The Poetry Fix News
| VOL. II, ISSUE 20 | August 13 , 2004 |
Ready, Set…
VOTE! ( and then)
The day of reckoning is only 24 hours away (and counting). And although I am sure that I will be voting on November 2nd, and equally sure which candidate will get his chad punched by me (actually, my district will be utilizing the touch screen voting system so no dangling chads for us). But I am feeling some trepidation. If my guy wins, what will be different about the next four years? Will the war end any faster? Will the poor get a reprieve? Will the country still be in this divided space (us against those who don’t believe what we believe)? Right about now I might have to consider what the poet Pat Parker said on the topic, “I do not believe as some that the vote is an end, I fear even more it is just a beginning”.
Today, while cleaning off my desk, I found my election mailer. It tells me where I am voting, who else is running for office (easy to forget we are voting for more than the President of the United States) and what referendums are up for dispute. Here in Prince George’s County, Maryland, we’ve got garden-variety stuff going down (a slew of bond bills, limitation of hours for temp workers, blah, blah, blah). It seems the biggest controversy is about those touch screens. Be prepared for a whole bunch of ballot box challenges from the guy who loses. So what does all of this have to do with poetry or the arts?
EVERYTHING!
It is not just the NEA monies that might be at stake but how society sees the artist as a whole.
In the last few months, I have been involved in several conversations about the role of artists in this current national and global political climate. One discussion in particular revolved around the idea that “the personal is the political”, and as poets we need to give voice to those who are voiceless. But sometimes that is a tall order. Where do you start? It seems like everything is priority: the global epidemic of AIDS; the atrocity occurring in the Sudan; corporate greed, violence – against everyone; the joke of “no child left behind"; war; hunger; pestilence. My head is spinning just typing all of it out. And to top it all off, “evil doers” are lurking around every corner and they often look like the folks who are suppose to be our faithful leaders.
If I wasn’t convinced that there was enough to worry about a film screened recently at Provisions Library seals the deal.
The library is having a month - long political documentary series (ends November 1st) – in an attempt to educate folks before they cast their vote. If you are in the DC area, pop in and check it out. The film in question is “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism”. It was quite enlightening but at the same time disheartening. If it is true that the media is controlled by a handful of rich and powerful folks and they are feeding us what they want us to know, what is a poor everyday poet to do about that disturbing bit of “news”? I mulled this over with my friend, a poor future anthropologist, and couldn’t come up with something that made that nagging feeling go away. They say knowledge is power but I was feeling decidedly powerless when I left the screening. Upon first inspection, money and power seems to be what gets things done (good or bad). After seeing the film, my newly adopted vantage point made me think if you are lacking in either, change is a fat mistress that must be carried up a very steep hill. It’s been a week since that screening and I am only starting to get a sense that there is something that we can do in the midst of all these issues.
VOTE!
I know it sounds sort of crazy, considering all that I've said, but I think it's true. Here is an opportunity for people to show up, take their power back, and make their voices heard. It's not good enough to say "I voted in 2000 and I don't think my voice was heard". I bet a good number of folks never pulled their behinds off their couches but were the first ones to complain when shit was not to their liking. Showing up in mass does have an impact.
I remember the 1992 elections. Folks were looking for a change and they showed up to let the powers that be know that. Line were wrapped around the polling sites, forcing them to stay open until every ballot was cast. I watched as the "talking heads" tried to explain the phenomena that they were seeing. It was simple: folks were sick and tired of the current situation and they were doing the only thing that they thought would change it. I don’t think you need a degree in rocket science to figure that out.
I think we were seeing Frederick Douglass’s statement in action: “power has conceded nothing without demand. It never has and never will”. There were everyday people in those polling lines and I would hazard a guess more than a few poets and artists.
But there is a second step to this process. After you cast that ballot, show up on November 3rd to keep the work going. What is true is that the artist has always worked from a grassroot space, going to the heart of the matter. Passing the word through the ranks and urging the groundswell. The Poet (the artist) is often standing out front demanding to be heard, rattling the gates. Saying what no one else dares to and attempting to bring marginalized people and their issues front and center. We see their work in community centers, classrooms, and churches. These cultural workers speak of diversity, tolerance, and accountability. In their chosen medium they attempt to bridge the gap of understanding and foster new ideas. The arts is an amazing way to address issues that might otherwise be ignored. A great example of art at work happens here in DC every 1st and 3rd Monday. DC Guerilla Poetry Insurgence take their message to the streets through poetry, drumming and music. Rain or shine, this band of lyrical resisters is there. It is quite an experience. They are always looking for new voices, so bring your words and fire and join in. You can also check out a profound article written by Kalamu ya Salaam, editor of the CyberDrum, who speaks at length of this poetic obligation.
So poet/artist/writer/dancer (whatever your thing is): pick an issue and start working on it. No matter how ridiculously out of reach the solution or victory may seem, continue to stretch. They say an elephant can be eaten – one bite at a time. Do some coalition building of your own. Collaborate with like-minded folks around a stated issue and champion that cause. Check in with yourself that you are coming from an authentic space. It is easy to get self-righteous when you find yourself in the thick of things.
So on November 2nd, make yourself a nice breakfast, dress warmly (unless you are lucky enough to live in 80 degree Florida), and go exercise that civic duty of yours. If you don’t, be prepared to live with that really good ass reason - for the next four years.
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