Always on the side of individuality
Unite, Disrupt
Haruki Murakami’s acceptance speech for the Jerusalem prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a powerful use of his platform to spread an honest message of goodwill to others. The namesake of his speech is a metaphor of an egg against a wall that is more powerful and controlling than it. This metaphor, particularly the way he expounds it, is frighteningly accurate to today’s society.
Murakami substitutes the aforementioned egg and wall for human beings and “The System,” a hypothetical construct that has turned against us. The problem is, there’s nothing hypothetical about this construct any more; take one look at America and you’ll see why. The America we know today was designed by humans and refined over the course of the nation’s 200+ year history. And yet, now America seems to be trying to be as exclusive of others as is possible.
American politics nowadays revolve around controlling the voter base as best as possible, be it through overbearing ad campaigns, measured visits to specific states, or the outright disenfranchisement of undesirable voters. The problem is, the American political system itself prompted such behavior from politicians, and it seems as though nothing can be done to change it now. The will of the people has effectively been thoroughly suppressed, and because of that it’s very difficult for anyone not already in power to have their voices heard.
The group hit hardest by the current system is the group that’s been the most disadvantaged over the course of American history: African-Americans. With hate crimes and police brutality on the rise, not to mention Republican efforts to silence the black voice, The System is as opposed to black Americans as it’s ever been. Murakami’s grim predictions have all but come true.
What scares me the most about Murakami’s speech is its date; he gave it in the year 2009. If Murakami understood the necessity of making this specific speech 12 years ago and things haven’t changed much for the better, what does that say about society?
I feel as though I’d be discrediting the speech by not mentioning its ending. Rather than to simply provide a bleak look at society, Murakami wishes to instead provide a beacon of hope and a message of unity to his audience. The final lines of his speech go into the idea of individuality winning out against a crushing system that is always aimed against everyone, and I agree fully with this idea. The problem is, it’s easy to understand but hard to practice. Still, it’s important for people to understand that there is always hope, especially in connection with others.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZDkzxn0gjXu18AtzDrb1CllfHUPS_owlIxjc8OZzjp0/edit