Full disclosure: Yes, I’m in that MV. I was part of the group of K-pop fans dancing and waving our fandom light sticks.
Light sticks as in — the light that breaks through the darkness — that’s the full meaning of the title of the song, and that’s the main idea of the performance and of the video. (I think that’s why we were asked to join, too.)
Shine a light, be the light. It isn’t a passive thing, as the lyrics go.
Shout it into the wind! Stand up and be / the light that breaks through the darkness! / Sing the new and brave new song / YOU are the light that breaks through the darkness!
My freeform translation of the song’s chorus, with a little emphasis on the “you” because this is an exhortation, this is a call to arms, this is a rallying cry. That was the whole point of the song when it was written, but now it’s far more urgent than that, and that’s part of why I’ve been off the posts for a bit. This campaign season’s been all over the place and now we have two weeks.
Two weeks to decide a future, isn’t it? I can only keep hoping and I can only keep working in my own small way. I can vote. I can work.
I hope for a good outcome. (And I have to prepare for the worst, too.)
starting over every time 