Saturday, September 19, 2015

Journey Toward Justice 22

This chapter is titled 'Art in the Struggle to Right Injustice'. In this chapter Nick talks about the connection between seeking justice and Art. But what is Art? Art is music, painting, songs, poetry etc. But how are these things connected to seeking justice? When people sang 'We shall overcome' and marched together to seek civil rights in the US, would it have made any difference if they had marched together without singing the song? Had the anti-apartheid movement marched without singing a song, would there be any difference if they had marched with songs being sung by the protesters? They would! But why? It has a 'mysterious uniting effect'. Without the tune, the words fall flat; it does not elevate the words. In similar fashion, singing or humming while working elevates the tedious nature of the work; it distracts us from the weariness of the work! 

And art perhaps in a mysterious way, or rather in a sublime way, awakens in some of us our slumber that which we would otherwise have been quite oblivious about! 

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