The Division Bell
Originally used to signal a division, or vote, in the British House of Commons, the name was adopted as the title of Pink Floyd’s fourteenth studio album with the intent to instead find a pathway to unity.
Although voting is often seen as the height of democratic process across commonwealth countries, by its very definition it divides the population on every matter that comes before the members of parliament or their citizenry.
Although the band named their album after this tradition, their intention in using it, as well as the artwork on the album cover, were designed to show the listener that far from fracturing a group with a vote, the only way through division is dialogue. Regardless of the issue at stake, without open and honest dialogue, there can be no unity.
Dialogue is why couples pay a lot of money to go to therapy, why mediators are brought in to resolve conflict, and why we elect and pay politicians to represent us.
So what happens when dialogue breaks down, when we decide that another’s point of view simply doesn’t matter, when there is no longer any will to find common ground?
The bond between people breaks down, the connection of community disintegrates, and the agreements between nations fall apart.
With titles like “Poles Apart,” “Lost for Words” and “Keep Talking,” the album deals with themes that we would do well to heed as the world becomes more divided by the day.
