A post about flying Black Lives Matter flags beside the American flag – and the opposition to this – made a phrase pop into mind: We didn’t do this for you.
A phrase that could be said by many who are behind many types of efforts, about many types of “Others.”
We didn’t create this country for you. We didn’t build this building for you. We didn’t pay these taxes for you. We didn’t put this water fountain here for you. We didn’t build this school for you. We didn’t pave these streets for you to walk on them. We didn’t put this flag pole for you to fly your flag anywhere near it.
And (to bring this back to the theatrical realm that I am mulling): This book wasn’t written for you. This theatrical adaptation wasn’t written for you. This character was not created for you. This theater was not built to house this portrayal by you. We didn’t buy this tickets to see you. We didn’t think about any of this beforehand, but now we realize if we had, we would have been against it. We retroactively apply pre-judgment (prejudice) and rule against you.
It makes be think about creating something designed to be used for and by anyone, for any means, even if they are means that I would abhor. I suppose that is what freedom of speech is about. The philosophy (or proven finding) that it is best to create the forum, the venue, the setting so that it can be used for anything. Because in the end, consensus will reign. And values.
Mulling …
