In October of 1492, Christopher
Columbus voyaged to the Americas, marking the beginning of European
colonization in the western world. Many
years before that, Leif Ericson, a less iconic explorer than Columbus, became
widely known as the first person to land on the shores of North America. And, even before that, people in Europe,
Asia, and the Middle East traveled to different areas than their native
countries. These cross-world treks
included long days sailing on the ocean, starvation and not even a clear idea
of which direction to navigate towards.
A lot has changed in the past 500 years, to say the least, in terms of
communication in a worldwide sense. In
2012, one can connect with people around the globe by means of the World Wide Web,
telephones, video chat capabilities, or even via standard mailing systems. If a person wishes to travel from New York to
Australia, he can simply book an airline flight and be across the world in
under a day’s time. Despite accessible
means of communication, basic human elements that existed in the time of
Christopher Columbus still exist today - one being the inclination to interact
with other areas of the world. The
manner in which that interaction occurs, however, may be negative or
positive. And, occasionally, people’s
actions unknowingly affect their fellow citizens of the world, in either a
negative or positive way. The decisions
that people make are based on their inherent or learned values and practices. This is where musical practices come into play,
along with a variety of other seemingly mundane “activities” such as shopping
at the grocery store, buying a new pair of gym shoes or supporting a certain
political figure. Due to this, to become
an positively impactful global citizen, one must put global issues into context
and reevaluate his actions.
Many people
underestimate the power of music in a centralized society, and, no less, in a
global environment. Music, for centuries
past, has served as more than just an art form for its constituents – it is a
way of life. Making music has become
such an intrinsic aspect to society that the different fields of music making
greatly reflect the values and compartmentalization of society. Participatory music making, for example, does
not allow for a hierarchical ranking – there is no distinction between
performers and an audience, as everyone is expected to contribute in whatever
capacity possible. If one were to
politicize participatory music, he may suggest that the values of participatory
music reflect similar values to those of a socialist system, or to go to an
extreme, a communist system. However,
participatory music making can be similarly applied to smaller enterprises,
such as a farmer’s market that aims to keep business in the community and also
provide buyers with quality food. The
environment of a farmer’s market emphasizes social bonding and connection and
little on a person’s aptitude, creating an uncompetitive environment.
Conversely, the fields of high
fidelity and studio audio art almost directly oppose the ideal of participatory
music making. Music that is created in a
high fidelity environment is a recorded piece in which the instruments normally
record independently of the singer, and then a studio engineer controls the
mixing of the two aspects to a song.
Because of this, social bonding is placed on a backburner in favor of
generating a viable commodity. Again, if
one were to categorize these fields of music making in an economic or social
system, it would be a very familiar structure for Americans to comprehend. High fidelity music and studio audio art
value gaining money from a product, similar to a capitalist system. Most people are heavily exposed to high fidelity
music, more so than participatory and even presentational. Similarly, if a person wishes to go buy
groceries, he is most likely to be exposed to a corporate grocery store, such
as Kroger, as opposed to a small, local farmer’s market. What a person does not normally think of when
he shops at Kroger, however, is where the food he is buying is actually coming
from. That is how a global aspect
becomes involved in such a situation.
Due to the concept of economic globalization, many products and jobs have
been outsourced to foreign countries due to cheaper wages and farming land. By feeding into the capitalist system, one
may contend that people harm their local food providers and only aid the
massive conglomerates. In a world of
nearly 7 billion people it is difficult to imagine that the simplest of actions
can affect a person halfway across the world, but the direct effects do not lie.
Now, knowing that societies operate differently and that the means to
observe these societies are readily available, global citizens must decide what
to do with such conveniences at their disposal.
Beginning at a local level, as discussed in class, seems to be the most
feasible option. After all, one has to
learn how to crawl before he can walk, and enhancing the views of people is no
easy task. Many people become stagnant
in their beliefs, but being a global citizen calls those people to a
responsibility that they owe humanity.
Music, in its various forms, can serve as an avenue to arriving at and
maintaining such a massive responsibility.
In class, we discussed the differences between a cultural cohort and a
cultural formation. A cohort operates as
an aspect to people’s lives; it does not determine a person’s identity, but
enriches it. But, a cultural cohort can
eventually shape a cultural formation. A
cultural formation is a bit more than a cultural cohort – it functions as a
more identifiable pattern a person’s life follows, such as habitual
practices. Attending a contra-dance
event, for example, is a cultural cohort.
However, the same people that attend a contra-dance may be easily
recognizable at the local farmer’s market, a community art show, or the
like. From this, one can infer that if
people “do” together, they identify themselves with similar life principles,
thus expanding their interactions. Those
people become friends because they find a sense of belonging with one
another. It is incredible that a simple
activity such as attending a dance lesson once a week with similar “kinds” or
people can eventually swell so much that those people adopt similar standards
by which they live their lives.
Ironically enough, the world once
feared that the earth was flat; now, it appears that, in some ways, the earth
truly has been flattened. The economic
playing field, as a result of globalization, has been flattened. Barriers among cultures from the west to
east, although oppositional in beliefs in some cases, have been flattened. And, possibly, all things that create
intolerance and misunderstanding could be flattened. The world is a monstrous entity-sometimes it
is difficult to comprehend just how the planet truly is. By looking at the values we deem significant
in music, for example, and applying them to other aspects of our lives, maybe
we can create a progressively flattened earth.
What is so great about being a global citizen is that we all have the
incredible opportunity to make the world a better place. By instilling accountability in one’s daily
life practices and being open minded of the way others choose to live their
lives, we can create a sense of sustainability for our future generations. The empowerment that comes attached to being
a global citizen is immense- and we should take full advantage of being put in
such a position.
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