Language of Truth, The

Sojourners Magazine, Apr 2004

Sojourners: Did you get a sense of the religious climate among Iraqis?

Cockburn: We met everybody, from inhabitants of a squatter camp to women's groups and human rights groups-a fair number of religious people. It was really interesting. I had no idea, for instance, that there was a Christian population in Baghdad or in Iraq. They go back to the earliest days of Christianity. They're referred to as Chaldean Christians, and they speak Aramaic. You know, I thought that was dead!

These are things I never see anywhere in the media. The mainstream media-as is not unusual-are oversimplifying the situation in Iraq. I think a lot of Iraqis feel that the media are creating some of the divisiveness we're hearing about between the Shiites and other folks, that the media are creating this atmosphere of tension and insecurity-particularly around the Shiite majority's desire to establish an Islamic state.

Sojourners: How do you see the conflict in Iraq, and other global power plays, registering with North American youth?

Cockburn: A lot of young people are responding to what they see as the phoniness of the world, what they see as encroachments on their own future-by business, for instance. That's who's driving the world trade protests and all that. Yet, they're not showing up to vote, which suggests that there's a cynicism about the voting process or a lack of faith in it. It would be really helpful if that energy and willingness to move forward could be channeled into the electoral process.

Sojourners: Do you think music plays a role in giving a language to these feelings?

Cockburn: Certainly it can. It has to be the right music, though, because kids aren't listening to everything. Kids will see through phoniness right away. If somebody stands up and says "get involved in this or that" and they don't look like they know what they're talking about, they're not going have an influence of any valuable kind.

Sojourners: What is your role as an artist, in terms of speaking truth to power?

Cockburn: Speaking the truth is it, exactly. That's my role. My job is to take what I understand to be true and try to put it into a communicable form. That's what I do as an artist.

For more of the conversation with Bruce Cockburn, visit www.sojo.net.