it's subversive to be joyous in public

In listening to KSMU on the way home from exercising on Saturday morning, I heard a quick story about Yiddish music. There were a few interesting bits, but most of all a statement from an accordion player at the center of a documentary and tribute album. Read (or listen to) the article if you’re interested.

Here’s the bit that interested me: “it’s subversive to be joyous in public.” I’m pulling this straight out of context, and simply considering the statement in isolation.

Is this true? Where is it true? When is it true? Why could it be true?

Is it false? Where is it false? When is it false? Why could it be false?

I’m not sure what “joyous” or “public” means in this situation. Is this just the foolish words of an accordion player, deeply troubled by the lack of Yiddish music on hit radio. Does he need a “more accordion” skit from Saturday Night Live? Are the average workplaces of everyday Americans not overwhelmingly joyful enough for this guy? I don’t get it.

I guess I’m stuck asking too many questions about this statement, trying to get to authorial intent, to get anywhere. All I can do is think about my little sphere of existence. And I admit that it’s pretty little and quite insulated. Most days I spend most of my time in a high school. There’s a good bit of public joy taking place there. The next place I spend the most time, other than home, would be church. That place is full of joy. Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the joy there, and wonder if it is manufactured or authentic. We aren’t nightlife or party people, so I can’t speak to that--I did say my sphere is small. We go to the grocery. We go to Barnes and Noble. I don’t see joyful people as subversive; I see that as wonderful.

Here’s where I can imagine the statement, “it’s subversive to be joyous in public,” rings true. Any time I watch local nightly news or national 24 hours stations, I am met full in the face with anger, disappointment, failure, disgust. Rarely does it seem that the public face presented, locally or nationally, is one of joy. So that I get. And that aligns with the statement. Life is hard, and we often don’t get what we want. Forces, sometimes in the form of people, conspire against us. We lose. All of this means we often lack joy. As I said, I get that.

So here’s my deal, and this is where I wear blinders. I rarely watch any news. I listen to a lot of KSMU and I read a lot of NPR and ESPN and my feedly feed is filled with what I would actually call news. But I avoid all that negative stuff. I change the station, or ignore the story after reading the headline, or don’t follow the link. And in that ignorance, what I see is the joyful, or the interesting, or the instructive.

Maybe I'm wrong on both accounts: when the statement could be true, and how I handle life. Maybe I over-insulate myself. Maybe I'm a naive fool. I guess if I'm a joyful one, I'm okay with that.