Speaker for the Dead: The Life of the Hobby

[MorGrendel]

Forgive this posting if it seems a bit irrelevant and out of date. However, I have been reading posts on other sites about similar happenings in the SCA, and though Markland and the SCA are different, I believe they are more alike than either will admit.

"The folly of mistaking a metaphor for a proof, a torrent of verbiage for a spring of capital truths, and oneself as an oracle, is inborn in us."
-Spoken by Valery (Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451)



Speaker for the Dead
The Life of The Hobby

There have been people spouting on and on about the end of life, long before the Bible was inked. So who are we to believe these doomsday-men would not exist in our community. Some have ransomed that Markland is dying. Maybe they are right. Maybe the bagpipes have been playing since the Exodus a half a score ago. Markland is certainly not what it was a decade ago. However, what is? Our world has changed and rapidly over the last four years for certain, as have our jobs, our ideas, and our culture. We live in a post 9/11 world. We, as a people, were suddenly thrust forward, forced to recognized a new global world view, that few knew of, and even fewer cared about.

We do not live in fear, just uncertainty. However, this uncertainty has seeped into our hearts, where it does not arrest us, but does make us cautious. We, Americans, are no longer the arrogant gunslingers of old. We have learned you can not always bomb your problems away. Thankfully, we are the land of entrepreneurs, ahead of all others, so we adapt. Purse-strings tighten, a wariness towards spending increases, and hobbies suffer. As the market dived, peoples' IRA, 401-Ks, and other alphanumeric accounts plunged, and stranglehold on our wallets was fiercely locked. This is how funds can sits in a high-risk account for 30 years waiting for a pipe-dream to happen, and of course no one thinks about the wealth, because its not their own personal wealth, until its gone. Like the Ant and the Grasshopper, you can play in the sun today, but you will starve tomorrow. Most people are wise, they fixed a back-up plan. Those with children, probably fixed two.

So then we adopt this new attitude of survival, a non-dependence on things that are intangible like the fickle stock market and shadowy government. A bird in the hand, so to speak. This attitude does not pick and choose, it even permeates into our hobbies, to our children's game of "play pretend". Our game became minimalistic. Why have two sets of garb, when one can get you through the weekend? Why drive to kingdom come when gas is so outrageous? A warriors lifestyle, becomes stricken with a plague of mundane necessities. Caltrops spelled MPG, Castles gleaming with giant neon letters that read "Vacancy" or "For Sale: Low $500's". Merchanting evolved first, the mighty dollar always does. Artisans became artist. Projects became merchandise. $10 became $100. The Hobby became a way to supplement a living.

One used to rally others and commit to selfless deeds with the words, "In Service to the Dream". The dream was that we could all play in the sun, be as free as a grasshopper. That dream has faded, real-life has snuck in. Now you hear the polite reference, "In Service", but it does not mean the same. One could finish with, "I will work on it", and no one would be the slighted for we are all "In Service". The mortgage beckons, the bossman watches, and the people are all the quicker to shunt any responsibility or service, that might interfere with their pay check. So to those who say Markland is dying, cast an eye over to the SCA, where it is a damnable ghost town, a hobbyist holocaust. Sure the big guns, the kings of the SCA, are still there. However, it is not the king, a single alpha-male, that makes an organization great. It is those lesser, that are the glue. That through their sacrifice make the organization look great. For who wants to be a serf, a lowly workhand, when that is all they are in life. Who wants to "Play Pretend" that they are poor, barely getting by, when in life they can barely rub to quarters together. What is point of a King, without subjects to rule. The SCA is a shell of its former self, a shell of off-white.

If there is a cause and effect, a blame so to speak, it is as close as our own hearts. We changed, The Hobby did not. Look at those around you. We as a people do not gather in tight spaces anymore, and when we are corralled to do so, at a busy airport or sporting event, our eyes search out the video cameras and badged sleeves to tell us we are safe. In life we are the same, rushing from safe house to safe house, never stopping in between, or travelling the road less taken. People travel less in general, the airlines and vacation spots have suffered, we know this. The big airlines record a loss of around a third, would you gamble the total loss of hobbist over the past four years at about the same attrition.

Also, what of our enlisted brothers, and their respective families? They make up a large chunk of our population, both American and hobbyist alike. Who does not know someone, likely another warrior just like us, who is off protecting our country, rather than a castle in the woods. This is a matter that is very personal and close to our hearts. So it is impossible to fault any of those so far away, for the mess we are in. Maybe the military has taken our best and our brightest, and left us to figure things out on our own. When they sleep, I know our brothers dream of home, and a place where the dead come back to life. They expect to return there one day, and we need to guarantee it will be here for them.

Should we give up, and commit euthanasia? You know the answer, or else you would not have read this far. Now more than ever, we need a place that shares a love of learning, an understanding of history, and place for us to escape reality. Inside you already knew that, that is why you choose medievalism. All hobbies are in decline, not just ours. The Black Ships have sailed, good riddance, let us let them go. It is a new Markland, a new regime in power, the childhood students have superseded the masters. Markland can upgraded; it can be the best in show, it can be Markland Version 2.0. So make the choice to be positive, to pursue the things you love, and to leave others to their own devices, rather than drawing comparisons to the way things were, or how someone else does them. There you will find the reward.

[Titus]

This is a matter that is very personal and close to our hearts. So it is impossible to fault any of those so far away, for the mess we are in. Maybe the military has taken our best and our brightest, and left us to figure things out on our own. When they sleep, I know our brothers dream of home, and a place where the dead come back to life.

I like this part, very true.

But on the matter of princessE, we are not above having outside people join our group and post on our forum. We just ask that, should you join, actually post. There is no reason for someone to join, and never post. If you just want to read, then you do not have to join.

A good way to get started in this forum is to first introduce yourself. Especially if you are interested in the hobby we all share.