A Spark in You

So, I just returned from the 70th annual New York State Communication Association conference, and one of the sessions I attended featured undergraduate research, and in the discussion that followed the topic of parents using electronic devices as babysitters or pacifiers came up.  And of course, there was much disapproval expressed for that sort of thing, understandably so, but also some comments from one of the professors who is also a parent about the difference between the abstract, ideal notion of how you handle kids and the reality that you face in everyday situations, not to mention that they sometimes can be genuinely educational.

And to that comment, I added the fact that iPods and even more so iPads have proven to be of great benefit for autistic children, not just in keeping them from engaging in disruptive behavior (the pacifier effect), but also as teaching and learning tools.

So, in thinking about autism, I remembered that I wanted to do a blog post that featured the following music video, which will be shown on the Comedy Central special, Night of Too Many Stars, airing tonight.  Jon Stewart and his colleagues have been doing this for a number of years now, and the funds they raise for autism have made a difference in the lives of a great many children, and adults.

So anyway, this video, Katy Perry, Jodi DiPiazza Sing at Night of Too Many Stars, features a young student at Alpine Learning Center, which is the school that my daughter's school, EPIC, is modeled after.  I found it pretty moving.  But first, here's the write-up for the video:

To help give people with autism the chance they deserve to reach their potential go to http://cc.com/donate or text STARS to 50555 to donate $10. Night of Too Many Stars airs this Sunday at 8/7c on Comedy Central. 

Katy Perry and Jodi DiPiazza sing "Firework" at the Beacon Theater in New York. "Night of Too Many Stars: America Comes Together for Autism Programs" is hosted by Jon Stewart and raises money for autism programs, schools, and services all over the country. 

Performers include Tina Fey, Seth Rogen, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Katy Perry, Carly Rae Jepsen, Tom Morello, Sting and many more.
Sunday night's live celebrity phone bank includes Tom Hanks, Jerry Seinfeld, Julianne Moore, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Al Pacino. For more highlight previews go to http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7nPL1U-R5oQRBMDHXwFM1srbI-Smmqm

The way they sing the song together is very touching, as is the song itself. Admittedly, it's not the kind of music I'd typically opt for, but the lyrics to "Firework," while perhaps speaking more broadly to teenage angst, have special meaning in the world of autism.  Here they are:

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag,
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards,
One blow from caving in? 

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
6 feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you 

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July 

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y 

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe" 

You don't have to feel like a wasted space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow 

Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know 

You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July 

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y 

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe" 

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through-ough-ough 

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y 

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in "awe, awe, awe" 

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

I took the phrase "a spark in you" from the lyrics and made it the title of this post, because it speaks to the hope that we all feel, for a spark to be ignited. And speaking in a spiritual vein, there is the implication that it is a spark of divine light, the same spark that is in all of us. And maybe a tiny, tiny bit of that little light is reflected in some of those electronic devices we use, when we use them towards the right ends? As extensions of man, to use McLuhan's phrase, extensions of the electric impulses sent throughout the nervous system and brain, and extensions of the eye, might they also be extensions of that inner spark and light, at least in potential? Maybe not, but then again, maybe so...