You are right. This picture has nothing to do with the Bossa Nova. I feel that way right now when all sorts of blame is being laid on all sorts of sources. THE MEDIA is causing one candidate to look good or the same candidate to look bad. THE ESTABLISHMENT has made the country go downhill or made the country thrive. BIG BUSINESS is the source of our country’s greatest wealth or the source of our greatest poverty.

When I was in high school we heard the song “Blame it On the Bossa Nova,” and it became a joke whenever we were trying to find an excuse for something. Rather than think through the myriad causes and effects that are present in many puzzling situations, we would just chant, “blame it on the bossa nova.” It certainly was easier than dealing with complexity.

Listen to contemporary rhetoric. See how often you can find a scapegoat mentioned when describing  a problem. Try to remember that it is never that simple. At least we knew that when we blamed it on the bossa nova.