Artful Dodging

I have a close friend who is a career classical musician and teacher. She is, as many would expect, a professed liberal. She learned quickly upon meeting me as a student that I was conservative. In spite of this difference, we manage to have a great relationship. I credit some amazing folks I've met online with that fact. They taught me the correct way to handle political conversations; keeping it civil, staying calm and logical, and ending conversations when personal attacks begin. I'm thankful for their guidance, but that is a topic for another time.

My friend and I were discussing, as we do a lot lately, the state of arts in our city. The orchestra is yet again struggling with bankruptcy and the harsh possibility of job cuts. They seem to do this periodically. With donations down and interest in classical performances at a low, it's almost certain the orchestra will be changing, perhaps for the worse.

I sympathize with my friend and her sister, who is a full-time musician with the orchestra. I feel sorry for those who love what they do, have a passion for music, who now await what is likely a termination of their position. I've been there, I know how that feels. But our conversation soon turned to the happenings with NPR. We didn't go deeply into the subject, which was likely a good thing, but she mentioned a stereotype that I quickly had to refute; the belief that conservatives don't care about the arts.

It is a vast liberal stronghold, the thought they hold a monopoly on compassion, acceptance, and mercy. This monopoly consumed the arts in the 60's, when free expression and abstract thought became the norm. Art wasn't truly art unless it was difficult to understand and grotesquely provocative. Liberals fed on that resistance to 'the man' like a leech on the lifeblood of the creative. They manipulated artists and musicians into believing conservatives wished them squashed in the fiscal wheels of progress by donning condescending smiles and offering bribery in the form of government funds. The National Endowment for the Arts started in 1965, a way for Big Brother to subsidize what it saw fit for the insipid public to appreciate as art. A firm grasp on the reigns of expression would ensure the proper message came through. Politically backed art is one thing and one thing only: propaganda.

NPR and PBS are like the NEA. Their acceptance of public funds, no matter the percentage, make them susceptible to all kinds of whispered influence from D.C.. There are always strings attached, no matter what you're told. My friend seemed to believe the call for ceasing funds to NPR and PBS was an attack on the arts themselves and liberals want people to believe such rubbish. I had to set her straight by explaining this 'devil on their shoulder' concept. I also suggested she look deeply into the contributions made by private citizens and companies when it comes to the arts. I believe she would be surprised to find just how many conservatives there are on those lists.

I don't think conservatives hate the arts. Conservatives believe in things self-sustaining, work done the proper way. What better testament to freedom and ingenuity than an artist or arts organization succeeding on their own two feet? The truth may be that the arts have grown to hate conservatives. The lies have gone from backroom gossip to art-scene gospel. Conservatives love and support the arts as much as any self-righteous liberal. Stereotypes have trumped reality and it's time we started setting things straight. When opportunities arise, and they will, we must speak our minds, tell the truth, and be artists of grace. Only then will a more beautiful picture develop.

We Are All Socialists Now

"We Are All Socialists Now"
graphite on paper

"Do you know how it worked, that plan, and what it did to people? Try pouring water into a tank where there's a pipe at the bottom draining it out faster than you pour it, and each bucket you bring breaks that pipe an inch wider, and the harder you work the more is demanded of you, and you stand slinging buckets forty hours a week, then forty-eight, then fifty-six - for your neighbor's supper - for his wife's operation - for his child's measles - for his mother's wheel chair - for his uncle's shirt - for his nephew's schooling - for the baby next door - for the baby to be born - for anyone anywhere around you - it's theirs to receive, from diapers to dentures - and yours to work, from sunup to sundown, month after month, year after year, with nothing to show for it but your sweat, with nothing in sight for you but their pleasure, for the whole of your life, without rest, without hope, without end ... From each according to his ability, to each according to his need ..." - Chapter 10 'Sign of the Dollar' from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Last week, I read an article at Big Government about an art student at Pratt named Steve DeQuattro. This student is experiencing the huge double-standard in the arts world. Artist, musician, actor, dancer, it doesn't matter. If you hold conservative beliefs, you could be the next Michaelangelo and the 'elites' would treat you like dirt. The arts are awash with prejudices. There is plenty of room for art for art's sake, as long as it's the sake of liberal propaganda. A work can be positively confounding and devoid of all skill and still be hailed as a masterpiece if it's making a 'statement' the art community condones.

As an artist, I know the culture can be tough. A few years ago, I began doing some political pieces, but I didn't publicize them. Most of them don't even feature my real name. Now, I find I am doubly careful. I've been an unemployed graphic designer for almost a year through no fault of my own. I'm desperate to find work in a town drowning in recession and graphic design over-saturation. Though I feel compelled to share my emotions through my art, I'm scared that a potential employer may find it. There is simply very little respect for creative dissent when it falls to the right of the middle.

