Theater of Protest

Repeat to yourself over and over: Iraq is not Vietnam, Iraq is not Vietnam, Iraq is not Vietnam....

NY Times story on artists snapping to attention when the words "war" and "protest" pop up in the same sentence: "Huh, whither shall I protest this thing called war?"

For those opposing war with Iraq, the cancellation of the poetry symposium symbolizes the part the arts can play in politics. Hearing the drumbeat of a new war, through readings, concerts, art exhibitions and theater, artists are trying to recapture their place as catalysts for public debate and dissent.

If the immediate artistic response to the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington was the theater of grief, some of the nation's poets, musicians, writers, actors and playwrights have moved on to the theater of protest. The prospect of an imminent military confrontation with Iraq has incited a new sense of creative urgency.

If I hear the fucking words "drums" (or "drumbeat") and "war" in the same phrase one more time, I may declare open hostilities myself - come up with a new cliche, please.

Blah, blah, blah - the usual names are outraged - blah, blah, blah:

The Berkeley concert also featured Saul Williams, the poet-rapper, who wrote the Not in Our Name theme song, which includes this lyric: "It's not about retaliation,/your history of war does nothing more/than scar imagination."

And save the world from murderous dictators and aggressive totalitarian ideologies, but that's besides the point, right?

But then we get to the interesting part, where a few brave souls stray from the lock step dogma:

Perhaps surprisingly, some of the artists who were ready to march against the Vietnam War are not as eager to raise their voices now, when the focus is Iraq and Al Qaeda.

Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul and Mary , is more likely to be singing "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?," once the anthem of the Vietnam protest movement, in elementary-school classes than on the street. Mr. Yarrow has kept a distance from organized rallies against the United States buildup to war in Iraq.

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Article Author: Eric Olsen

Career media professional Eric Olsen is honored to be the founder and former publisher of Blogcritics.org, and former publisher of Technorati.com, which both rule. He is now editor, co-founder, and CEO of The Morton Report.

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