Yesterday I was in a union meeting. Among other things, a brief discussion was had about the evolution of individual contracts versus group contracts in particular among ballet and theater companies, not necessarily on the opera side of things. It was pointed out that the movement began primarily because more and more dancers wanted to be seen as soloists in the troupe rather than "ensemble dancers", and they wanted to negotiate their own contracts accordingly. Over time that has led to less negotiating power for dancers, ultimately developing into much lower pay, often the legal minimum salary for dancers.
That led me to connect the dots between that devolution of solidarity in the ranks of ballet troupes where each had been a part of the braided fabric, strong and durable, to the political devolution we're starting to see around the world. For some time now, countries have been murmuring about wanting out of the EU. Granted, there are positives and negatives to EU membership, but by and large it seems to have been a net positive for the entire region. Now we have seen the first major decision about it in the wake of the Brexit referendum. Scotland wants to leave the UK in order to stay in the EU. Greece, Italy, and others have wanted to leave the EU for some time. And NOW we have a President-Elect in the United States who says that the policy will be America first.
This sort of isolationist thinking is starting to gain traction across the world and it has its roots in the comfort of wealth and privilege that we enjoy in the western world today. I can have any number of culinary experiences in any given day. I can get exactly the type of clothing I want to be able to express my own personal style and world view. I can choose precisely the niche news feed that I want on my personal, hand-held computing device, be it smartphone, tablet, watch or other, or ALL of the above.
"From he to whom much is given much is required." We have been given great gifts in the western world; wealth (compared to much of the world) and freedom. We must not squander them by focusing on what we think will be best for our own bottom line. We must realize that rising tides raise all boats. We must realize that it's not always "the other guy" who needs to make the sacrifice and compromise. Each of us must look at the larger picture and see that if each is for himself, none is for the whole. We can not tend only our own garden and expect to see our neighbor help us out when a fire ravages our crops. We must rebuild a social and economic mindset that is concerned with the greater good; before it's too late.
That led me to connect the dots between that devolution of solidarity in the ranks of ballet troupes where each had been a part of the braided fabric, strong and durable, to the political devolution we're starting to see around the world. For some time now, countries have been murmuring about wanting out of the EU. Granted, there are positives and negatives to EU membership, but by and large it seems to have been a net positive for the entire region. Now we have seen the first major decision about it in the wake of the Brexit referendum. Scotland wants to leave the UK in order to stay in the EU. Greece, Italy, and others have wanted to leave the EU for some time. And NOW we have a President-Elect in the United States who says that the policy will be America first.
This sort of isolationist thinking is starting to gain traction across the world and it has its roots in the comfort of wealth and privilege that we enjoy in the western world today. I can have any number of culinary experiences in any given day. I can get exactly the type of clothing I want to be able to express my own personal style and world view. I can choose precisely the niche news feed that I want on my personal, hand-held computing device, be it smartphone, tablet, watch or other, or ALL of the above.
"From he to whom much is given much is required." We have been given great gifts in the western world; wealth (compared to much of the world) and freedom. We must not squander them by focusing on what we think will be best for our own bottom line. We must realize that rising tides raise all boats. We must realize that it's not always "the other guy" who needs to make the sacrifice and compromise. Each of us must look at the larger picture and see that if each is for himself, none is for the whole. We can not tend only our own garden and expect to see our neighbor help us out when a fire ravages our crops. We must rebuild a social and economic mindset that is concerned with the greater good; before it's too late.
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