Perhaps that feeling of being trapped helped inspire this piece. Two people, bodies strong, but faces gaunt, are chained together. They're blindfolded because it's so easy to lead the blind. He holds a hammer; she carries a sickle. They both drag a broken and beaten Liberty by a metal noose. Everything is lit from underneath, as if they tread on a bridge above a river of flame. I returned to my non-digital roots for this piece because the graphite is so visceral.

As someone who struggles with the dichotomy of belief and need for employment in a field that rarely shares my belief, I know what it's like to work in chains. I spent years wearing a blindfold, simply participating in the daily grind, hoping to make it another day. I'm inspired by Mr. DeQuattro's courage. It's not easy to defy something that seems so insurmountable. And if I manage to find employment again, I hope I can continue to express myself in pieces like this and not fear for my livelihood. I do not have the courage quite yet to spread this around under my real name. It will never be in my portfolio. I share it now in cautious solidarity. If I'm found out, which is distinctly possible, I suppose it will be for the best. But you're not alone Steve. You were never alone.

Return to Exceptionalism

The new frontier, that's what we were. At a time in history, we were known as the New World, a strange and wonderful place of untold beauty and treasure. America used to be exceptional. We used to explore possibilities. We used to give credit where it was due. We used to create and innovate. We used to be an exceptional place; can we be exceptional again?

It appears we have agreed to be mediocre at best. We allow our skin color, social standing, and possessions to speak for us. We have a split-second attention span that only allows for split-second fulfillment. We work for the wrong reasons, we compete for the wrong reasons, we vote for the wrong reasons. The only possibilities we are ready to explore are the ones that lead us to a quick buck or an easy way out. We don't seem to tilt our bright faces to the indigo heavens quite as much anymore. We don't ask how something works, only if it will work faster and cheaper than it should. We believe in fairy tales, expect something for nothing, and never take the road less traveled.

Credit and praise aren't given for talent or hard work, they're given to the loudest voice of complaint. We have decided that entitlement can be justified by something as detached as the plight of ones ancestors. Those who truly deserve reward and praise are oftentimes overlooked because they don't fill a politically correct quota. Our stone-strong defiance of British oppressors has given way to quicksand resolve. The harder we fight the decline of civility and logic, the quicker we sink in the mire because no one offers a rope of sanity to pull us to safety. It is no longer the singularity of ones talents, mind, or content of character that brings acclaim. Who you know is now far more important than what you know.

Innovation is a slave to regulation. Our creativity is sanctioned by higher powers; powers who, many times, know nothing of that which they manage. Those who still strive to create and innovate are kept securely under the thumb of bureaucracy in order to secure the future of the entitled culture. Those willing to work have become a slave to those who live with their hands out. Meanwhile, our 'anything you can do, I can do better' mentality has clipped the wings of real exceptionalism. Good intentions of telling children they can do and be anything they wish has paved the road to a purgatory where everything is merely adequate. We no longer carefully cultivate the individual greatness we all possess. Instead, we strive to selfishly be we think we want to be, eschewing our genuine talents, because we're entitled to our every desire, no matter how narrow-minded.

Being exceptional isn't about who gets there first or who does so with the most flash or cash. Being exceptional is about the race, carefully plotted and traveled. Hard work, our backs to the wind of political correctness, will set us right again. In the novel Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, a single innovator set out to derail the country's suicidal run to failure. Art imitates life, or perhaps the other way around. Those of us who have the strength of character to say enough is enough, we must speak up. We must stop the engine of the world and start it again on our return to exceptionalism.

Memorialized

When I was a senior in high school band, we lost one of our flute players in a tragic car accident. Our director came out of his office, pale as snow, to tell us the news. He broke down in a way I'd never seen from a grown person. His knees buckled and he fell to the ground, sobbing. My heart went out to the girl's family and to him, this troubled man with whom I'd recently had some disagreements. An hour or so later, though I'm not sure what was motivating my steps, I walked up to him and put my hand firmly on his shoulder. I'd lost my dad to cancer not long before. I looked this man in the eyes and said nothing. He knew I understood how he was feeling.

We suited up in our band uniforms and filed into an annexed room of the funeral home. We listened to the service over the p.a., sniffs and sobs to punctuate the solemn event. When the service concluded, we headed outside and lined either side of the drive. We were called to attention and we stood there, winter wind chilling our cheeks, as the family drove through followed by the hearse. I was the leader of the low brass section, a girl to corral the rough and rude boys. I was never more proud of their composure as I was that day.

