The bottom line is we can¹t agree on anything. The group includes Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, none of the above, all of the above. We shoot the breeze because it¹s safer than shooting each other.

It¹s a fun bunch, and matching wits with them keeps the brain sharp ‹ it¹s easy to make a point when you¹re preaching to the converted, a lot tougher when you¹re trying to argue against a skeptic.

This bunch just doesn¹t agree, and we¹re proud of it, I think. It¹s what keeps us coming back. But then ...

One day I allowed as to how I think ³The Word² by Sara Groves is as perfect a pop recording as has come down the pike in 30 years. Just so the group knew where I was coming from, I threw out what I think are some of the other ³perfect² recordings ­ ³Good Vibrations² by the Beach Boys, ³Born to Run² by Bruce Springsteen, ³Frenesi² by Artie Shaw.

The floodgates opened. All of a sudden everyone was tossing in their nominations for the most perfect recordings, and it broke into a general discussion of great songs of all time. They tended to skew old, which probably says more about us than the music ­ although I couldn¹t help but notice VH-1 had to put music of the last 25 years in a separate category for its latest ³all-time best² list.

The amazing thing is we seemed to gravitate toward crowning ³Sgt. Pepper¹s Lonely Hearts Club Band² by The Beatles as the greatest album of all time ­ this group that only grudgingly agrees on the time of day.

Music is the universal language, the thing that will bring us together in peace a lot faster than any ideology ever will. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask how Clarence Clemons can send shivers down your spine simply by blowing into a saxophone.

Warren Bluhm is editor of the Door County Advocate. Contact him at [email protected] or 920-743-3321.