Since you were so forthcoming in your answer to my questions, I feel I should give you some background information about why I asked them.

I guess it comes from the way I understand responsibility. I now see that your approach to responsibility is a very good and appropriate one for you. And I applaud you for the work you do and the way you live as a person of conscience. I'm sure you are making a lot of difference in the world with the work you do, and with your songs.

My sense of responsibility comes out of a couple of things from my past. Part of it comes from having been the child of a civil rights worker back in the 60s, and being taught that when people are in need of someone to speak out for them, we make ourselves complicit with our silence. And that we should never allow that to happen.

The other part, you already know something about from some PMs we exchanged maybe about a year ago. It was during that experience I told you about when my son and I were in some pretty dire straights and we desperately needed someone to speak out for us. For a long time, no one would because they were afraid that they might lose some friends if they did. The result of no one being willing or able to speak out for us had a profoundly devastating effect on our lives, and on my son's mental health (at that time... he's ok now).

Finally, a couple of good people who saw what was being done to us realized that they had no choice but to speak out even if it meant they would lose friends. And they did lose friends as a result of speaking out. But things started to turn around for my son and me after they did so, and in the end, things worked out ok. I can't begin tell you how profoundly grateful I am to those people for making that sacrifice for my son and me.

And now, whenever I see that people don't have anyone to speak out for them, and who desperately need someone to do that, I know that I have no other choice but to speak out. I feel their pain because I've been where they are, and I know how it feels from my own experience. And I know what feels like to desperately need help and to not be able to understand why no one will give it. And I know what an incredible blessing and relief it is when someone finally does speak out.

So I guess that understanding of responsibility, based on those experiences, has given me a somewhat narrow and gut level understanding about responsibility. I don't think I'm very likely to change that understanding as it applies to me, but I'm glad I have a better understanding about how you experience responsibility. Sometimes I feel kind of isolated when I find myself in a situation where my sense of responsibility makes it necessary for me to speak out, and I see that I'm mostly on my own with that, and sometimes even being attacked for it. Now I know that I may not really be alone, and that some people may be helping in ways I can't see.

I do feel kind of bad about the way I approached saying what I did about your song. I was speaking from a place of pain because of what I had read in the links I had posted, and also from some of the responses I was getting to what I was posting. And now that I'm not in so much pain any more, I can see that it was a pretty ugly way for me to speak to you. And for that I am sorry.