Blog for January 9th, 2026
Whenever I think of the shooting of Becca Good, I hear Samuel Barber’s heartrending Adagio for Strings.
There are so many tragedies here in so many dimensions. The six year old who has lost his mother. Becca’s partner, who has lost her other self. And Becca’s murder, what a needless waste of a life.
What have I seen? The entitlement and the othering in the sneering and wildly inaccurate comments of the administration. The assumption that the ICE agent responsible has ‘inviolable immunity’. The refusal of these agents to allow a medical doctor to assist at the scene.
Barber’s Adagio was written in 1936, the time of the rise of the last hideous strength poisoning the hearts of men. Many have been saying for a while that we’re seeing this again. Is humanity cursed to repeat its murderous history? Many would say that we are. I know I’m moving from ‘men’ to a broader definition of humankind here.
I can’t add anything remotely useful.
We’re living in a time of great evil. What does evil do? It sucks the life out of humanity. It removes, colour, flavour, taste. Look at the eyes of some of the people speaking to this – they’re dead inside.
I’m looking at all this with my eyes wide open. And I’m think that even in the most appalling circumstances, some among us have managed to create beauty, to hold, maintain and disseminate loveliness throughout the world.
And this brings me back to Barber’s Adagio. Samuel Barber and Giancarlo Menotti were in a 30 year relationship that lasted till 1970. It can’t have been easy for them to be together from a societal perspective. It doesn’t seem to have been easy personally either. And throughout the mess of human history after they met in the 1930s, they both produced the most beautiful music.
So I hope that by listening to this piece by Barber I can focus on the good that will come. These evils maybe but they also fall. I hope I’m still around for the fall – 15 years hence?
Renee’s wife Becca says that she will continue to teach their son ‘that there are people working for a better world for him. That the people who did this have fear and anger in their hearts and we need to show them a better way’.
Amen. Here is this beautiful music.
https://youtu.be/WAoLJ8GbA4Y?si=n9gDGkGF39k1a5Em