Matt Martson

Julie Polter’s thoughtful piece (“Replacing Songs With Silence,” November 2005) is a helpful reminder of how influential music can be and how dangerous it is to overlook this art form as a vehicle for change. However, Polter seems to suggest that the power of music lies in its direct engagement with issues such as poverty and war and that music itself may be a “secondary concern.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that seemingly small things, such as keeping our promises, are as important as big things, such as the refusal to kill.