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Show Alternatives Editor's Note: Roger Ekins, a teaching assistant in the Department of English, has been active in community service projects as well as in campus affairs. He is a member of the txecutive Committee of the University Senate and is currently working on his masters degree in creative writing. ITtf'ri!"115' CSSay 'S ,he flfth a series of featllre articles running weekly in the Daily Utah Chronicle. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily supported by either the Chronicle or the "Alternatives" Committee. $25 cash awards are given to members of the community whose submitted "alternative" is chosen for publication. Entries should deal with some specific local or national problem and should be addressed to Feature Editor, Daily Utah Chronicle. BY ROGER EKINS Special to the Chronicle The vast and often horrifying problems which confront our society seem to continually produce the trite response, "There's no easy solution." Surely I would not suggest my "alternative" provides any kind of definitive answer to those problems, but I do feel it could take us in a very positive direction. Man has always tried to establish some sense of community. After all, that's what "society" is all about. Whether he has consturcted 20-story skyscrapers or merely built his but close to another, man has always felt a need to communicate with man. A great part of the beauty of the Renaissance was that man had re-discovered his own worth and wanted to share that sense of worth with others. In a recent drama class, we discussed how the Greeks of Aeschylus' time came together every year, some 17,000 strong, to participate in the "Great Dionysia," or spring festival in Athens. I use the owrd "participate" consciously. These early theater-goers did not come to Athens simply to watch some plays. They did not come because it was the sophisticated tiling to do. They came to participage, to join in with the drama. The Greek chorus was in a very real sense the theater audience. Many of today's finest playwrights are desperately trying to re-create the sense of inter-personal involvement which flourished in ancient Greece. They point to the sense of community which is so strong in football games and rock festivals and ask how that can be achieved in the theater. Some have tried nudity, some have tried placing the actors among the audience, some have tried to actually make the audience become the actors and others have tried all of these methods, all at the same time. Few have claimed significant success. It is my opinion that the desired sense of community cannot be achieved simply by changing the form of theater (or art or religion or education), but by changing some very basic attitudes of man. It is a paradox that the very thing which caused man to build his hut close to another has evolved into the 20-story skyscraper which only further alienates man from man. Today we are forced to share living space, breathing space and even thinking space. So little is really "ours" anymore and we rebel by becoming only more removed, more detached from society. We almost glamorize the kinds of "freedom" found in "Then Came Bronson" or "Five Easy Pieces." We, too, want to jump on our motorcycle or hitch a ride and leave all responsibility behind us. But such alternatives are only counter-productive and ultimately self-defeating. Instead of refusing to share with others, we must embrace the opportunity. Small, isolated communes only build enmity between themselves and other kinds of communes. Nothing constructive can come out of the increasing polarization in our nation. Perhaps I can best illustrate this by talking about something closer to all of us, the University. Contrary to what its name implies, the "university" docs much to destroy the sense of community needed in our society today. Instead of listening to lectures, we should be engaged in more class discussions where we can share ideas with others. Instead of examinations or papers which at best only provide a sharing experience between the teacher and the student, more creative projects should be encouraged which can be shared with the entire class. Football games and rock concerts work so well because all that is expected of the participants is to root for the home team or groove on some good music with others. In short, we are discouraged from sharing ourselves with others. We are taught to "play it safe," to stay detached. Like the Renaissance man, we revere individuality, but unlike him, we keep it to ourselves. We all want to enjoy a sense of community, but we do little to bring it about. Even if we do change the basic structure of the "university," for example, we will have changed nothing if we have not changed ourselves. We must learn to share willingly our knowledge, our insights, our feelings with others. We must share our air by not polluting it. We must share our earth by not destroying her ecology. We must share our beliefs by overcoming prejudice. Sharing is the key to community-it is the only alternative. |