Is Grassroots “Live Performance” Returning to America?
The Lyceum and Chautauqua flourished in America before Big Media in the form of radio, television, and motion pictures took over. People went to lectures to hear Emerson and Thoreau in person during a time when “continuing education” for adults was part of being an informed citizen.
These public events often served rural areas and were related to the tent revivals that energized religious enthusiasm when local churches might have grown too mechanical. We all remember how rural families and urban neighborhoods used to play “live” music before passive “canned” entertainment took over.
Now local libraries have Story Times for young children, and various arts and education groups conduct local offerings that aren’t always controlled by government puppet strings. Government control through grants can mean that “official” opinions can creep in, a concern to conservatives who worry about the Soviet-style influence of liberals in most public media, government, and education.
In Minneapolis today, a lecture series at historic Fort Snelling continues to attract large numbers to its “World War II History Round Table” lectures each month. With the Twin Cities full of book publishing academics who write about military history, these public lectures provide an evening’s entertainment with a “human audience” context missing on television. A nominal fee of $5 is charged.
In Rapid City, the Vucurevich Speaker Series provides an annual public lecture that attracts thousands. Unlike television with its myriad household distractions, the lectures allow the same sustained concentration that goes with other public performances.
In Rapid City as well, conservative activist Stephanie Strong has organized a series of four two-hour lectures on the US Constitution, from September 25 to October 6 at West River Electric entitled “The Constitution is the Solution”:
