Some thoughts about creativity....

Twice this weekend I sat through performances of the county symphony orchestra in which my son performs. Sitting through these performances (and dozens of others recently involving bands, orchestras, folk musicians, etc.) have me thinking on the topic of creativity and the arts. Inevitably, when attending these functions, it is easy to see the lack of value that our society places on creativity and the "me-centered" culture that has been created in our country.

This expresses itself in many ways. There was the woman who was so interested in getting a photo of "her little darling" that she spent nearly two songs standing up in her seat, in front of everyone else. Then, to make sure she was annoying enough, she moved around, standing in front of yet more people while she fumbled with her $10 disposable camera. There are the inevitable toddlers running to and fro with parents ignoring them and allowing them to generate huge amounts of noise and pester everyone in sight. People who talk continually throughout the concert as well as those who perpetually come and go from the auditoriums during the performance rank right up there as well. It is interesting to note that many times the high school peers of those in the orchestras and bands are far more respectful than their parents.

At football games the dancers, cheerleaders and band can barely be heard above the din of the football parents who simply shout louder to be heard while others perform. I can't tell you the number of times when taping the halftime show other parents just walk over and stand in front of my video camera and then get irritated when I politely ask them to move.

We live in an era when creativity has been denegrated to a commodity. The average person considers themselves a creative genius if they can load songs onto an iPod and manage to push the buttons correctly to make the thing work. People who have never stood on a stage in their life, much less performed on one, routinely critique and criticize those who are performing. I always wonder why people feel they have that right. I mean, having an opinion or preference is one thing, but many times these "critiques" are brutal even to the point of making fun. There is no respect for, or comprehension of, all the practicing, private lessons, rehersals, instrument purchasing and maintenance, uniform creation, etc. that goes into these types of endeavors. And yet, with no comprehension or understanding at all, the average person feels fully qualified to critique, disrupt or ignore the creative talents at will. After all, they know how to put a DVD in the player and make it work, by golly.

This isn't news. Things have probably always been this way. Humility and respect for the talents and efforts of others seem to be greatly lacking though in our modern world. I just find it incredulous when a person who can barely play the radio listens to a high school student who has spent six months of their life mastering an amazing piece of music, and then say something like "that was OK". Actualy, it was incredible, especially when you consider the practice and devotion that person has put into that effort while still maintaining their school work and a semblence of a life. But the complainer's children are probably really good at video games, so I guess it all comes out even. Right?

When average people feel it is their place to negate or even denegrate those who achieve due to extra effort and hard work, something in our society has gone very wrong. When the majority of people in a me-centered society regard their own mundane acts as talent and even genius, and no longer strive for, or acknowledge, true greatness the end result for that society cannot be good.