We march! We have sit-ins! We boycott! We speak out! The first amendment gives us the right to speak our mind. However, if we look at what’s currently going on in our culture, all of this is at the cost of personal safety. People are threatening one another, walking into Subway Sandwich shops with guns strapped to their back. We’ve lost the idea of sacrifice for the common good.
I was watching the news this morning and the meteorologist spoke about his father, a World War II veteran. He shared his father’s stories and the lessons he and the country learned during what we know now were horrific happenings. He believes his father would be ashamed at the lack of sacrifice for the greater good.
It makes me wonder about can we get our feelings across without threats. How would we create dialogue to resolve the common issues we all have, getting back to normal? Is it possible to use creative means to release the energy so we’re not all ticking time bombs?
This brings me to the idea of the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Have we become a culture whereby the only way to get anyone’s attention is to have temper tantrum? We see it on all the news outlets, politicians (of both parties) crying foul. Businesses taking the law into their own hands violating local and state laws. We feel free to impose our, overwhelmingly white, male, wealthy point-of-view because it’s all about the money.
I’ve been following a lot of musicians who are writing songs as a means of uplifting the nation. Songwriters/singers are recording music about the reality of our times as a means of letting others know they’re not alone. Poets are writing about the state of the world. As a collage/fiber artist my work has certainly included social justice narratives. These are all ways for us to connect without going at each other’s throats as if we’re in the Hunger Games.
How do you think this will end? What will you do differently, if anything, when life returns to “normal”? Are you willing to sacrifice anything for the greater good? Are there ways to express our frustration without a temper tantrum? These are all questions we need to address or even if we can leave our houses, eat in restaurants, go to the gym, and attend concerts in stadiums, the rift is becoming so deep and wide, how will we heal?
For more artwork visit my Instagram page: @drfiber
Time to Live Creatively 