Being a Bard in a World That Needs Fighters

Every revolutionary action or idea you ever saw on TV was approved for broadcast by a corporate lawyer.

Almost every revolutionary who actually was, enough that the government ended their lives to shut them up, wrote a book before they were killed. They know you won't read it, because it's free at your local library, and you still haven't.

Art can save your life, but entertainment cannot and will not be your salvation.

To borrow a phrase, "Kendrick made you think about it, but he is not your savior."

You might recognize a lot of what was written above, you should: I paraphrased the hell out of a Josh Johnson comedy special. At least, the parts that resonated with me. Yes, I recognize the irony.

When I watched it, I felt so seen in the moment.

Then I felt the most incredible sense of doom.

I realized something in those few seconds of raucous applause and cheers following his point: I'd wager less than 10% of that audience actually did go out and get a copy of some revolutionary literature. If half of that percentage got even halfway through one they did acquire, I'll pay out double.

I'm hardly better. I've read some rev-lit, sure, but not much. Not terribly deeply on any one subject, either. I often find non-fiction difficult to focus on for too long in one sitting. (That part is getting better since I made a hard decision to severely limit my consumption of short form content and re-develop my attention span, essay on that still underway)

I crave entertainment. I consume video essays at a ludicrous pace and often four to five times each, if it really scratches an itch. I crave mental stimulation so much that not having it feels intolerable at times.

I used to create content at a pretty brisk pace for the Internet, too! I livestreamed basically every other day for years, I clipped content for YouTube and TikTok, I hosted community event nights. I really wanted to be an entertainer for a living. I still do, so badly. And everything above is, in no small part, why I've struggled greatly to continue pursuing that goal.

I am having a great deal of trouble reconciling the pieces of me that love to entertain and provide a little escape and joy in the world with the part of me that wants to see real, positive change. That, in some way, needs to work towards and see that salvation in my lifetime.

I don't know how to be entertaining while knowing I should be doing something real and encouraging people to stop burying themselves in escapism.

Yes, everybody needs a break from fighting. Yes, an army marches on its stomach, and art is food for the soul. Does knowing this change anything? Three guesses, and the first two don't count.

I want shit to change more than I want to entertain, and be entertained. Chances are, if you're this far in and still reading, you do too.

If we're going to be the type of people who bring change, we need to break some seriously bad habits. We need to stop escaping into entertainment. Maybe not all the time, and likely not forever, but a damn lot more often than we currently do.

The revolution will not, can not, be televised. Nobody is coming to save us.

If we want liberation, the most revolutionary thing we can do is to turn our TVs off, and go save each other.

I want to try. I think you do, too.

-----------------

Sources/Inspirations

• The relevant Josh Johnson clip