The
writer lives in a State where marches, parades and sometimes funerals
are highly militarised events. Most citizens are comfortable with
this. The State is not unique. All over the world, state and
anti-state groups militarise their marches, parades and sometimes
their funerals.
March
on, join bravely, let us to't pell-mell
If
not to heaven, then hand in hand to hell.
Sometimes
attempts are made to assign the words 'carnival' and 'festival' to
events which, at their core, are exclusive and sectarian, sometimes
threatening and violent, both implicitly and explicitly.
March
on, my fellows:
Make
good this ostentation
Band
members dress in military-style uniforms. Ranks of men and women walk
in march time to the beat of drums or the calls of a leader.
Now,
Mars, I prithee, make us quick in work,
That
we with smoking swords may march
from hence,
To
help our fielded friends! Come, blow thy blast.
There is
evident support for all these forms of public display. They are
presented as cultural expression, commemorations of historical events
and manifestations of respect for the dead.
Our
army shall
In
solemn show attend this funeral
People who
do not support them either acquiesce or resent them, mostly quietly.
His
funerals shall not be in our camp,
Lest
it discomfort us.
The
State is divided on sectarian grounds in regards to religion,
educational provision, housing allocation and cultural manifestation.
The State's response to marches, parades and funerals is complex and
considered partial and opaque by many people.
And
let thy misty vapours march so thick,
That
in their smoky ranks his smother'd light
May
set at noon and make perpetual night.
No
writer who lives in the State is unaffected by these public displays.
Responses from writers vary, as they do in the general population.
But
then more 'why?'; why have they dared to march
So
many miles upon her peaceful bosom,
Frighting
her pale-faced villages with war
And
ostentation of despised arms?
Might
writers have something to say about the generation and evolution of
cultural forms devoid of militarism?
Any
more than any other citizen?
Exeunt
marching; after the which a peal of ordnance are shot off.
Orange
parade, July 2015:
Peggy O'Hara's funeral, July 2015:
No comments:
Post a Comment