Why We Need A Culture of Action, Not Words

The Internet has made written and visual communication easier to execute. But how much of that translates into proactive action? It's faster to type in 140 characters into a text message or tweet than it is to pick yourself up and do something concrete in your community. We wage war with our words on forums. We congratulate, we praise, we deride, and we question. All with our words. Sometimes with video clips and still images. One of the most detrimental effects the Internet has had on our dance culture is that it can enable laziness. Everything is easier when it's just a mouse click away. Now, the Internet has had positive effects as well, including bringing our dance communities closer to globalization through forums, video sharing, and social networking. But why haven't our communities experienced greater change in the 21st century? Shouldn't we expect more from the tools we've been given to really evolve the way we grow our culture?

We're not a culture of action. As much as we love the image of the gung ho revolutionary, we play it safe most of our lives. It's not easy taking risks. In our information economy, the fastest transactions are the ones that can be digitized. Words, pictures, videos are all capable of being reduced to 1's and 0's. But not action - the real kind which brings change in relationships and troubled communities. That takes committed leaders who are a bit crazy. It seems like you need a little obsession if you feel compelled to realize a transformative change. Ask yourself - is it easier to be content with the status quo or to risk losing everything that you hold dear to make a difference? You have to be crazy to want to change things. It rocks the boat. And not everyone likes to have their world disturbed.

The street dance world is no different than any other community when it comes to the fallacies of human behavior and conflict. We argue, we struggle to forgive, we attack and we defend. It could be on any topic, especially when someone feels wronged or disrespected. Even apathy can kill our love of the dance. We could resign to the belief that nothing will ever change. And that none of this matters. After all, if we allowed ourselves to be overwhelmed by negativity, isn't it true that art isn't a human necessity? Not like food, shelter, and clothing, right? Oh no, but many of us would disagree with this statement. Art keeps us alive. It feeds something deep in our soul. It taps into our need to express ourselves, to create. An argument ensues. But then, what can we do about it in terms of concrete action?

Coming from that argument, do we choose to empower others with our artform? Are we teaching younger dancers the knowledge that we've accumulated over years of training? Are we giving them tools to make their own decisions and to critically think about why they should embrace the artist's journey as part of their daily lives? After all, we live in a country where arts education has been devalued in public schools. These programs are the first to go with budget cuts. And so a culture develops where creativity is not valued and is not thought of as essential. It doesn't pay the bills.

Let's fight this. We all can have an impact even if we start with just one person. Maybe it's someone sitting next to you right now. They might need a little boost, a tinge of encouragement to help them embrace creative expression through art. If we were made to be creative beings, then these deep soulful longings inside of us can't be contained. In fact, it would be somewhat suicidal to keep them bottled up and buried. Is there something that you can do right now to act on your instincts to change the status quo? Believe it, you have something to offer to another person. Share something today.