Dramaturgs have a responsibility to comment on the society that surrounds them. Although many of us love nothing more than to bury our heads into academia, the past remains two-dimensional until we connect it to the reality of the present. As practitioners of the theatre, we must always be students of our fellow humans so that we can create art that speaks to the needs of our time. All this is to say that I could not, in good conscience, let the government shut down without a word or two in defense of our national parks.
Many people have opinions about this, but I initially just rolled my eyes at first. Although the news follows me like a swarm of bees in this city, the whole kerfuffle appeared to be the government reacting exactly as I expected them to react: Congress can’t agree, and some demographics get shafted. But the world keeps turning, and my little life continues as planned.
Except this time it didn’t. My little sister was visiting for one weekend, and I was planning on giving her a tour of my new home, especially the monuments. Then that week, the Government Shutdown closed the National Parks, and I had to cancel my patriotic walkabout. Even my dramaturgy was interrupted. I tried to get on the National Park Service websites for research, only to be reminded that the information was closed to me until further notice.
In a few weeks, things returned to “normal,” and everything opened again. I was able to continue my dramaturgical research for Signature. But as I walked around the National Mall last Friday, reflecting on the symbols of difficult times that Americans overcame together and some of the leaders who made great strides in human rights for this country, I surprised myself with defensive outrage.
How did we ever get to a point where it was acceptable to shut down these free, national symbols of all the best things about the United States of America?
I’m not just referring to the Lincoln and the Washington. We also allowed our government to lock the doors to the Smithsonian, an institution representing the pursuit of knowledge. We allowed them to close our National Parks, which preserve the natural beauty of this land. We allowed them to put metal gates around memorials dedicated to the bravery of our servicemen, although the 80-year-old WWII vets in wheelchairs were having none of it. Ford’s Theatre had to shut down their performance, although I was moved when Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company opened their space to Ford’s for the performance.
They stormed Omaha Beach. The WWII Memorial was a piece of cake.
I say “we allowed” because we voted these people into office. We did this to ourselves. We have to stop this rhetoric of demonizing the opposing political party. As I’ve grown up, I’ve heard things like, “The democrats are sending this country to hell,” sometimes meant literally. Or, I’ve heard, “Republicans are stupid.” I’ve internalized these comments as normal. I’ve become so numb to the heated political animosity that a GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN did not even give me pause at first.
Research and numbers also agree: political moderates nearly an extinct species in Congress. The WWF is calling for immediate redistribution!
But this kind of winner-take-all mentality breeds situations that led to the Government Shutdown. Any action that causes the shutdown of our national symbols should never be a political strategy. Granted, there was nothing “illegal” about it, but it’s bad sportsmanship. That tactic reminded me of playing games with my sisters when they were 6 years old. If something wasn’t going their way, instead of reworking strategy or challenging me to another round, they stopped playing. While that was their prerogative, it was annoying and unsportsmanlike. We should not be electing people who respond to situations like kindergartners, no matter how much we disagree with a policy.
I was reading an article the other day in a 2011 issue of TIME Magazine called “The New Greatest Generation” about Iraq veterans. Many are going into political leadership, and one story told of a veteran who ran for office as a democrat. He was supported by a Republican fellow veteran. When asked why, the democrat replied that although they disagreed, they knew each other’s values from being in the military together. What if these were the stories we told our kids instead of raising them to believe generalizations about the opposite political party?
I admire people who stand up for their beliefs. But the reality of politics is that it takes compromise. People are complex, so our leaders should represent that complexity. And we should start celebrating that. I myself am Republican-and-Democrat, Red-and-Blue, which conveniently enough were actually my high school colors. And in my generation, I’m talking to more and more people who feel similarly. We see the value in both perspectives. We disagree, but we never cease to respect each other.
Fight for your political beliefs. It’s one of our most beautiful freedoms. But political tactics that involve holding hostage the best parts of our country until you “win” must stop.
I took this photo last Friday. May this view always be open, free to the American people.
Capital Dramaturgy 