Vanity Fair, a dance, and the War

In the latest issue of Vanity Fair, James Wolcott writes an article on The Twist that directly follows a heart-droppingly beautiful piece by Christopher Hitchens on Mark Daily, a 23 year old soldier who was killed in Iraq. Hitchens' piece brought tears to my eyes, and I felt somewhat surprised to see such gaiety following.

But Wolcott so gracefully brings the message home, bridging from the boisterous times that birthed The Twist to our current time and space on Earth:

"If we can't Twist again, like we did last millennium, that doesn't mean we should embrace soft internment inside our own bodies. At some point the talon grip of the War on Terror will relent out of pure tension fatigue, and perhaps then new excitements will bubble up through the floorboards, pour through the speakers, and set us momentarily but exaltedly free. Because lockstep is no way to go through life, and we've been under marching orders long enough."

Oh, amen, amen, amen.