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‘Somewhat kitsch’, was the somewhat tongue in cheek assessment of one of
the newspapers.
In another part of the country the ruler commissioned his favourite
painter, as well as a younger and untested, but enthusiastic artist, to portray
the depravity of man against man — and of man against women and children.
The painter was also very skilful with mosaic. Soon images of children whose
heads had been chopped off by burglars and women hanging upside down
after troops from a neighbouring country have departed decorated the
outside walls of the most prominent public buildings. The younger artist was
more experimental, and put the carcasses of pigs and poodles in a glass cage
where they were able to change colour as they were rotting in the warm sun.
In yet another part of the country, marching bands from a particular
cultural group would for a month walk down the streets every day and play
traditional folk songs — sounding much like the kind of music known as
boeremusiek in some parts of the world. When his adviser asked him why this
kind of music in particular, he said that he knew many people did not like it.
‘But we need to teach people to go beyond their comfort zones — to open
their ears and their minds.’
The ruler’s intentions were pure, even if some considered his methods
to be unconventional, so he was taken by surprise when there were first some
hushed protests about the music, then some of the paintings disappeared
from the trees, and eventually there were riots in the streets, calling for
project ‘Open Your Mind’ to be scrapped. Some of the glass boxes were
smashed with stones.
Fierce debates — and some fist-fights — ensued all over the country.
Work slowly started grinding to a halt.
An old man was quoted in the newspaper as saying: ‘There is enough evil
in the world — we must try to forget it, not celebrate it. What was wrong with
our peaceful and beautiful cities?’
His daughter was also interviewed: ‘No, we must see how dark our hearts
really are. This is the truth we have been hiding from all these years.’
The newspaper also reported on a senate meeting at the local university.
One of the speakers said that he did not like the ‘Open Your Mind’ campaign,
but he did feel challenged by it, and that the university should find other
ways to encourage students to think more for themselves. ‘If we want our
students to be more innovative, we need to challenge their certainties — that
is the only way to prepare them for the real world.’