Recently, there has been a lot of backlash in our country. From issues involving the presidential debate, to events in the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been a lot of dissent in our country. Different people choose to deal with this in different ways. Some take to the streets and destroy property. Others post on social media and unfriend those who do not agree with their opinions. As effective as these may seem, I would like to highlight a different type of protest. This one may be silent, or maybe not so silent. But it does seem to make a statement.
In the Past
In August of 1966, The Monkees released their hit song “Last Train to Clarksville.” This song talked about a young man calling his love to convince her to meet him at the train station so he can say his last goodbyes, possibly forever. The song does not explicitly mention Vietnam, but for those who were listening, it was there. At the time, many men were being drafted to fight in the war, and had to say goodbye to the ones that they loved. The song related well to those in the situation and helped Americans feel the pain of having to leave loved ones with a chance of never seeing them again. The writer Bobby Hart said “We couldn't be too direct with The Monkees. We couldn't really make a protest song out of it — we kind of snuck it in.” The Monkees were able to use their song as a subtle protest song in order to make Americans come to the conclusion themselves. Songs like this carried soldiers through the war and fueled the peaceful protests of Americans against the war. This is the beauty of protest art. Artists, musicians, painters, sculptors, movie directors and actresses, they all can use their power to protest or promote issues they believe in to a wider audience. Those who can take the message away do, and those who don't are left to be educated about the issue.
Modern Issues
Recently I was able to interview some of my friends and neighbors at the university what their thoughts were on protesting wars and current issues that they do not agree with. When asked the first thing they thought of when hearing the word protest, the answer was always something to do with violence, picketing, riots, or a crowd of people. I think that this is part of the reason we do not have the same protest art leading us forward in the current times. The value of the art has been lost among the loud noise of riots and social media opinions. Protest art has a power that other forms of protest do not have. Most forms of protest are targeted to the government or other leadership. Often the movement falls to deaf ears and nothing is done about the situation, or so it feels. Art, however, is often pointed to society as a whole. This causes a unifying affect among those who believe in the same issue. All people needs is someone to show that they are not the only ones feeling a certain way and a leader can rise to create a pathway to change.
Our Responsibilty
When asked if they believed that not protesting an issue that they don't agree with is an example of bad citizenship, most interviewees said they did not. I disagree, though. I believe that it is a citizens responsibility to protest the actions of the government that they do not believe in. This comes from a belief that says it is the governments job to serve the citizens, not the citizens job to serve the government. If we do not let our government know what we don't agree with, then there is no way for our government to serve us properly. Its a lot easier to sit back and just see what happens, I have been guilty of this. It is more important, though, to be active members of our country’s government.
I don’t agree with the violent rioting that many have decided is the best way to protest. I don't see the point in trying to change things by posting of Facebook. But I do think that if we had more art that joined the conversation instead of talking about love and drugs, then protesting would be a lot different today.
