Global Citizenship

There are many ways in which musical practices influence society.  First, participatory practices would ensure that there were no classes because everyone would be an essential piece of the egalitarian society.  Participatory practices also instill social, human-to-human, connections.  In a participatory society, there would be an emphasis on social bonding, which would make the people in the community view each other in a more human sense.  This would then lead to a better understanding of people’s needs in the community.  Furthermore, the people in the society would start to see differences as an opportunity to learn and not something to be afraid of.  People would realize that their differences like, Contra-Dance or Mbira, are actually tools in showing people your values.  Second, in a High-Fidelity, capitalistic, society, much like the one we live in, everything is done in order to make a profit.  As performers in High-Fidelity may never meet, in this type of society, there is little interaction between people.  Community members are completely fine working in routines of eating, sleeping and working.  There is a lack of soul in a society where everyone is providing services because they have to, and not because they love what they do. 

We can learn many things about a society based on their music.  In a Presentational society, there is a clear class system based on audience and performer.  In Presentational music, you can hear individual lines that are used to show how virtuosic the artist is.  If people only care about themselves in a society, the community will not flourish, and will probably fail in a short amount of time.  The fact is, whether we like it or not, we need other people to survive.  We need people that look different than us because they provide services for us and vice-versa.  In the twenty-first century in which we live, the entire world is connected through bicycle wheel or spider web connections.  We need each other to thrive and survive as a race. 

Being a “global citizen” means many different things.  First, it means being open to learning about other cultures.  When you meet someone new, take an ethnomusicologist point of view and just observe, respect and appreciate why and how he or she does the things they do.  Do not try to correct them or be egocentric in any way.  Welcome their new customs and traditions and recognize why they are important.  See each person you meet as an opportunity to meet new people, and learn.  Second, being a global citizen means that you set an example for other people in the global community.  You appreciate different people and do not try to “fix” them in order to make them more Western.  You can do this by recognizing your responsibilities to you local community, country and world.  A small step would be buying produce from a farmers’ market while fighting for better wages for the farmers around the world that get sucked in by corporations.  By paying more at a farmers’ market, you keep more money within the society, which thus increases the well being of the community.  Third, by being concerned for other human beings and their overall well being.  You do not have to try to save the world to be a global citizen.  You can be one by shoveling your neighbor’s driveway, setting up a daycare for single parents, or donating your time to a soup kitchen in a bad neighborhood. 

Global citizenship can be manifested locally in many ways.  Fourth, recognizing that we are all part of the same system and seeing a need to protect each other.  Fifth, being able to see how the world really operates in an economic, political and cultural sense.  Sixth, realize that we are in a High-Fidelity society and that while some aspects are good, it would be better for everyone if we operated in a participatory society. 

First, when people in the community realize that individuals are important to the society as a whole, global citizenship can be manifested.  When people stop caring what others think and begin to truly be themselves that is global citizenship.  When people set up a food drive for the less the fortunate or boycott wearing a certain brand until work conditions improve that is global citizenship.

There are many consequences for imagining the self in terms of interrelated local, national and global communities.  The theory behind this is that while the world becomes smaller and smaller due to the Internet and faster travel, the local community gains more importance.    

Becoming a global citizen is not always easy.  You must be able to stand up to the things in the world that you do not agree with, and see as being morally wrong.  Remember that each individual is different, unique and important on a global scale.