Embracing music, not ideology

The venue:

The man:

Instead of listening to the leaders' debate, I attended an event that lifted my spirits and renewed my faith in humanity.

Salif Keita is a respected artist whose music has a global following. He performed in Ottawa last evening at the Dominion Chalmers church; the Moorish ambiance suited him and his musicians well.

This multi-talented, gentle and inspiring man brought hundreds to their feet, dancing, swaying, singing and rejoicing. In so many ways Salif Keita inspires faith though not the religious sort. He touched every one present with the poignancy, kindness and strength of his performance. He drew in the love of his audience, transformed it in the crucible of his music and let it flow back to us.

Rightwing fundamentalist and dominionist evangelicals might envy his ability to create such powerful cohesion and energy in an audience; they would be unable to replicate it since they are deficient. None possess Keita's genuine force of agape.