I used to joke with my husband a lot about how Canada has a summer that's about two weeks long. He's from Australia, a country in which the summer never ends. The warm Canadian months, though, come and go. From the first blush of green to the erupting forsythia, to waves of flowers, back to the flat green of summer, and then the chill. The inevitable chill. It all seems to pass so quickly.
Just like the flower of civilization. In my lifetime, I have witnessed the flower burst forth in blazing colour and, then, slowly die on the vine. We went from marching for civil rights, to wallowing in them, and, then, wondering why those civil rights are disappearing. We went from investing heavily in education and science to, now, veiling ourselves in superstition. We built amazing institutions and, then, ignored them, only to 'question their viablility'.
No, now it's about ferris wheels and casinos - more and more spots to play, to squander our hard won free time, and squander our hard-earned money. And it's more and more hard-earned. We have emerged from talk of a four-day work week only a few decades ago to most people working at least part of the weekend and being tied to work 24/7 with Blackberry's -- so much electronic leash, it's a wonder we're not, like Marley, weighed down and moaning.
But! Wait! Marley chose his chains. We didn't choose this! We love our life!
It was a beautiful flower, though. So amazing to be a part of it. And, I am not done yet. I will fight against the coming winter. Fight against the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, fight against the homogenization of - well - everything. Fight against the loss of civil rights. Fight against the control and demonization of the young. Fight against the criminalization of the poor. Steward as well as I can the environment, those institutions, that education.
But, sadly, I think that too much of my personal resource is starting to go to knitting metaphorical sweaters against the coming cold. And preparing my young one to be able to jump, to change gear quickly and as necessary. Survival in winter. That takes a bit of moxy, a bit of creative thinking. Good thing it's not that cold, yet. I don't think I could function without the Internet, for example. (Ah, the Internet. I think I am doing absolutely everything else in order to save that one darn, beautiful, incredibly dangerous thing and leave the world a better place for our daughter, of course).
I wonder. Can we stop the season changing? I don't think so. Times of high civilization are so fleeting. They come and go -- and I am wondering if, in the past, it was the same lack of attention that lost us what we won. Because, most of the time in history, the bulk of the population fights against yawning oppression. And, even as we enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) our privilege in the western world, even the most uncaring among us must be aware of how lucky we are. The rest of the world is not so lucky.
And I also I keep wondering if the fighting is better? I truly don't wish for tougher times, of course, but I wonder. It makes us leaner, a bit meaner, but more creative and clever. And right now, we are bloated, slow, docile. Not at our best.
In a perfect world, I would give my child a flower - an armful of flowers picked gaily in the sunlight - but, instead, I am working toward giving her some potatoes and a root cellar. Best have something in for the winter.
Jacqui Burke is
a freelance director, writer, and theatrical teacher living in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada. She is currently directing Wrong for Each Other
for Encore Productions opening
in April, Kidsplay 2012: The Mayan Prediction
opening in June, and The Last Five Years
for TOKL Productions opening in July. She is, also,
serializing The
Pretender, her first novel,
online at http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/.
She is preparing for two Shakespeare is Boffo! summer camp
sessions for 2012.
Want to contact me?
Jacqui
Burke
Artistic
Director
Jaybird
Productions
talk/text: 647-292-0210
twitter: @jaybird01
skype: Jacquiburkecell, jacqui.burke
www.wordsnimages.com
www.jaybirdproductions.ca
www.shakespeareisboffo.ca
http://jacquiburke.blogspot.ca
http://thepretender-amarcienoelnovel.blogspot.ca/
http://jaybirdproductions.blogspot.ca/
Ask me about Shakespeare is Boffo!
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– 3:30 pm, August 13-17, 2012 for only $125.
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