Your Silence Gives Consent--Plato

 As Plato so famously said: "I shall assume that your silence gives consent." Our silence and inaction in the face of environmental and societal degradation is our de facto consent. It is time to stand and be heard above the silence.

Cacophony of Silence

There is a silence present now
so like death it takes my breath away.
A force so large, so deafening it quells
the brightness of the world.
It has no face or name or voice for none
it needs; it thrives on the life force of
the faceless, the nameless, the voiceless,
and the vice of those with plenty.
It will try to sell you beauty, joy, freedom
and security. Its sales pitch is image, youthfulness
and vitality without end.
With policies of mass production, a frantic pace,
confusion and alienation, its insidious ways are
coordinated, tabulated, regulated, highly orchestrated.
Its only end is money, power and control, and its only means destruction:
destruction of land, sea, air, body, soul and culture. Death- deafening death.
What are you being sold…and at what cost?

Antidote to commodification and destruction of land, sea, air and community:
Be heard above the loudness of the silence:
 

• Get to know your natural environment
• Dream, imagine, hope, and believe in new ways of being
• Seek alternatives to fossil fuel consumption
• Support causes that foster change
• Be open to beauty
• Be open to wonder
• Turn away from fear and hatred move in the direction of LOVE and PEACE
• Practice mindfulness
• Be gentle with yourself and kind to others
• Take time to be quiet
• Respect different ways of being
• Learn to value concepts of simplicity: lagom, wabi sabi
• Cultivate an attitude of gratefulness
• Learn to sit with uncomfortable emotions
• Buy locally more often
• Buy plastic less often
• Consider your water usage and consumption
• Don’t buy into images
• Appreciate local arts and culture
• Express your creativity
• Talk to your neighbours
• Practice community mindedness
• Acknowledge the impermanence of all things
• Grow a garden
• Hug someone special to you
• Be patient and tolerant in the process of change

—–
As artists we are called to use our creativity as a means of holding up to the light the hurt and fear of the world, so that we can penetrate those walls that silence has created: apathy, disillusionment, disempowerment, destruction, dis-ease. In doing so, we are redefining our confusion and pain, our fear and separation into something hopeful. We become the portal through which newness can emerge. Softened and pliable once again, our society and culture can be re-created, sustainably for the future, for the betterment of all.
Sincerely, 
Jill MacCormack
Creativity Project 
Originally published on thistownissmall--creativity project