d the saxophonist said. \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to notice that humans are very good at making meaning after the fact.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cDon\u2019t start,\u201d the bass player said, tuning quietly. \u201cWe haven\u2019t soundchecked.\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not starting,\u201d the drummer said. \u201cI\u2019m asking. Does war ever do any good?\u201d The saxophonist was assembling the […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"Layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-rockbob","post-9429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-warfare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9429\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bobwiseman.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}