"Music must serve a purpose; it must be part of something larger
than itself, part of humanity... " Pablo Casals
I would like to respond to two recent articles in Voices: Michele Forinash's "Music Therapy and Politics" (2004) and Jane Edwards' "War and Music" (2005). Much of my writing reflects upon my experiences as a music therapist in the United States.
Michele Forinash asked why there has been so little discussion of politics within our profession. Perhaps we have allowed our work and our music to become too compartmentalized. Typically, music therapy occurs within clinic walls. Politics, community and our personal lives generally occur outside the boundaries of our work in music therapy. For example, music therapists rarely list their professional music activities in their credentials for peer-reviewed journals. It is as if involvement in music is not related to the work of music therapy. The war in Iraq is heavy on people's minds and hearts but, somehow, it has been able to remain outside of our professional experiences.
Michele asked if music therapists feel "above the fray of politics". What if, instead of above the fray, music therapy put us right into the middle of politics? In the United States, we are more polarized than ever before; this became painfully obvious after our last presidential election. What about using music to help us find ways to transcend our differences? Remember the stories of German and British soldiers joining voices to cross the lines and sing Christmas carols during World War I? I think there are few people who would disagree that peace is the ultimate hope for our world; even though there is disagreement over how that peace is achieved. The gravity of current events in the world begs for our creative interventions. What if we had round table discussions of politics and music at our music therapy conferences? This could be a general session where everyone weighs in, not on their political party affiliation but on ways that music can help bring us together and address the current state of affairs.
In "War and Music", Jane Edwards states that the use of music for mental torture of prisoners is "sickening and disgusting". I agree with her that it is a terrible use of music but I am most struck by the entirety of the abuses and inhumane treatment of prisoners, both at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo in Cuba. These acts should not be tolerated; they are an assault on human dignity for all people.
What if music were used by the military for positive purposes instead of negative ones? What if soldiers were taught the beauty of Iraqi culture through their music? After all, one of the "official" reasons for going to war in Iraq was to help the Iraqi people. What if the troops had an opportunity to use music to deal with their myriad of feelings while stationed in Iraq? In fact, a CD was recorded by troops that gave honest accounts of their experiences on the front line. The title song Live from Iraq brings us into their reality, "this here is blood of soldiers of which the streets are paved. and there is no reimbursement for the price that we pay." What if our leaders began their meetings with music? Is it possible that decisions to go to war would not be made?
Let's take what we know about the healing power of music out of our clinics and put it into our communities, music therapy meetings and conferences - right in the middle of our political discussions and disagreements. Our music therapy conferences are a great place to brainstorm creative ways to address our differences and heal our troubled planet. Music can soften the hard lines that divide us.
Edwards, Jane (2005). War and Music. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved June 27, 105, from http://voices.no/?q=fortnightly-columns/2005-war-and-music
Forinash, Michele (2004). Music Therapy and Politics - Do They Mix?. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved June 28, 105, from http://voices.no/?q=fortnightly-columns/2004-music-therapy-and-politics-...
Rieken, Kristie (6-2-05). "Soldiers rap about experiences in Iraq", Seattle Post intelligencer, Seattle WA. (Live From Iraq is available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/4th25)