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Governments rarely listen. Once they’ve got their mandate, they do what they can to satisfy their donors, their electorate, and their lobbyists. Any response to public pressure is slow, and often full of compromises. The people who wanted a different political reality just have to hope for better luck next time. When things get serious, and discontent rises, people often begin to demonstrate and protest. There are various forms of protest, they range from peaceful and conversational gatherings to overtly combative and emotionally charged rages. Radical methods do not have to lean into militancy. To do something unusual and get noticed, often people try to be disruptive or damaging in some way. This can cause clashes with police as the majority have to go to work, use the equipment, and access the buildings in question. So what other radical ways are there? The recent anti-ICE protests in the USA have shown how folk-art, theatre, and hobby-craft can help show solidarity and build bridges across various community groups.
If governments don’t listen to protests, why do people even bother? I can begin with my own example. I was going to my local supermarket the other day when I saw a Free Palestine protest taking place outside my local MP’s office. I like my local MP; she’s helped me in the past and I am just one of thousands. As the next best thing to the Israeli diplomat in my city, by manner of association, the office was the place to be. There were about 5 people standing in the rain, holding placards, a Palestine flag coloured umbrella, and smiling faces. I said hello, and told them to keep up the good work. Consent for Israel must come from all sides, not just the strong arm of the West. I’m certain it can be attained. They have a lot to offer if allowed and given the opportunity to do so. During this encounter, I met a man who makes cartoons that highlight the ridiculousness of the modern politics of super-power. He puts them on Facebook. Networking, idea sharing, community building, and narrative enforcing viewpoints from like-minded but different individuals helps the voice of opposition grow, become more focussed, and pointing in the same direction. When elections happen, the momentum from previous protests is captured and put to work in the machinery of state. It may result in one voice that wouldn’t have been there, it might result in a change of government, system, or any number of points within them. In places where elections don’t happen, leaders move on when they feel unable to do so or when they die. In choosing new leaders, governments do research public mood, opinion, and consensus as part of their process unless they are completely isolationist or monarchical. Growing the crop of change with the nurture of responsible protest can take years to fully harvest, sometimes a generation, however it will always manifest in directional change if pursued in good faith and with constructively intelligent methods. Across the Atlantic from me, in Minnesota, the anti-ICE movement has taken protest to another level. In this case, art and crafts have taken a front seat at the demonstration. From resistance through knitting to street theatre and puppet shows, creative messages and memorable experiences are helping to not only frame the moment but to create the needed momentum for future change. When a knitted hat can be a symbol of protest, how does the government know? Do they need to know? It’s about the community of like-minded change-bringers who understand one-another's symbols and their peaceful yet progressive motivations. Whether they want reform or revolution, the methodology is clear, be remembered. Arts, crafts, and civic decoration in public spaces and municipal areas helps to remind people that the people in charge do not own everything. Reclaiming our own community areas and the places built for the government and local authority to serve the people from as our own through aesthetics and trimmings that are hand-made, repurposed, or recycled, brings a whole new atmosphere of collective responsibility, community wellbeing, and shared culture. Even if the people disagree on some points, they can see that the wealth of intent is to promote understanding and not confrontation. The visual art and depictions of reality offered by protest movements tell a story that the state wants to avoid or put cosy a spin on to avoid upset. Sometimes the genuine truth of the actions of state are so harmful that any form of sweetener is a form of lie. It’s a brutal world and we pay politicians to keep it at bay, not bring it to our door. Protest can remind us that we deserve better by showing the grim reality of a situation. The nature of politics and the power that authorities wield is frightening. We create folk heroes to tackle them but rarely are willing to do it ourselves. It takes a dismantling of the fear and a humanisation of the people we want to deal with to be able to go in and affect change. Art and theatre can help to do this by way of telling human stories and making fun of what would otherwise be a serious situation. By pulling the highly sat down to our level via effective narrative, we