Create Don't Indoctrinate
I don’t believe myself to be particularly talented or creative, I have a passion for writing and I enjoy photography. Apart from that, there isn’t much to my name aside from my name itself.
Why is that? Have I been lazy and not bothered? Am I still finding my “thing”? No, I have been driven away from what talent and creativity I could have had, by having to do the same memory-driven, laborious tasks like exams – this is not a dig at exams, just to clarify. But it’s not just me, also every other person who has been to school at some point. And for what? So I can get a nine to five that takes your creative freedom and individuality in exchange for a suit and printer small talk.
This is such a conservative mindset on life that has existed since the dawn of time (maybe a bit later). We need to change it.
In the world we live in where things like war and world-hunger engulf us in a grey cloud 24/7, we need a new generation who will bring colour, music and individuality to the world. Instead of indoctrinating children from a young age to remember numbers and formulas for the sake of doing the same thing for money, we need to encourage creative and artistic activities.
Let’s not say “activities”, the word “lifestyle” works better. If we focus on giving our children creative lifestyles, we will better our world. I don’t know about you but a child who visits me, having composed a new song or painted a new masterpiece, rather than one who turns up in a suit to take my pension to fund their fifth pyramid scheme that is “the million dollar idea”, would be who I would want putting me in a care home.
Think of how it would benefit them, we would have a generation raised not on news of war and suffering, but one that builds off of each other’s creative successes by getting inspired. We don’t get inspired by one’s Maths skills and the results they get on a paper, we develop toxicity that becomes hate towards a person – not something we want our kids growing up on.
Don’t get me wrong; we are on the right track. Schools are already offering subjects like Art, Photography and Music, with many schools having newspapers to encourage creative freedom through writing – you wouldn’t be reading this if they didn’t. If we continue to develop and promote these subjects in wider society, we could have a world built more on one’s artistic or musical style rather than their ability to memorise numbers.
If not for the next generation, think of yourself, us humans are great at being selfish. The next time you walk to school or work, imagine that derelict grey building that you pass everyday, being covered by a brightly coloured and eccentric graffiti-style painting. Imagine the happiness and positivity that would bring you. Now picture this, you walk past that building, only to hear not the foul-smelling drone of cars, but the sound of a person playing an original song to the world like we have earned the privilege to hear it first-hand. Sounds ideal. But instead you ignore the grey building and don’t even acknowledge the sound of cars because of how often you hear it. Not a pleasant thought when put into words, is it?
Hey, maybe that person even made his or her own outfit, that would be inspiring, don’t you think?