The Grasshopper Sunday Edition: Speaking Truth to Power
Sometimes as a writer, you have to put it on the line
We’re looking at the midterm elections coming up in a few days, elections that could change the direction of the nation. Because I primarily write daily about politics, climate, and current events like the Ukraine War on Medium, I try to avoid those topics here in The Grasshopper. But artists, writers, and other creatives have beliefs, emotions, and opinions too.
Expressing your strong feelings about things in your work can be tricky, if that is not your focus. In the writings I mentioned above, I don’t hide my position (liberal Democrat) but they are outfront opinion and observation from my point of view. I’m not a journalist and don’t present that work as such.
If you are going to use your art to speak truth to power, as you see that truth, you must start by making sure the facts support your opinions. In this world of disinformation and misinformation, conspiracy theories, and public figures willing to lie freely in public and on the record, readers are suspicious.
With good reason. There are information wars being waged domestically here in the US and internationally across the planet. Not all consumers of information have the ability to parse those claims for the truth. And truth means different things to different people.
It’s subjective. And therein lies the rub.
Your opinion is only as valuable as your reputation
Let’s think about this in the context of current events. A man with a strong belief system, bordering on crazed, attacked an elderly man with a hammer nearly killing him. Because that man’s wife was the Speaker of the House of Representatives and second in line for the Presidency of the US, this terrible crime is a major story.
In politics these days (and probably all history) stories like this get used by both sides for their own purposes. I wrote a piece yesterday (link below) that deals with this attack as a symbol of how divided we are as a nation and how celebrities and politicians bend the truth for their own purposes or narcissistic need for attention. But the piece did not focus on my politics or outrage about the politics of others.
It focused on the loss of dignity and compassion in society. A society seemingly willing to forget that an older man was nearly killed by a maniac defending his own home in the middle of the night. And how that man’s family including wife, children, and grandchildren, are in a vigil in the hospital as he fights for his life.
My outrage, which I calibrated to that focus, rather than my political disgust at those who mocked him or outright spread lies, was about the general indecency and many people’s willingness to embrace something which most of us grew up finding repulsive.
The power I sought to speak my truth to was that willingness to ignore basic human compassion.
I used the word ‘calibrate’ intentionally. I’m pretty good at writing rants, but rants are written for others with the exact same beliefs and opinions as the ranter. No one else spends any time on emotional outbursts and silly cynicism, though it is many writers’ stock in trade.
Which gets me to the point of emotional maturity in writing and any other art, a big topic. Especially when you are expressing emotion in your work. And, for various reasons, my first thought was of Picasso’s great masterwork Guernica, a painting expressing his rage and immense sorrow over the deadly bombing of a Spanish city.
Franco, head of the Spanish facist party and future dictator, asked the fledgling Nazi Air force to destroy the city, which they did. It was not a military target and those killed were largely innocent civilians.
Picasso managed to capture the heartbreak of the Spanish people and his statement of truth to power still resonates. I have seen this painting in person and it stops you in your tracks on a visceral level, in the gut and heart.
Picasso could have done caricatures of the men he hated or portrayed their leaders as hideous monsters. He was very good at hideous monsters. But instead he summoned up something far more powerful and lasting.
I don’t aspire to that level of art in my anger and writing, but I do aspire to reaching out to those who may not agree with my politics, but share my basic beliefs as a human. I believe that if you want to speak truth to power, you have to find that commonality in those you speak to.
It’s a responsibility and not an easy one.
Related: Ye, Formerly Known as Alleged Human and Elon, Formerly Known as Interesting Guy (this link should get you past the Medium paywall for this story)
That’s my Sunday Grasshopper. It doesn’t require any additional embellishment, so I’m simply going to pass it on to my readers. Be passionate and compassionate in your work, as in your daily life. And, if you are American, please vote. M
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An easy way to like this is with a cup of Joe. I’ll pay it forward.