Journalism, Music & War

TRANSCEND MEMBERS, 11 Jul 2022

Alberto Portugheis – TRANSCEND Media Service

11 Jul 2022 – Last week I loved reading Johan Galtung’s comparison between the two styles of Journalism:

Violence‑War/Victory Journalism vs. Conflict/Peace Journalism

I would now like to present the similarities and differences between Music and War.

Music requires:                                                War requires:

Music instruments                                                  Fighting instruments

Music schools                                                          Military schools

Musicians                                                                 Soldiers

Concert venues                                                        Battlefields

Funding                                                                     Funding

Decision makers                                                      Decision makers

Audience                                                                     ————

Six identical requirements, except for one: Audience.

Where there is a concert, people flock to it. They all want to witness, listen to and enjoy the music.

Wars produce the opposite effect. A war starts and people hide away, in their homes, in bunkers, or flee their cities, their country. Everybody wants to be away from war zones, even the politicians who concocted and negotiated them, and the industrialists making fortunes with their killing toys. Furthermore, from letters (nowadays text messages or emails) from fighters on the battlefields, you can tell even them are longing to be elsewhere!

In a militarized world, Peace has NO CHANCE. If weapons were a deterrent, we’d give one to every child in the classroom, to guarantee they never fight. We teach soldiers to shoot to kill, others to launch rockets, pilots to drop bombs, for the ONLY and SOLE purpose of having wars.

We don’t rear and sacrifice cattle, sell it or buy it, cook it and eat it, to promote Vegetarianism.

If a conflict is solved through dialogue, the Arms Trade has to move to different pastures, that’s all.

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Alberto Portugheis is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. By profession a concert pianist and pedagogue, he is an active peace campaigner, whose anti-military stance earned him a nomination for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. As a result, Portugheis wrote Dear Ahed…..The Game of War and a Path to Peace – a book that has received critical acclaim.  Another successful book followed: $$$$$s In Their Hearts. In 2015 he founded the Movement HUFUD-Humanity United For Universal Demilitarisation, which has many followers worldwide.  In 2018 HUFUD Latin America was born, based in Bogotá, Colombia and in 2020 HUFUD Africa was launched, based in Uganda.  In Portugheis’ writings, speeches, thoughts, ideas and reflections transpire his desire “to make people think” and not take for granted what they read or hear, “no matter where.”

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 11 Jul 2022.

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