I have been writing for many, many years in many, many journals and I also have started some other blogs. Lately, I have been wanting to have conversations about things that I often think about, and if I can’t have a conversation I want to at least try to provoke a conversation, meaning provoke others to think about what I often think about. No one needs to have the same conclusion as me, but to at least think enough to draw a conclusion based on the facts-as much as we can know the facts.
I will be writing about a lot of different subjects here. I am dealing with some health issues and that might come out, and certainly how frustrating dealing with the conventional medical establishment can be. I am a bit of an activist, as well as an artist so I will warn you, I can get on a soapbox!
I think that this country, and all of its citizens need to take a thoughtful look at where we are at in this second decade of the 21st century. Except for a very small percentage of the population in the West I think that life is getting much more difficult and justice is just a dream for many. In the East, rising standards of living are being enjoyed by many but that means a scramble for resources to supply a growing demand for everything from food to luxury goods. In the midst of this we are experiencing changes to our climate that will have devastating impacts on many and this has already begun for some.
We must change things, and soon, or we will be facing a reality that few will say is better than today. From the food that we eat, to the air that we breathe, and the water that we drink, we are unwilling participants in an experiment that threatens our health-physically, emotionally and spiritually. How can we retain, and in some cases regain, our humanity? We have to look outside of ourselves at times, regardless of how overwhelmed and stressed we may feel. We must bear witness to the suffering around us and also acknowledge our own suffering.
There is a way and that way is to face the truth.
Not that truth is suddenly the solution to all of the ills around us but it surely is the beginning to change anything. When a country like South Africa can transform itself from an institutionalized, apartheid system to one of relative equality we must look at how this happened. One important aspect of this transition was facing the facts of the past and that was the purpose of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was established as a new system of government was implemented.
Why has this not happened in America regarding our history of slavery and its off-spring, Jim Crow, not to mentiont the genocide inflicted on the indigenous people of what is now the USA? Will this country ever admit the truth of its past and its long term impacts that are still with us today, not to mention the possibility of restitution? Unlikely I know, but one can speak of it so that the light of truth can shine brightly for all to see.
Not to get too heavy but I just read an article in The Guardian, one of my main news source these days in addition to Democracy Now, about the performance artist Marina Abramović and she says,
“The complete planet is dying. There is hunger, wars everywhere. There is crime, cruelty, violence … so we can’t just be having good days, like Cézanne, Monet, Picasso, sitting in the countryside having the best wine, the best food, the best women. We really have to be warriors. Go where the problems are and give awareness to people. Work.”
I agree with this completely, it is time to be a warrior, and there are so many ways to that today, the problems are so vast and varied. I think that my writing is an aspect of my wanting to be a warrior, of my being a warrior….
I just looked up from writing and there was a gigantic red firework outside my window off in the distance! Beauty can appear unexpectedly in any moment.
And our being warriors doesn’t mean that we don’t also enjoy life. How can we ignore the beauty that is part of our reality, the variety of experiences that open our minds and hearts and open us to experience who we truly are? That is what gives warriors their passion, knowing just how beautiful life is and could be for everyone.
There really is enough for everyone….well maybe not when people and corporations hoard trillions of dollars, don’t pay their fair share of taxes and we live in a war economy that diverts trillions of dollars to the military industrial complex rather than to its citizens for health care, education, infrastructure and creating a more humane social structure that benefits everyone, but this can change if we demand it. If together we demand a better world we can make it happen, starting with ourselves….where else?
Thank you for listening in to what I am thinking about, and please let me know what you think about.