October 17, 2006 Bush signs the United States Military Commissions Act of 2006"With a smug stroke of his pen, President Bush is set to wipe out a safeguard against illegal imprisonment that has endured as a cornerstone of legal justice since the Magna Carta." -Molly Ivins
Terrorism. Violence. Invasion. War. Torture. Ignorance. Fear. Division. The language of Hatred. Deception. Corruption. Now this. Heavy. Is it not implicit that protecting the innocent is more important than punishing the guilty? Apparently not. Ugh.
The State of the World has got me pinned. For the last few years I have had a hard time metabolizing the unfolding awfulness. I find it tough to go about my business as usual. Naturally, it’s affected my work. I paint what is underneath and currently it’s pretty bleak. At a certain point I couldn’t keep painting like before. Flowers faded. Colors bled out. Pinks left. Reds and blacks took hold. Shapes broke up and lines sharpened. Dark fields, rain and fire imagery infiltrated. I’ve let myself paint awkward imagery almost as an exorcism but it has only skimmed the surface. Freedom has become an issue. I want to unbind and shake off the fears and deceptions that creep in from outside. I hold onto small honest things. Little touchstones. Loyal friends, kindnesses, family, kid joys, leafy greenness and hot baths. Looking for light.
It feels like we, the human collective, are caught in an endless loop of historic replay. The same battle of domination, clashing religions, powers plays, unfolding again and again and again. Another stage perhaps, a new set with new players but the same old stale story. So tiresome and depleting in its violent non-solutions and unimaginative scope that it has become an absolute agony. I want a new story.
"When all the broken hearted people living in the world agree, there will be an answer. Let it be."-Lennon/McCartney
Do we have to wait until every heart is broken? Why can’t we see each other in the context of our shared humanity? Focus on what we have in common. How we are the same. We all want pretty much the same things: to be sovereign, to be effective, to orchestrate our own lives, to raise our families free of violence and in relative prosperity, to thrive and fulfill our potentials. Why do we polarize into extremes? Why do we need to control others? Let’s inhabit the middle ground where there’s plenty of room. Cultivate a Culture of Connection. Can’t we agree to conditions that allow the most common good and concede/compromise or just agree to disagree on the finer points? Why the hell not? The alternative is unacceptable.
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