can prepare ourselves to meet them head on in debate, constructive criticism, and eventually the vote. For those who rely on the main media for their information and who don’t know where to turn when it comes to free voices, protest narratives may be the only chance they get to hear an opposition voice that is prepared to go as deep and as real as they often do. A term often thrown around when intellectuals study protests is “prefigurative politics”. This means that the gatherings, debates, and brainstorming are rehearsals for future forms of governance. These can be brought about via voting or by other means, however the role-play element of larger protest groups where they speak about what they would do in government, right the world, and so on, become the framework for what is to come if given a foothold. This can translate any number of ways as per everyone, one may vote differently, one may run for office and get elected. Most people will find themselves behaving and conversing in ways that align with the theme of the protest, if they felt moved or compelled enough to take part or sympathise. This vacuum of governance consent by manner of behaviour will attract a political approach in time. On the extreme end of this theory, prefigurative governance doesn’t just imagine a new agenda, it reimagines power entirely. I suggest they read The Prince, not for themselves but to understand others. Not everyone is easy to get along with, and not everyone is being honest with you. The book may help you see why people behave this way. Any form of government must align with the wider principles of self-preservation that international relations often require. The subjective benefits of effective protest are almost unlimited. Not only do they generate real motivation for change among communities and sympathisers, but they also help to enrich the vocabulary and culture or progress. When slogans, meaningful paragraphs, and poems are made that empower, impassion, and impress, the movement gains new kind of wealth that can’t be measured in currency. When things are memorable, powerful, and repeatable, they don’t just stay in one place. A cause in one area is almost certainly like a cause in another, if it’s a national or international issue then it could reach anyone. Shared narratives, ideas, and motivational statements can be treated like rally calls and crowd-pleasing elements that work to define a much wider movement. An example from the Minnesota protests is “Melt The ICE”. This three-word phrase has gone around the entire nation in one form or another. And now it’s been printed in Sheffield, England, too. The social element of protest can’t be understated. Often, when we are at odds with something in the world and it affects us enough to want to go out on the streets, we need support and companionship. It’s a lonely place when we disagree with a lot of those around us or if something terrible is happening that we can’t change. Finding the shared value in like-minded communities of care can be extremely supportive on a social level, even if no real change is brought about. The solidarity and sense of a shared view can prevent the real vex of loneliness. Having a sense of being seen, being heard, and having the agency to go out and be counted can help the self-esteem and inspire more ideas for the future. When we say, “the more the merrier”, it can really have this effect. The more people collectively showing joint agency, the more emboldened we are to think of and progress with our ideas. So, when protest movements shift from marching in the streets, waving flags, and shouting aggressive things, to creative exploration of virtue and the charitable provision for those most affected while promoting clear and concise messaging about the problem, culture really does benefit. Not only do we inspire real change and new thinking, but we are also blessed with a treasure of artefacts and exhibits that, over time, will become historical pieces that define the story of our day. In the end, the power of these DIY, art‑driven protests isn’t measured by immediate policy shifts but by the cultural and communal worlds they open up. They remind us that democracy is not a spectator sport, and that ordinary people can still shape the emotional and symbolic landscape of their time. When citizens reclaim public space with creativity, humour, and care, they leave behind more than slogans, they leave a record of collective imagination that future generations can build on. Even when governments remain unmoved, the culture changes, and culture is where tomorrow’s politics begin. 
Wherever we are, whoever we may be, and whatever our agenda, we all must work. Some of us work for a living, to survive, and put food on the table. Some of us work to increase our wealth, even if we are financially safe. Others work to maximise their life experience by keeping everything how they like it and building on what they have. Labour is not a simple thing that has one or two variations. It‘s a wide-ranging aspect of all our lives and manifests in many forms. One way to look at the whole is to split it into three distinct categories. These can be isolated as to their range of influence.