When I look back on it now, I can't imagine a more fitting tribute. This girl was one of us and no one at that service was there for any other reason than to remember her. The stark black pavement flanked by regal band members in white-legged uniforms must have been almost military, giving her the sendoff she deserved.

The 'memorial' service that occurred last night in Tucson, Arizona was nothing like this. The crowd was unruly and loud, the roster of speakers a bit confounding, and they even passed out t-shirts for the event. Though President Obama's speech was something that pleased a number of people, it was nothing more than a seasoned speaker doing what he does best: reading. I felt no emotion from him, no connection whatsoever to what had happened. And why was that? Well, because he wasn't connected.

A memorial is just that, an event to remember something or someone who was dear to you. Though a great number of people didn't know the six victims personally, they could find ways to identify with them enough to properly memorialize them. A parent could immediately understand the grief of losing a young child. A grandchild could understand how painful it must be to say goodbye to a grandparent. A person with a close friend would know the separation of never seeing their friend again. But politics, there is no place for politics in this situation. I'm sure Obama has friends and I know he's a grandchild and parent, but he has an unnatural aura of politics that never leaves him. Politics knows no emotion save the use of it for manipulation.

Presidents have always made speeches in times of triumph and tragedy; that's nothing new. But in both triumph and tragedy, the attitude must not be one of personal gain or desire for the spotlight. In this case, I must say it was both of those things. This was no memorial, it was a political rally on the backs of the grieving. It was a show of support not for the families who had lost loved ones, but for a stumbling president. It was an excuse for a hollow orator to flex his speaking muscles; a trial-run for 2012.

In the aftermath of the Arizona shootings, one thing was clear: the left will stop at nothing, hold nothing sacred except the profane, to take down their enemies. In an ironic twist, Sarah Palin has seen an uptick in the death threats she receives. What better time to call for the murder of a political figure than immediately after the attempted murder of another. Strangely, the White House has been silent on these matters of accusation and 'blood libel'. Last night's shill held no relief.

After the burial of my bandmate, I visited the girl's home with my director. I had drawn a portrait of the girl, smiling and hopeful in her colorguard uniform. A local frame shop had mounted it in a stunning frame for free. I wasn't present when it was given to the family, but at the home, the girl's step-father (whom I had never met) walked up to me and hugged me tight. He thanked me through tears and I nodded with a comforting smile, happy to have brought a tiny bit of solace. I may not have known this girl as a close friend, but I knew the events of her memorial were about her, not me. I did what I could to comfort the family, to keep the focus on them as they grieved and attempted to heal. Had I not been able to do that, I would have removed myself from the situation. I feel this would have been the best route for Obama. He should have visited the grieving alone, said his peace, and left the circus for a more appropriate time and place.

My heart goes out to the victims and I hope they will heal from the pain. I hope they can eventually drown the echoes of whoops and yells from the rally last night with the memory of their loved ones laughter. God bless you Tucson, and God bless America.

You Don't Scare Me, Bully

Bullies are nasty things. Insecure individuals releasing their frustrations on the innocent has no basis in logic. When a child is bullied, our hearts go out to them. We see our own experiences reflected in their tear-filled eyes. But bullying is not quarantined to only the young. One has to ask oneself, what happens to child bullies when they grow up? For that answer, we don't have to look too far, especially right now.

The mainstream media, most liberals, and many other politicians exhibit the classic signs of being bullies in big-people clothes. Jack Conway, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Kentucky, is someone you might expect to find holding another person's head in a toilet. That swirly victim at present is Rand Paul. Being the son of someone so polarizing like Ron Paul can't be easy, small physical stature aside. Rand isn't a stranger to bullying. He seems to be a seasoned pro when dealing with senseless slander, but why should we sit back and let this kind of thing continue? We profess to be a society that's sickened by undeserved violence. We condemn the actions of child bullies, yet when that undeserved violence is wielded by a liberal or a liberal-sympathizing member of the media, we accept it. We shake our heads, say 'tisk tisk' and let it remain. The memory of the event is quickly buried under memories of countless events like it every day.

The 2010 mid-term elections have seen some really sad bullying tactics. An angry male Democrat calls his female Republican opponent a 'whore'. The liberal machine, media in tow, exploits the distant and irrelevant history of an otherwise normal woman, Christine O'Donnell, in order to make sure her liberal opponent is sent to Washington. An angry elitist Democrat resorts to physical contact with his Republican opponent during a debate. Congressional fat cats send their significant others on heckling missions to rattle their opponents. If Washington and the road to Washington were the halls of an elementary school, these politicians would be spending a lot of time in the Principal's office. But if Barack Obama is considered the Principal, I guess that disciplinary trip won't do much good.

