Music can change the world. Music influences our societies, describes our communities, and revolutionizes our culture. Understanding this is a key concept in becoming a global citizen. Global citizenship is something that every human being on the planet should aspire to attain. The citizenship I speak of is not officially placed by any group or organization. There is no global state that admits one into this citizenship. Global citizenship must be realized, and then put into action.
One facet of global citizenship is understanding music and it's power. Music and musical practices have an immense power to influence human society. Two examples of this power would be the civil rights movement in the United States during the twentieth century, and the rise of the third reich and the Nazi party. Both movements used music in similar ways to accomplished very different goals. One was attempting to remove prejudice and hate from a society while the other was trying to implement hatred and prejudice. Freedom songs sung during the Great march on Washington in 1963 empowered activists and sought to end racism in America. In Germany, songs written by propagandists were used to place fear and hatred into the hearts and minds of the listeners. In these specific cases, both parties achieved their goals. Civil rights were granted to the minorities in the United States, and the Nazi party took control of Germany and most of Western Europe committing mass genocide and other treacherous acts. This is the power of music, and with great power comes great responsibility (Spiderman).
Global citizenship also requires that individuals analyze the music of society in order to better understand a society and theirs goals. Music reveals the true values of a society. In cosmopolitan cities, high fidelity and presentational music fields are the most popular forms of music. Both of these competitive and hierarchical fields show the values of the society. They value virtuosity and skill in music and create a clear barrier between performer and audience. They also value the financial success and fame of the artists. The idolization of artists for their virtuosity or success creates a very exclusive idea of music. They believe musical participation is only for professional musicians or artists. In Zimbabwe, the participatory music field is the most popular form of musical acts. They value group participation, degree of participation, inclusiveness, and most importantly socialization. This creates a very free and democratic idea of music. There is no competition and anyone can be a musician. Global citizens must be able to reach these conclusions based on a societies music in order to understand what type of society that they inhabit.
The most important characteristic of global citizenship is recognition. Recognition that as an individual, they are a part of many communities: local, state, national and global. Once this is recognized, a global citizen must realize that they are responsible for their actions that may effect people in places far away. One example of this recognition would be the disinvestment in South Africa during the 1980's. When news of apartheid reached Europe and North America, people disinvested in South Africa because they did not want to support the apartheid. Although the investors were not being effected by apartheid directly, they still did not want to support it. Another example of global citizenship would be shopping locally in order to support local businesses and improve your community.
Global citizenship can be manifested in many ways. These manifestations usually take place outside of the capitalistic framework and embody principals of participatory music and DIY. Shopping at the local farmer's market rather than going to Walmart is a perfect example of the manifestation of global citizenship. While Walmart may have better prices, the quality of their produce is subpar in comparison to the fresh and locally grown produce. More importantly, when you buy a tomato at Walmart, your money does not stay in your community. The profit Walmart makes is given to investors, who probably do no live in your local community (unless you are a part of the Walton family). On the other hand, if you buy a tomato at your local farmer's market, the money stays in your community. The profit is given directly to the farmer, who then uses that money to buy food, pay taxes (which are used to build roads, schools, libraries and other cool things that make a society great), send his children to school, and put a roof over that farmer's head. Global citizenship requires individuals to see the relationship between their actions as a consumer and the effects those actions have on the world.
To manifest this type of citizenship in your own community, you must have a goal and make a plan. Getting people involved in your efforts will create change, and everyone can make a difference. However cliched that just sounded, it is absolutely true. The civil rights movement and Nazi party were both grassroots operations that evolved over time and eventually changed the world as we now know it. This "real change" that you would like to implement requires two things. Participation and time. The formula for instituting real change in your community is: participation x time = change. For example, if you desire to change the mode of transportation in your community because you prefer bicycles over cars for the environmental reasons and health benefits, you could. Starting with a small group of people you start cycling everywhere you go. Over time you gather enough people and you petition your local government requesting bike lanes on every street. You garner enough participants and allow anyone to join regardless of age, race, or sex. Over time, this change will become more concrete. Once bicycling stretches out over generations in your community, this change will become long term through social reproduction. In other words, bicycling will become a tradition that will be practiced in your community long after you die.
The responsibilities of a global citizen are as follows. A GC (global citizen) must be aware of the society he or she inhabits. GC's must recognize their own responsibility to themselves and to their fellow citizens to make the world in which they live a better place. A GC must have the public interest as their number one priority. GC's must also recognize the consequences that follow their actions, in their own community, and world-wide. Imagine if every decision in the world was made with the public interest in mind. There would be no war, no hunger, less disease, improved qualities of life, and more happiness.
Now that you have been enlightened, you must go out and strive to manifest your global citizenship. You have the power to change the world, and you can start in your own backyard.
So go out, plant a flower, make music, hug a tree, improve your surroundings, fight the power, love everyone, embrace diversity, shop locally, help a stranger, think of the consequences of your actions, and keep the public interest at the top of your priorities.
It's a big world, but we can make big changes.
Global citizens of the world unite!!
~ Joe
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