Act Local Think Global

The Macro in the Micro

I was thinking as I sat in meditation about hierarchies and how the people in leadership roles don’t tend get their hands dirty let others do the scut work and killing for them. While our so-called leaders spend their time strategising about how to take care of themselves and their band of merry followers, the rest of us complain, feeling resentful though often publicly silent. We resign ourselves to the fact that they’ve gotten away with it again and fall in line, because what can we do? It’s this attitude of powerlessness and resignation that’s what gives them the power over me and you to do what they do.

The Art of War

It’s the same in the field of arts as it is in the art of war. I feel quite angry and sad, when people make decisions that affect me, without consulting me, which happens everyday on a micro and macro level. For example, I sit on a drama committee where decisions seem to be made by one person and the rest of us are informed when we come together as a committee, not to vote but to ratify this. I may object or say I disagree with the decisions being made on my behalf but it doesn’t tend to change anything. 

How consensus is won

The way its reached or how things tend to be done is people are approached one by one. Those who might perhaps object, informed at last or not at all. If enough people agree, which we tend to do, especially if it is in our own best interest, it’s announced at the next general meeting, ratified and taken as if this was a group decision, when it’s not. This makes it harder for others to object, often silencing them into submission, as nobody wants to be considered a nuisance. “We don’t want to be going against our neighbours or social convention. The round peg in a square hole.

So what choice does the conscientious objector have? I put it to you…

In 1948, the issue of the right to "conscience" was dealt with by the United Nations General Assembly in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It reads:

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

The proclamation was ratified during the General Assembly on 10 December 1948 by a vote of 48 in favour, 0 against, with 8 abstentions.[13]

In 1974, the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Seán MacBride said, in his Nobel Lecture, "To the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights one more might, with relevance, be added. It is 'The Right to Refuse to Kill'."[14]

—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscientious_objector

“Round pegs in square holes tend to have dangerous thoughts about the social system and tend to infect others with their discontents.” ― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

To the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights one more might, with relevance, be added. It is 'The Right to Refuse to Kill'— Seán MacBride

Coincidentally, this was the same year of the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel[2] on 14 May 1948 and the beginning of the Arab–Israeli War by David Ben-Gurion, the executive head of the World Zionist Organization[a][3]

It declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. While celebrated in Israel as Independence Day, Palestinians view the day as the start of Nakba, or "catastrophe", marking the mass displacements of Palestinians and the loss of homes and lands, and commemorate it annually on 15 May as Nakba Day.[5]

— https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Declaration_of_Independence

The Micro

In the microcosm of my rural community and drama committee I was objecting to the increase in costs of tickets for our drama festival, which has gone from €90 for a season ticket in 2022 to €135 in 2026. I wrote to the Chair:

Dear Peter

I've been thinking about the pricing of tickets for the Drama Festival. As I've made known on previous occasions, I think that the increase in recent years of the price of entry for theatre and musical shows, whether amateur or professional productions, is too much for those with limited disposal income; such as those on social welfare, part-time workers on schemes or some pensioners, all of whom have to deal with the same increasing costs of daily living, such as rent, bills, etc and food as you mentioned last night without the same increase in what they receive. While €135 & €75 is reasonable for a season or 5 night ticket, €19 for a single night is excessive. I think €17.50 would cover the €2.50 for the town hall, with €15 for the Drama society to cover our costs. And I think we should offer students and those in receipt of a social welfare payment a concession rate of €12.50. 

Most people spend another €5 or €10 on raffle tickets and we only need to break even. We do have a surplus and it just doesn't feel right that we're passing on extra costs to people who don't have that much disposable income and whose usual source of entertainment is through a screen. I don't think most of us on the committee pay ourselves to attend, so we don't feel that pinch but it does prick my conscience. 

There are community arts events I'll support if I can afford it but It saddened me the last night to hear people ask about how much money we made or to consider it a waste of money to support a young artist playing at the after party for our entertainment. We don't want to be turning people off going to the theatre or any other live event who may be debating whether to attend, even for a night, and do something different other than go to the pub, watch TV or going shopping as a form of retail therapy when what we need is social connection to curb our anxiety and daily stress. 

We're further marginalising the already marginalised who don't have or think they don't have the same access to arts and culture as those with disposable incomes and you can see how many people within our business community come to the theatre who have more than enough income but are time poor or just not interested in the arts. Claremorris has so much to offer if there was a bit more cohesion among the groups and I guess that's always the challenge from a community arts and wellbeing perspective.

As an "artivist" I chose to work in a rural community context and provide community, arts and wellbeing practices for free or at a reduced rate because this is where it is most needed. I'm not questioning your dedication or integrity but the people who would most benefit from going to the theatre or getting involved in community arts are usually the last to do so, because to step into these cultural spaces is much more challenging for them than it is for many of us. We don't easily overcome our cultural or social conditioning but affordability should not be a barrier for anyone on low income. I urge you to consider this and put it to the board as a whole and hear their thoughts.

I got no response…

So what now? what do I do? I put it to you…

The Macro

Dear Donald,

I have been thinking about your decisions of late and I don’t understand why you’re doing what you’re doing, without the consent of your own people. You don’t represent the majority but a small minority whom you may consider your followers. Do the people around you, fear or love you? Are they your enemies or sycophantic friends? Are they concerned about you? Do they respect you for who you are or what you’re doing? Do they think like you the means justify your ends? And to what end? Do you care enough to listen to what others have to say? Or are you beyond caring about what other people think of you?