Physical Labour – This is the one we usually think of when we talk about work. It’s often hard and tiring, it requires a lot of energy and a good rest. It could be manual work, like in a manufacturing line, or landscape work like building or gardening. These are generally well-paid jobs that reward people for their provision of energy and time. Other kinds of manual work are not well-paid but are considered natural parts of life, childcare, housekeeping, cooking for the family, caring for elderly relatives, and much more do not offer a salary or income but are necessary parts of our lives. Cognitive Labour – This is also often very hard work. It’s not just the muscles that require energy; the brain does too. When we think for a living, we’re expected to use our learning and intelligence to solve problems of various complexity. Sometimes it’s simply inputting numbers and letting the program do the rest, other times it’s inventing schedules, timetables, and ordering patterns that can make the most out of what’s available. These jobs are often well-paid too, when we’re in the employ of another. It doesn’t get paid well when it’s done for the self, entrepreneurs and family heads alike must use their brain all the time to put things in place. Emotional Labour – This is the one that’s often hidden. In the way that some of us have strong bodies with big muscles and what they like to call big bones, and some of us have highly intelligent minds, some of us have massive emotional lives. While emotional labour might be a matter of five minutes in the shower to sort yourself out for some, it can be the exact opposite for others. Depending on our experience, our upbringing, our tolerance tools, and our thoughts about ourselves and the world, taking control of our mood and motivation is often like wrestling a buttered pig. Stress levels are not always rewarded in work, some notoriously low-paid work like kitchens are stressful and low-paid. Public-facing people and civil workers may be given a good salary once they qualify for intellectual labour too. Stress and emotional upset at home cannot be rewarded, only prevented and protected as often as possible. Physical, cognitive, and emotional labour are connected in the way they directly affect each other and feedback into themselves through this connection. When one is tired, or unwell, the other two fall back in a kind of psychological and physiological harmony. The thoughts and feelings we have directly influence our internal chemistry which then influences our mechanical processes. When our physical or cognitive self is compromised because of low mood, this can cause the mood to deteriorate further. Catching the problem before it takes root is near impossible as we tend to tip suddenly after long periods of rewarding stoicism. It can reduce our ability in all forms of labour if any one kind is unable to be put into action. Even though our emotions and feelings are invisible and they may not be like those of our peers, they must be cared for like our bodies and brains. If our emotions are healthy, it’s not necessarily the case for someone else. We can forget this more often, above other kinds of labour. With any work done, any job, there is a balance of physical, cognitive, and emotional labour that is usually specific to the role. Hopefully, we find something that fits our personality, yet often we find ourselves working a job we don’t fit in with just to get the income. Finding the stairs to the right level when our mood is low requires significant cognitive effort. It sometimes needs not just the individual effort but the group effort of therapists, family, and/or friends. Sometimes the person with an emotional problem can’t even see the logical route out, can’t see the issue with how their emotions are reacting in their body, and are content to repeat the hurtful narrative that frames the hormonal and physical response. Getting through this barrier and then retraining the mind to avoid that downward spiral is like sculpting a David from marble all over again. In the most serious cases, it’s just not immediately possible. It can sometimes feel like the marble is cracked all the way through. Maintaining emotional wellbeing at work is vital as the emotional labour of workplace activity cannot be understated. During stressful periods of activity or prolonged repetitive labour, emotional work is taking place. The mind may want to fight the monotony in any number of ways, damaging our ability to concentrate. When we’re tired, our emotions may begin to dwell on this and draw down on our motivation. This affects work too. The interpersonal dynamics of the workplace require a constant emotional formula. We’re not just paid to do our job, we’re paid to get on with people and be helpful. This can be extremely taxing emotionally when others make this difficult for us. As in for some, being fake nice and passive is easy, where for others, being genuine and responsible is the only sustainable option. The exploitation of labour therefore doesn’t always focus on the physical. We’re used to hearing about underpaid labourers whose brute strength is undervalued and whose experience and understanding is put down to basic common sense. When this happens, it’s a power dynamic fuelled by economic disparity. Where one person wants to find employment, the other wants to pay as little as possible. If someone is desperate enough, if the disparity is large enough, there will be people willing to take on that kind of work. Emotional exploitation is rarely focussed on. This is likely because firstly we’re taught to keep our personal lives at home, and secondly, we each experience our emotional lives differently and to varying amplitudes. When extra stress and worries are placed on people at work, when they’re still turning up even though something terrible is happening at home, or when certain processes are designed poorly, we’re often not rewarded at all. Salaries and payments are based on production and application. The cognitive and physical labour that can be quantified can be valued intrinsically. What about the emotional toll of any kind of work, both from the job and what they’re expected to handle to do it? This invisible, dark energy like influence, has a direct relationship with the very things people are willing to pay for. Recognising emotional labour as real labour doesn’t just help individuals; it reshapes how we understand work, value, and wellbeing. When we honour the emotional dimension of human life, we create environments where all forms of labour; physical, cognitive, and emotional can flourish together. How would you set about providing for emotional labour, not just in reward but in recognition and in the design of future jobs? We all love a holiday, and getting away from it all sometimes is just the thing we need. For a limited time enter SPRING35 for a nice extra discount on flights. (ad) 
A scar is not just a mark of pain. It is a symbol of survival, a reminder that we endured and adapted. A scar is a bookmark in our story that allows us to see the writing again, maybe from a new perspective. As we create our stories and write our own histories, the scars we have as reminders can become much more than a bad memory. Creativity is the act of rewriting the scar’s meaning, turning pain into a symbol of resilience. When we deliberately author our own story with the experience as periphery, we can define the moment in our own words and in a light that manifests a positive outcome.
