Thread by @mkibbe

As countless bands cancel summer tours, note that #TheMusicNeverStopped for the #GratefulDead in 1968 during a deadly pandemic that would kill 100,000 Americans. Enjoy this killer show from the iconic Shrine Auditorium. It sounds just like #freedom: /1 gratefuldeadoftheday.com/12-21-1968

According to the CDC “The 1968 pandemic was caused by an influenza A (H3N2) virus. It was first noted in the United States in September 1968” killing “1 million worldwide and about 100,000 in the U.S. The H3N2 virus continues to circulate worldwide as a seasonal... virus.” /2

My beloved @deadandcompany has canceled their summer tour, as has @phish and countless other bands. A cascade of jobs and livelihoods have been canceled as well because of these decisions, made, as Bob Weir puts it, “in an abundance of caution.” Don’t blame the bands at all. /3

I’m sad for lost music, lost joy and the postponing of lifes lived well. We won’t get these lost experiences back. So what’s so different today vs 1968? Have we really become this fragile? Should we hide from life, give up the pursuit of happiness that makes life worth living? /4

Should we keep living life, with all of the risks associated with it, or should we cower alone in sheltered fear? Each of us will have to answer these questions for our own selves. I choose freedom over fear. End.