Do you know the power you have is really your weakness disguised as strength?

I don’t wish to condemn you: Let he who is without sin caste the first stone. I have to look at my own conscience and know my strnghts and weaknesses.

What we think are our character’s greatest strenghts, what we imagine we are most admired for are actually our character defects: These are traits of false pride in us, which will never alleviate our fears because what we think are our greatest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses. That’s why power over others is only weakness disguised as strength. Political leaders are not naturally courageous, most of them are needy children with the traits of toughness, playing the role of powerful men or women, some tyrants whose coping mechanisms to control and cope with their own fear is to try and make others fear if not respect them. These are traits your character has to a fault. These are traits you like us all must be willing to surrender as we leave our childhood behind and become reasonably responsible global citizens.The things that saved us as children won’t save us as adults:

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

—1 Corinthians 13:11 KJV

We don't easily overcome our cultural or social conditioning, or the abuse or neglect of adults who didn’t know how show compassion for themselves and care for their children. I know many of us grew up with parents who didn’t know how to show self-compassion and tenderness towards their offspring. It takes courage to be vulnerable and stand up for what you believe in, what you know in your heart and soul is right thing to do. It takes courage to speak out and speak up for those who may not be able or allowed to speak for themselves.

When the power of love overcomes the love of power you’ll know what freedom really is. Until then we’ll be living in a prison with walls around our hearts. But when you speak from the heart you speak truth to power, which may break the chains of slavery and oppression. Some of us are born free, others already in chains, even if they’re golden, but whether rich or poor our complicit silence won’t protect us in the end from the fear and love seeking freedom from within.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

—Matthew 25:40 KJV

The sad irony is Jesus was a Jew and a Palestinian.

When I point something out to someone something they’ve said or done that is wrong, I’m usually met with silence, rather than thank you. I’m not expecting gratitude, but acknowledgement, perhaps some action of atonement or amendment. As I said before; I’m far from innocent, and often the first to cast judgement upon another without listening to their side of the story.

I like other committee members have been getting in free to the drama festival for years in return for dressing up in my dickie bow and collecting tickets at the door. I don’t feel I’ve particularly earned the right to free passage or am entitled to it, but because I don’t earn much and give in other ways to the community, as well as support other worthy groups and organisations, such as Claremorris Palestinian Support Group’s Somebody Special Concert in aid of , it feels better if not more ethical to help out and pay for my ticket to support Medical Aid for Palestinians, than pay for overpriced tickets to any privileged group or society, who only need to cover their costs and break even.

I don’t need a night out or a meal, or my photograph in the local paper to know what we do is appreciated. I’m happy to enjoy a few nights of amateur theatre putting on dramatic productions because we all have a role to play from actor to audience. Amateur comes from the French amateur du theatre: lovers of theatre, which is why everyone from the playwrights to presidents put us through blood, sweat and tears. It’s what they do.

Theatre is War!

We can do blood and love without the rhetoric, or blood and rhetoric without the love, and all three concurrent or consecutive, but we can’t do love and rhetoric without the blood. “Blood is compulsory”.

“Is that what people want?”

It doesn’t matter what we want. It’s what we’ll get whether we like or not.

“It’s what we do.”

Tom Stoppard, who died last year at the age of 88, received a phone call from an American film director, who asked him to drop everything and write the screenplay for his important film at the time. He told him he couldn’t do it because he working on something else for the BBC. The director responded, incredulous: “You mean, you’re going to give up this once in a lifetime opportunity to write for television?”. No, not for television, Radio.

Once upon a time I worked in an audio-visual company called Globomedia, where I taught English and played a few episdoic roles in sitcoms, but I never felt comfortable in any of these roles. I was ans still am a man of letters, though as most artists know we don’t always receive a favourable response. I returned to my roots in theatre and listerature and now work in community radio.

Once upon a time the Greeks, the so-called founders of Democracy used to pay the polis to go to the theatre to politicise them. Now we’re paying for the privilege for The Globalisation of Addiction, and the loss of soul.

“we do not say that a man who takes no interest in politics is a man who minds his own business; we say that he has no business here at all.” ― Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War

Something we used to do for fun in public pagents, as grown up children: dress up in stately robes and put on a face to meet the faces, like players or politicians, now seems to be not so much for our own but another’s entertainment. Why is it that something that brought us as community together, regardless of our culture or religion, like the upcoming Claremorris Drama Festival March 12th -21st or the St Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17th, now seems to be, at least for me, an act of of complicity or collusion with a small faction of of community leaders and politicians gone rogue. My life may not be on the line, but the right to participate in Life is not a luxury only afforded to a minority. It’s what binds us together, our participation, often voluntary is the life blood of community, and something we must cherish and respect in our time poor world. So while our Taoiseach; Micheál Martin, may present to the President of the United States, our Shamrock, and like other political leaders, kiss the hand that condemns us, you do not represent the tyranny of the silent majority but a minority who perhaps like us are afraid to speak truth to what we only perceive as power.

Of course, seem as we’re all paying for it, you could refuse to go to…

All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion;

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

(from As You Like It, spoken by Jaques)