Some people take up arms for a cause; Emmylou Harris picks up her guitar.

The singer-songwriter has been touring the country with shows aimed at raising awareness of the global refugee crisis – and money for the aid organization Jesuit Refugee Service. We caught up with Harris to talk about helping people locate their “compassion chips” to help refugees, how she’s avoided watching the political debates and her friend Bob Dylan’s big prize.

Question: In this election season, politics must keep spilling into the issue.

Answer: We don’t even think about that – we’ve been blissfully doing shows on the nights of the debates!

We are so blessed in this country, and we can’t shut our eyes to the millions of refugees around the globe – 21 million of them aren’t ever going to be able to go home. These people are in a limbo, and their lives are either going to turn toward the good, in a helping hand, or they’re going to be fodder for a dark side that is threatening the soul of this planet. So in addition to being right, this is also for our own good.

But when it comes to politics, I’m in my own bubble – I’ve been among audiences who are there for the music.

Q: There’s been so much conversation lately about how women in the public eye are treated. What kind of criticism have you encountered and how do you deal?

A: I’ve been given a pass on that. With singing, it’s all about your voice and the way you approach your music. It’s not like being an actress where there’s more focus on your looks, and there’s age discrimination – and there probably should be more roles for women of all ages. But in the artistic community I’m in, as long as you can still sing … I’ve never had to deal with my looks.

Q: As a songwriter, what do you make of Bob Dylan winning the Nobel?

A: Dylan truly changed the English language, and not just in songwriting. There is “before Dylan” and “after Dylan.” We’re all pumped for him.

Q: What do you hope people take away from the shows?

A: We have this chip of compassion and empathy for others in all of us. We have to stop thinking about people as other, as aliens. So many of these refugees are women and children, and so I’d like for people to look at their own families and realize what these families are going through. So showing up, buying the tickets – that helps JRS and the work they do. But ultimately there has to be a sea change on how we deal with this crisis. And I guess there is a political dimension, because it’s the right thing to open our borders. (Refugees) have to be brought into the world of normalcy – they should have homes and education and safety. We just have to raise our compassion quotient.

Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant perform in Milwaukee. MUST CREDIT: Jesse Lee, Marquette

Jesse Lee