And so, it is up to us, the 'parents' of this nation. Our priorities need to be set right. After Rand Paul's first-and potentially only-debate with Jack Conway, he refused to shake Conway's hand. Conway's attack ad was just too grotesque, his methods far too mad. Though some may view this action as rude on Paul's part, I say it's about time. The reason bullies continue to wreak havoc is because the victims don't stand up for themselves. This isn't a case for marshal law, no. Rather, this is a case for common human decency. We're told we have to lead by example, but when the bully is blind, they can't see that example. The media, liberals, and many in the government are blind. They have lost any sense of right and wrong. It's time those of us who are willing to fight to suck it up and do so. The next time someone attacks your faith, your patriotism, your intelligence, or your freedom, give them a lesson in the truth. Bullies are bad, no matter their age, and we can't let their behavior continue.

9/11: What I Learned

I read a Care Bears storybook from my childhood the other day. This story was about a boy who was being bullied at school. Of course, the Care Bears encouraged the child to befriend the bully because the poor bully was just misunderstood. The two became friends and everything was great in the end. Unfortunately, that's not always how it works.

On September 11th, 2001, I was in college. I was walking across the courtyard and caught sight of one of the school maintenance men. He was muttering and cursing to himself. We asked him what was wrong and he told us. Everyone crowded around televisions, tears refusing to fall because the shock was so great. I had seen the World Trade Center only a few months earlier on a visit to New York. My heart and my innocence broke that day as I watched the billowing smoke.

You see, Islamic extremists are bullies of the worst kind. They don't bully because they're calling out for help. They don't bully because they secretly want to be friends. These people bully because the fabric of their fiercely held faith tells them to. They are instructed in no uncertain terms to wage war on those who are different from themselves. That morning, they waged war on people just like you and me. It could have been us choosing a death by falling dozens of stories as opposed to burning alive. It could have been us, killed by debris while trying to search for survivors. It could have been us on those airplanes, hijacked by suicide Jihadists.

When we were children, we were taught that bullies aren't anything to be afraid of. If we 'killed them with kindness,' they would leave us alone, maybe even be our new friends. Perhaps we learned that by reading books like the one I mentioned. But these bullies, we must fear them. We must fear them enough to have no misunderstanding of their motives. In our hearts, we need to have that terrible morning run a loop to remind us of our fleeting freedom and our fleeting lives. Our children and our children's children count on us to be discerning about lessons like these. A school bully? Sure, being friendly and non-confrontational may work. But these people were never interested in being our friends.

If we value our lives as free-living and free-worshiping Americans, we will educate ourselves about these people. We will read the Qur'an instead of burning it. We will set aside our 'live and let live' dreams and wake up to a 'they live and we die' reality. Humans are animals first and animals who have never been taught mercy cannot show it. The more rope we give them, the more rope they have to hang us with. Do not forget that morning, that bright September morning. Do not forget that someone just like you and me took their last breath because of intolerance and hatred at the hands of one of the biggest bullies the earth has ever known.

Do Unto Others

Common decency isn't so common. Manners and kindness seem to have become things of the past. But why? Why don't people think of others anymore? With the rampant trend of 'touchy-feely' liberalism in this country, people should be more considerate; but in truth, it depends on what 'group' in which you belong. If you're in the right group, you get plenty of consideration. But that's not what the Golden Rule is about, now is it?

From simple, everyday things like not saying 'please' and 'thank you', to things like blatant discrimination, we've become heathens. We're all out for ourselves. Even when people show 'consideration' for others, it seems that consideration is out of fear or some kind of personal gain. There's nothing done simply out of kindness anymore. An example of where common decency has lapsed is the Ground Zero mosque.

This country boasts freedom of religion and as one of our founding freedoms, that religious openness is just fine by me. But what about equal respect for everyone and all religions? Favoritism to Muslims out of fear or anything else shouldn't take top-billing over the memory of the people killed on 9/11. This isn't simply a case of free worship, this is a case of Muslims wishing to build in a place they know for a fact will cause irritation and not caring at all about said irritation. And where is the outrage about the Muslim's disrespect? Of course, there's plenty of outrage by the 'public', but not enough where it counts.

We have laws that keep sex offenders away from schools. We have laws that take drivers licenses away from people who have caused deaths by drunk driving. But when it comes to the touchy subject of religion, unless you're Christian, you are allowed to have anything you wish. I say let them build elsewhere, as is their right, but please, if you want us to respect you, respect us as well. That is, after all, how the Golden Rule works. Do unto others...