As I was perusing Voices, I found myself returning to the thoughts in this editorial. Why?
There were a number of key areas brought up in the editorial that are at the core of what I think are essential in life as well as music therapy, i.e. creativity, the arts, the importance of diversity and tolerance, "possibilities". Along with them were some fresh twists, particularly the "creative class" and economics, and the concrete sense of a developing global identity. Those varied perspectives connected ideas in new ways and brought a wider perspective, and in a way modeled the author's words about the value of creativity and diversity. When we are exposed to different voices and open to integrating them with our own experience, we then have more tools at our disposal, and can be more creative and productive in what we offer back to our clients, our families, and our many small communities that are a part of our world.
I appreciate that this editorial sent me to check out Richard Florida's new theories of economics, and come in contact with a whole area well-known to many, but with which I was not familiar. While I experience the value of creativity and the arts on a regular basis, the ideas about the importance of creativity and diversity from an economic standpoint were a wonderful and also pragmatic consideration to add to the mix. While I might not agree with all his theories or how he sorts who is the "creative class" and the influence that has, his core message about the value of creativity rings true in my experience. I would like to think as he says that creativity is the ultimate source of economic growth. He also asserts that every single person is creative in some way. Besides the core value of creativity and what that generates for each individual's sense of meaning and quality of life, it is interesting to consider its economic impact.
Music therapists know the possibilities and "every day miracles" that are realized regularly through the power of creative music interventions. Humans are relational creatures who have ongoing experience in a variety of communities. Whenever one person can use more of the gifts he or she has, it affects many interconnected small communities which in turn affects the whole. A person who lives more fully offers more to the society, and following Florida's reasoning, this includes an economic benefit as well. Perhaps our rationales for music therapy services should include more overt references to economic benefits, particularly in our current American culture which is so influenced by money and numbers.
Florida immediately includes what is needed to fully tap and harness such valuable creativity: we must be tolerant, diverse, inclusive. In the current political climate in the USA, especially after 9/11, there is increasing pressure to decrease the amount and kind of diversity we experience. There is often "one right way" that is proposed, with other perspectives then labeled as bad or even evil. This seems so counter to the country's founding principles, and seems dangerous from many standpoints. This theme seems to be echoing around the world as well, in the rise of religious fundamentalism of all kinds and the continued efforts toward "ethnic cleansing". I can't help but think that if leaders believed cultures that were tolerant, diverse and inclusive would be the most wealthy, they would make different choices.
In my small corner of the world as a student of music therapy in a relatively small town in Kentucky, I am grateful to Voices for being an example of the new global identity. Contributions to Voices from people in so many places open my world to all kinds of perspectives. I can know myself as a part of a much larger community with so much more breadth of experiences of all kinds. It is absolutely wonderful to hear how different individuals do music therapy around the world, and what is important and vital to their work. As we look more and more toward global identity, it is an invaluable tool for our learning and development. Perhaps in our work as music therapists we can help develop and strengthen the connections between creativity and arts, diversity and tolerance, health and well-being (and maybe even wealth) for each person, so that the human community can bring greater fullness of life to this world we share, and ever-present hope in the times of devastation.
My name is Frank Saracino. I am a music therapist who works on an inpatient psychiatric unit at a city hospital in New York City. I was born in 1951 and kind of came of age during the 1960's when I discovered the joy, inspiration, and healing power of the arts during that tumultuous and fertile period in the history of American culture. A number of political and social events orchestrated by previous generations had created a climate whereby many of my generation felt the inclination and obligation to challenge the status quo and mindset of the times through various forms of social protest. The arts proved an integral part of this movement and creative minds converged and worked together to right wrongs and to help try to restore a balance in the way people related and integrated with one another. My point is that in times of injustice, oppression, and public anxiety the arts have provided a rallying point and a mirror to society to help it shift direction and either get back on course, or change course entirely. I do not argue that America's restrictive immigration policy is curtailing the entrance of many beneficial creative minds to our country, but I also believe that creative minds find the voice they did not know they had when they encounter resistance to the causes they consider just. I have a strong feeling that artists throughout history have used their creative gifts to find and express their unique voices despite the political climate of the period.