Three Sides to the Story— At West End Gallery
The bottom line is this: You write in order to change the world, knowing perfectly well that you probably can’t, but also knowing that literature is indispensable to the world. The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change it…If there is no moral question, there is no reason to write. I’m an old-fashioned writer and, despite the odds, I want to change the world.
—James Baldwin, New York Times, September 23, 1979
Another one of those passages from someone who works in a creative field other than my own that pretty much translates to many other fields. I think that anyone who take a creative path in their life probably feels that they have something unique to offer the world.
But do many of these people think in terms of changing the world with their work?
That’s a tough question. I think anyone, given the choice between changing or not changing the world with their work, would choose to have it do so. To not change the world in any way means that you didn’t touch anyone with that part of you that you share.
And nobody wants that.
So, you go ahead with your work with the hope that you will somehow change the world, knowing that it probably will not cause a tidal wave of change. At best, any change will be like a small ripple in the ocean. As Baldwin says, almost immeasurable and imperceptible.
But changing even one person’s perception of their world is not a small thing. Change occurs in these small ripples, in incremental measures that push us in one way or another. It’s when we give up, when we decide to not add our tiny ripple to the enormity of the ocean, that we are adrift and subject to uncontrollable waves.
So, we keep doing what we do despite the seeming impossible nature of the task. Most likely we will fail but so long as we try the chance for change remains.
Got to read this one again. It’s 5:30 in the morning, after all. Not even sure if this is not one of those dreams where the logic seems impeccable until you wake up and ask yourself what the hell you were thinking.
While I decide, here’s a song about the uncertainty surrounding your ability to change the world. It’s a longtime favorite from Ten Years After, the British blues rock band from the 60’s & 70’s with singer/guitarist Alvin Lee at the helm. Though I love the sound and general message in this song, I have always been just a little put off by the last line of its chorus:
I’d love to change the worldBut I don’t know what to doSo I’ll leave it up to you
So I’ll leave it up to you… To me, that feels like giving up and allowing others to dictate what the future will be. I understand that so many of us, including the singer in this song, feel powerless to affect change. It can be a daunting task. But as Baldwin says, just changing the way people– even one– see the world can create change.
So do what you do. Try.
Okay, it’s 5:40 AM now– time to wake up…
Redtree Times 