Regardless of how it felt then, with time we can redefine the symbols and reanalyse the events to see how our presence and misfortune was something more than just a nasty incident. Often our scars and tribulations are not unique to us, they’re shared among likeminded and self-similar communities across cultures, generations, and social groups. As we navigate our own story, the framework that others have adapted to for empowerment through trauma and discontent can become prompts for our own sense of progression. These scars remind us that suffering is inevitable, but they also remind us that survival is possible. No matter how good, prepared, or well-loved we are, bad things will happen. Whether on an individual basis or on a community basis, injustice and natural progression alike can cause us to suffer, to lose joy, and to feel unwanted things. During the initial moment of pain, we respond as natural beings. Our feelings, our actions, our decisions are immediate and fleeting. From this moment of vulnerability and weakness, we have a choice to continue and grow or to fall on our knees and give up. This experience shapes who we are as we move forward, it becomes a page in our story, and it carries reasons and causes for all manner of things that come next. How are we going to let these things change the way we progress? Will we cry victim and demand better from them or will we cry evolution and expect better from ourselves? Maybe it’s a bit of both. Like the Japanese art of kintsugi, mending broken pottery with gold, when the world smashes the pots of our spirit, we can use the magic of story and of personal agency to carry them into a positive light. As these stories and progressions grow, as communities learn coping mechanisms and the tools for acceptance in strength, these symbols and stories become enshrined in the community consciousness. Across cultures, artists have long shown us that creativity is not just expression, it is alchemy, turning wounds into wisdom. 
For non-creative types, the mythic inventor or fountain of wisdom might sound romantic and alluring but it’s hardly ever the case. Real creativity isn’t about mysterious forces and divine insight handed down from aliens, angels, or archons. No, it’s the normal workings of the brain when a problem is provided and its solution is something you care about. We imagine the lone genius struck by lightning-bolt inspiration, but in truth most breakthroughs look more like patient gardening than divine revelation. When we see a clever solution to a problem, we can often be amazed at how simple or ingenious, or how magical the process may seem. It all depends on the level of understanding required to appreciate how it works. Yet even the simplest solutions seem to evade us until they’re pointed out. It requires an element of imagination to see things in a new light, and that’s something we all have. So, if we learn what happens in the creative mind, we are in a better place to emulate that and think of solutions for ourselves.
The creative process is the central mechanism in the act of creativity, the person and the product are on either side of this fundamental dynamic. If you care about finding a solution or achieving something that you desire, then you’ll be in good stead to be the creative person. Next, you have you apply what you know to the problem. By learning about what you’re trying to achieve, you populate your mind with relevant and associated wisdom. It's rare to find a solution straight away, often all kinds of things influence you in the beginning and it’s like finding a path through a new forest. As you learn the trees, the lighting, the sounds, things start to become clearer. Often the time comes when you have to take a break. We can’t dedicate ourselves to solving little problems all the time, often we’re left wondering what time it is and realise we’ve a thousand jobs to take care of. When our conscious awareness is no longer focused on the issue at hand, the information we learned becomes processed and gradually taken up into long-term memory. It’s at this stage where our subconscious mind takes over and begins assimilating this wisdom into the context of our problem. Because we can’t see this process directly, if often seems mystical or magical. In fact, it’s normal behaviour. What happens in the mind when we learn information and use it to solve a new problem? We use the information gathered, often in a completely unrelated context, and reframe it using our own perspective. This often provides brand-new insights and offers patterns and statistical behaviours that were so-far unnoticed. By re-arranging what we know about the natural world and the invented world simultaneously, we can use invention and nature together to form new and valuable products or ideas. We learn new wisdom about the world when we look again at data with a new set of eyes and a different angle of understanding. As our control agenda, or the initial problem, fades into passive attention when we go about our normal lives, the interest we discovered in the associated data remains. This encourages us to still research and learn on the concepts even when we may not care so much about our initial desire or idea. As we increase our body of knowledge on the topics, we build an ever-clearer picture of what we are learning about. Eventually, something might click in the mind where all the data begins to point to something we can use, something