is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished

I recognize that I am a day late with this, but yesterday I did not have a spare moment to get down my thoughts on the day. I apologize for the delay.

My Guy Fawkes Day, as is my custom, culminated in a viewing of V for Vendetta. I know I mentioned the movie in last year's post for the day, but on this viewing something very different struck me. While there is plenty of violence in the film (as is to be expected I guess, in a movie by the Wachowski Brothers based off an Alan More comic book), V never recommends violence as a widespread social panacea and in fact never recommends that anyone beside himself, whom he seems outside of the system and as not full part of the world, use violence. For your reflection here is part of his television address to London, I realize it is a little long, but it is fascinating:

Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives. So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

V makes two points here; first, injustice demands action or we are complicit with it. But his other point which underlies the first one is that, we cannot recognize justice, we cannot stand up for truth without deep contemplation. The authors here have spoken repeatedly about the power of words but it is a point worth repeating--we must be constantly intellectually engaged with the world. In 1984 one of the government's primary tactics in controlling the populace is redefining words--a practice which goes on both intentionally and unintentionally in our world. As Alan More says, "…Text-messaging or The Sun, these are perfect Orwellian ways of limiting the vocabulary and thus limiting the consciousness…" The real revolution is not V blowing up a building. That, as he says, is a symbol. The real revolution, what V is in fact urging the people of London to do and what hopefully follows the action of the film, is the people once again begin to think, to question, to challenge and thus to rediscover the Truth.

We shall overcome their power!

First off the title of this post has an exclamation point in it. This is in the attempt to demonstrate the passion with which the line is being said. But I think that, at least in my eyes, this mark of feeling has been altered from what it should be and has been transformed into something on the verge of being superficial. This exclamation mark therefore fails to capture my intended meaning, which causes me to Wonder why? It is a truly remarkable symbol, one meant to evoke a feeling of power and wonder. Yet this feeling can be excitement, joy, anger, and courage, or it can simply be used to show increased volume. Even when one simply looks at it the exclamation point is incredible, unlike any other symbol. Come to think of it, all the letters of our language are remarkable. Each being different than the others and representing a different meaning with its own distinct sounds and distinctive characteristics. But how we view these letters are derived from our experience with them; how they are used in reading and writing. When we listen to intelligent people and read eloquent and thoughtful works we are influenced. This is the power of words. The power which all the distinct letters are able to create when put into words. Words which arranged are capable of unbelievable things. Therefore I deem that the ways in which I have seen the exclamation point being used are what has led to its loss of value. And the way to remedy the situation, to give ! back its grandeur is to use it intelligently and passionately. The exclamation point must be reclaimed!

I have no idea where that last paragraph came from, I simply wrote. But now on to the actual subject of this post; art. Both Enjolras and Robert Owen Hood have recently spoken on the subject, so I feel obliged to do the same. Art is the closest representation of dreams. It is the attempted perfection of persons, and the aspirations of all people. Art gives us an opportunity to portray things in the way which they actually appear. "Artists use art to tell the lies that politicians try to cover up." It is where we create, it is one of the ways with which we can we make a difference in this world. And we must choose to make a difference, we must choose to fight. People must take initiative and change. We must vote and we must care or we shall fail our potential. We will cease to create and art will die. We must care about events such as that of yesterday; November Fifth, and like Guy Fawkes we must try to make a difference.

The change it had to come

This past weekend has been tumultuous, bring up many things to ponder and not nearly enough time in which to ponder them. So in attempt to order my thoughts and to test if the unified thread running through all of them works, this post will be an amalgamation of some of these musings.

I feel as though we have just begun to scratch the surface in our discussion of art and I believe and stand by everything that has been said. However, I am reading Stephen King's memoir "On Writing" in which he makes the point that "Life isn't a support system for art. It is the other way around." Art should be an end not a means to an end. But it cannot stop there, art should not be a dead thing that once created lies there, it must give back and go beyond itself. Art should engender a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in the artist, it should evoke a sense of wonder and greater understanding of the world, or at least of its mystery, in the viewer and it should spark a dialogue between other artists. While the existence of art enriches the world on its own it should also create an environment and a mindset which fosters discussion, and wonder and speaks to the human soul. Art is one of the tools which change the world.

Today is the 5th of November a day other parts of the world celebrate as Guy Fawkes day. It is a day largely given over to bonfires and fireworks, which are celebrations of a concept. While the holiday was begun to celebrate the survival of Parliament and the foiling of a serious terrorist plot the day is named after the leader of the conspiracy Guy Fawkes, and in a way is celebration of him. In his journal several years ago Neil Gaiman said this about the day, "As a boy I wasn't sure whether we were meant to be celebrating Guy Fawkes as someone who tried to change the system by doing something about it, or whether it was just that the English love a good loser. When I grew up I realised that it was a thanksgiving for the fact that the Parliament had not been exploded." The first reason though is an equally good reason for a celebration and Guy Fawkes today should serve as a reminder to citizens that if they want the world to change, they need to take steps to make it occur. I am not advocating blowing things up or terrorism of any kind. However, our country was founded in the spirit of activism with people upset by unreasonable taxes doing something about it. Women's suffrage, the civil rights movement, ending American involvement in Vietnam-- all of these were issues spear pointed by citizen activism.

That brings me to my last point. I am sorry for bringing this up, because after 2 years of constant campaigning I am sure this is the last thing you want to hear about, but I am, like everyone else, going to comment on the election. In all of the campaigning and the speeches and the promises no politician dared to ask something of the American people. No one said "the economy is going through a rough patch, we may have to gird our belts for a while" or "if we are going to beat poverty, violence, and a poor education we need each and everyone of you to go out into your community and do what you can" or "it may be hard for people for people in those industries but if we want to stay competitive in a changing world we are going to need change and reform in farming, energy and education." Both candidates made populist promises pandering to special interest groups instead of offering a realistic prognosis of the situation and calling on the ingenuity and resilience of the American people to step up and solve those challenges. In fact, no president has do so since Kennedy with his famous inaugural address telling people to "ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country." If you expect nothing from the people than that is exactly what you will get.

Someone once said, and I am convinced that it was James Madison but I cannot find the quote so I will attribute it to the all knowing someone, "We are politicians and soldiers so that our children can become doctors and scientists and their children can be poets and artists." We need people working at every one of these levels to bring about the change necessary, from people who deal with making sure that the basic needs are met for everyone to people who nourish our souls with poetry and painting. And we need these people to inspire us to go beyond ourselves and make our own contributions to the world. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see."