Lila Rose

Music has a way of easing its way into a persons’ heart without their conscious recognition of it. It has a way of exploding its message deep into the crevices of one’s spirit, heart and mind. Such is the power of art at large.
It is for this reason that I find such strength in the creation and sharing of art, particularly when it is directed towards some greater message or meaning.
Not that I chose my path with these ideas in mind, it is simply that I have always cared deeply for environmental and social justice issues, and it just so happened that I always had a tune in my head to match my emotional experiences of the world around me.

It is true; I have always been an activist- truly from day one. From living a life of deep sensitivity towards equality and respect of all life, to later in life volunteering and working for various NGO’s, environmental/animal rights/social justice groups and organizations.
It is also true- I have always been a musician. Old cassette tapes with a sweet pure young voice rant and rave about the beauty of the rivers, trees and animals. My life as a dedicated musician began 3 years ago due to a series of lucky coincidences. The journey so far has been beautiful, inspirational, and most certainly bumpy at times.

Being a musician is one thing. Being, and trying to make it as musician with a message is another. It has been a journey to find the balance between the two interests and passions, and my learning continues every day on how to integrate the two on the most effective level. When dealing with mass culture, one might recognize that much of the population really does not want to hear any more about all of the issues and obstacles we are faced with as a planet. We already have our own personal battles, and so many of us tune out to the important issues facing us every day.
This is where the clever little activist comes into play. There are many different types of “music makin’ activists”. There are the blatantly political, outspoken activists who drench our music with clear messages (we generally have a following of other righteous activists who feel the same way already), there are those of use who whisper the words of revolution softly within our melodies (we often can’t find the politics within it), and then there are those of us who try to find a fine balance between the two worlds.
I have myself come to a place within the few years of my experience as a “professional” musician (meaning trying to live off of it, dedicating most of my time to it) where I recognize the importance of this balance. I do have my list of spoken word rants about the IMF, the WTO, and about the destruction of our planet, but these days I have been attempting more of a gentler approach. Don’t get me wrong- tomorrow night I play a fundraiser for Global Aware, in which I fully intend to belt my politics loud and clear.
It is however my goal to touch many minds and hearts along the way. I always love playing for a room full of activists who feel just as passionately about the issues as I do, but I also feel it is my task to reach those who have never had access to the kind of information of education I intend to share through my music. It is my task to teach people about what’s happening through an enjoyable, artistic, heart opening experience. To open ever so slightly the minds of those individuals who are generally the hardest to reach.
This balance I speak of is a fine line. It is particularly difficult within the music industry. To be able to keep spreading such intense messages while still trying to create a career out of it all.
It is my goal to continue learning about this balance, to continue performing and sharing as much as possible, and to take my creations around the world to explore new sounds and inspirations . I hope to become sustainable through my art so that I might dedicate myself solely to the process of creating change through music.

Margarita Ospian

We are living in an electronic environment. Invisible networks are filling our landscapes and connecting us to one another. The shift into an electronic culture has caused changes in how we perceive, relate to, critically engage with, and retaliate against the structures of power. The communication and control functions of the elite are now fully cyberspatial, and as such, physically imperceptible. We can no longer point to the oppressor. After all, where is he or she? The invisibility of our current power structures is problematic when it comes to activism because it makes it difficult to lock down a specific site of resistance.

So how then do we engage in electronic resistance, using media to subvert political power systems? If privatized information is such a vital commodity in the electronic sphere, then allowing free and open access to that exact information is a form of activism. Yet unlike most forms of activism, this one isn’t disruptive by nature. Instead, resistance here means promotion—of the free flow of information.

As members of a progressive society, we must ask ourselves: what exactly does it mean to have ownership of intellectual property?

A Personal Reflection On Activism by Thalia Felbert

Around the world the gap between the rich and poor is growing. Most activists I’ve met are poor or middle class, with some exceptions. These activists all have fair enough reasons to want to change society. Those begging to see political, social, or psychological changes often face class oppression. I’m positive that some activists are from rich families too, but let’s face it, the majority are not.

Without money how much social change can be done, or, what kind of changes can be done? While rich activists have more time and resources to devote to social change, they are not as effected as the poor and middle class activists as they are the ones living in unjust situations. This being said, injustice can happen across boarders of class. Unfortunately you can be rich, and face sexual abuse by a family member, or experience racism/xenophobia at your private school.

Activist types are as broad as the variety in which clowns come. Clowns expose energy, sorrow, determination, surprise, silliness, militaristic or other human emotions. Activists have gained a negative reputation for being reckless and unreasonable, but really there are many ways of being active. Most activists are not as dangerous as the public is made to believe. Each activist or activist group maintains certain philosophies. On the whole, activism and political protests are one large expression of environmental, animal and human rights.

In North America, the structure of society is determined by government/rich class. When activists have protests, rallies, meetings and the like, the ruling class becomes threatened. Police are then assigned to limit activists from their task of protecting and fighting for their own rights and rights of (non)living others. In a moment of awe, imagine how activists are the police for the poor and middle class.

Activism is a respected occupation, just as policing is usually considered. Police and activists both display peaceful and violent temperaments, but why accept one group just because they can afford a license to kill, professional uniforms and shiny badges? Doesn’t everyone have something to protect?