of value to us. Every generation has had its own problems to solve, and the data collected by the previous generation to work with. As we can only assess creativity by product when it comes to historical activities, like inventing the wheel, the brick wall, the bow and arrow, we can delve a lot more deeply into the creative processes of post-industrial thinkers. Self-reporting has been an integral part of scientific thought, as the process must be repeatable and transparent. However, when self-reporting, inventors and creative people might not be aware of their subconscious processes or little influences and so ascribe everything to strange power, cleverness, or some other non-scientific explanation. Creativity isn’t a lightning strike from the heavens, it’s the slow, attentive weaving of what we know, what we notice, and what we care about. With the right surroundings, the right companions, and the willingness to keep looking again, each of us can create something of value. That value need not be measured in millions; sometimes the most transformative act is simply caring enough to make the world a little better. Explore a universe of professional creativity with Magix Creative Software. Make music, videos, animations, rescue video tapes, and much more. (Ad) 
Thinking about thinking has always served us well. Like a pool reflecting our rippled selves, a good philosophical dialogue clarifies what we see. When we grow up, our ideas and imagination mix with everything we experience, are taught, and hear in stories. Philosophy examines this, our intellect, our culture, our reasons for remembering. It gives us an open door into the realm of idea and motive that, if we enter, can put us in a powerful place when using our own discernment and inventiveness.
As we nourish ourselves on the best food the mind can grow and bring seeds from all over the world to plant in our garden, complementing what we naturally grow, our diet and health will benefit. Mental health is not just a chemical reaction, so often it is about our thoughts. This is why philosophy matters far beyond the classroom. So, philosophy doesn’t just inform science, politics, ethics, and religion, it informs the self, the subconscious, and our friends as to what is really happening. Philosophy helps us to reserve judgement and appreciate the subtle differences in virtue and logic that we independently nurture. Not everything that grows is perfect, roses have thorns. Stinging nettles are full of good vitamins. Blackberry bushes snag and grab you, and apple trees are difficult to climb. Philosophy can be like a huge orchard and flower garden. When we jump in, sometimes there will be something painful, uncomfortable, or simply unpassable that puts us in our place. The entire opus of gathered philosophy is bound to be overgrown, unkempt, and unfriendly in places. This is why we are better off with a guide. A professional guide who knows the garden, who has maps, and who can explain how to reach the fruit and smell the flowers without getting scratched or tangled. Help yourself, in your own time, and at your own pace, to this list of Free Philosophy podcasts and courses online. There’s a brilliant selection. Begin, and you’ll discover not only yourself more clearly, but the world more deeply too. The History Of Philosophy Without Any Gaps This is a huge compilation and takes us through the whole subject in little, accessible sections. We meet the main luminaries of the subject one by one. The breadth of the globe is considered, and we visit schools of thought from all over the world. This helps to give us deeper insights into the way people think if they come from other cultures. After Dinner Conversation A regular discussion on ethics far and wide, something to delve into and put the mind to work when examining the conscience. How does your moral code match up to the global consensus? The Gray Area In the Gray Area Podcast, regular episodes explore the darker side of ethics and morality. It asks probing questions about modern and ancient practices that examine the virtue or lack of, in various contexts. Royal Institute of Philosophy This website is full of Philosophy Resources. Many of the resources are completely free and they include courses, podcasts, and articles that examine a wide range of philosophical thought. FutureLearn A worldwide education portal that links to several leading colleges and universities, FutureLearn has a healthy selection of Free Philosophy courses for you to enjoy. OverThink For people who don’t always have the time to think deeply, this offers a generous opening into a world of deep thought. A light-hearted tone and a subject matter that’s usually highly accessible, OverThink is a great place to relax. OpenCulture A go to place for cultural knowhow, info, and knickknacks, OpenCulture has a page dedicated Free Philosophy, too. Thier list is in-depth and more centred on topic and teacher rather than the whole. Yale Free Courses Yes, it is ‘that’ Yale, so if you wanted to add that name to your list of accolades, you could do it for only the cost of time. Their philosophy tends to be political and historical rather than spiritual or systemic. It’s the kind of philosophy that helps explain why politicians seem to be so alien at times. |
Categories AuthorAlternative Fruit by Rowan B. Colver 
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March 2026
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