History may not repeat itself but it does rhyme -Abdul Muhaimin- 4/16 Week 15 Plus Pro
I have fallen in love with URINETOWN, its satirical yet powerful anti capitalistic stance was quite relatable recently. For those unaware, it was the recent AHSPA production, retelling a classic tale “of the dangers of unfettered capitalism” and its danger in a town where a drought has led to the privatization of public toilets. The story sets up a battle between Bobby Strong, the everyday man turned revolutionary, and the brute monopolist Caldwell B. Cladwell, while a love story unfolds between Bobby and Cladwell’s daughter. It was able to effectively deliver what I had been thinking of for a very long time. I loved writing the essay over the weekend but I also want to state how the play helps preach the importance of remembering our history.
That is a very pertinent question, as a great man once said “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” We are living in a very late stage of capitalism where humans have been reduced to statistics, to mere numbers or the wallets they possess, in a degradative process of dehumanization, where any one who is considered undesirable is clearly oppressed.
Anti-Intellectualism is on the rise. Yesterday, a pretty large health Guru told her followers to stop drinking oranges because the citric acid can neutralise the gastric acid in her stomach, this really makes it hard to study AP chemistry when, it seems like barely anyone will understand. But primarily its APUSH, I have been studying the subject quite diligently learning about the perils of this great nation's past.
Yet literally any concept that has been warned to be bad for the nation has been committed by the current government. The Hawley Smoot Tariff Act, The Separation of Church and State, Isolationism and a dozen hot button issues which have already led to failure being repeated. But, it is important to remember that we will go in history as one of the few that could have stopped this because as another great man said “History doesn’t repeat but it sure does rhyme”
Hi Abdul,
ReplyDeleteI had just watched URINETOWN too for the extra credit, this was my first time watching a musical so I had no idea what to expect. I’m glad that you caught on to the satirical aspect of it as well, that was one of the rhetorical devices I used for my essay! I think that aspect also deepened the underlying message that the play was sending because it showed how often societies can overlook things that seem “exaggerated” but in reality they are true and often leave people deprived of basic rights which in this case was urinating. I’ve heard the quote Mark Twain said that you included in different ways throughout the course of my education in history classes. And it really does hold true, despite the warnings and the disastrous consequences that we have seen in the past; today we are still repeating some of those same actions. Thank you for sharing your blog!
Hi Abdul! I recently watched Urinetown: The Musical, and I totally love it! I knew it was a comedy prior to watching it but that was all I knew about the play. I was completely surprised by the themes of the play such as anti-capitalism. Nevertheless, the staging of the play was so beautiful and the message was really well delivered by the actors. I think the play is so relevant in today’s society, especially in the United States. As many progressive Acts that were once passed being removed or defunded, there really should be more worry and public knowledge about it. However, with the rise of Anti-Intellectualism, as you have said, convincing the American public how important those issues are and urging them to take action becomes harder and harder as people are getting more skeptical. It is also really worrying how as social media grows, people are believing information online as the truth without doing research that is backed by data and research.
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