It was one of those “with all the troubles in the world today,” kind of emails. The kind that accuses us of ignoring all the big problems in favor of focusing on tour dates, such as the new routing for MxPx or the new dates for Sevendust and Har Mar Superstar.

The email went on to say that we were shirking our civic duty, and that we were turning our backs on what’s really wrong in the world. It also said that we were too self-absorbed with collecting dates for American Motherload and Alicia Keys, that we can’t see the brown bear for the trees, and that we’re totally ignorant of what that bear does in the woods.

And that email got us to thinking. Are we really that caught up with tour dates that we’re completely oblivious to what’s going down beyond the walls, barbed wire and moats that surround the Pollstar.com compound? Are we so obsessed with finding a new date for Leon Russell, or the latest routings for Pulley and Laibach, that we don’t give a rat’s patooie about terrorism, hurricanes or the proliferation of nuclear weapons? Are we really so isolated among the dates, cities and venues for Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris and Lynyrd Skynyrd, that we’ve withdrawn from the real world?

And then we started thinking that maybe we should devote a little of our time to the world’s problems. After all, if we can successfully operate the largest third party concert database ever constructed by man, surely we can come up with a solution for peace in the Middle East, the unemployment rate and electronic voting in Florida. In fact, we could probably solve most of the world’s problems in a heartbeat if we just spent as much time and effort on current affairs as we do on the routings for SheDaisy, The Allman Brothers Band and Patty Loveless. In fact, we could probably wrap up all the unrest, tension and violence in the world before lunch.

But there’s a problem with that last thought. And no, it’s not because it symbolizes some starry-eyed, do-gooder liberalism that professes that everything would be hunky-dory if only we spent more time on world affairs and less time on Drive-By Truckers and Jerry Seinfeld. No, it’s nothing like that.

Actually, the problem with solving all the world’s problems before lunch is very simple. You see, we’ve already eaten.

Oh, well, it was a nice thought while it lasted. Keep those suggestions coming.