The change it had to come

This past weekend has been tumultuous, bring up many things to ponder and not nearly enough time in which to ponder them. So in attempt to order my thoughts and to test if the unified thread running through all of them works, this post will be an amalgamation of some of these musings.

I feel as though we have just begun to scratch the surface in our discussion of art and I believe and stand by everything that has been said. However, I am reading Stephen King's memoir "On Writing" in which he makes the point that "Life isn't a support system for art. It is the other way around." Art should be an end not a means to an end. But it cannot stop there, art should not be a dead thing that once created lies there, it must give back and go beyond itself. Art should engender a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment in the artist, it should evoke a sense of wonder and greater understanding of the world, or at least of its mystery, in the viewer and it should spark a dialogue between other artists. While the existence of art enriches the world on its own it should also create an environment and a mindset which fosters discussion, and wonder and speaks to the human soul. Art is one of the tools which change the world.

Today is the 5th of November a day other parts of the world celebrate as Guy Fawkes day. It is a day largely given over to bonfires and fireworks, which are celebrations of a concept. While the holiday was begun to celebrate the survival of Parliament and the foiling of a serious terrorist plot the day is named after the leader of the conspiracy Guy Fawkes, and in a way is celebration of him. In his journal several years ago Neil Gaiman said this about the day, "As a boy I wasn't sure whether we were meant to be celebrating Guy Fawkes as someone who tried to change the system by doing something about it, or whether it was just that the English love a good loser. When I grew up I realised that it was a thanksgiving for the fact that the Parliament had not been exploded." The first reason though is an equally good reason for a celebration and Guy Fawkes today should serve as a reminder to citizens that if they want the world to change, they need to take steps to make it occur. I am not advocating blowing things up or terrorism of any kind. However, our country was founded in the spirit of activism with people upset by unreasonable taxes doing something about it. Women's suffrage, the civil rights movement, ending American involvement in Vietnam-- all of these were issues spear pointed by citizen activism.

That brings me to my last point. I am sorry for bringing this up, because after 2 years of constant campaigning I am sure this is the last thing you want to hear about, but I am, like everyone else, going to comment on the election. In all of the campaigning and the speeches and the promises no politician dared to ask something of the American people. No one said "the economy is going through a rough patch, we may have to gird our belts for a while" or "if we are going to beat poverty, violence, and a poor education we need each and everyone of you to go out into your community and do what you can" or "it may be hard for people for people in those industries but if we want to stay competitive in a changing world we are going to need change and reform in farming, energy and education." Both candidates made populist promises pandering to special interest groups instead of offering a realistic prognosis of the situation and calling on the ingenuity and resilience of the American people to step up and solve those challenges. In fact, no president has do so since Kennedy with his famous inaugural address telling people to "ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country." If you expect nothing from the people than that is exactly what you will get.

Someone once said, and I am convinced that it was James Madison but I cannot find the quote so I will attribute it to the all knowing someone, "We are politicians and soldiers so that our children can become doctors and scientists and their children can be poets and artists." We need people working at every one of these levels to bring about the change necessary, from people who deal with making sure that the basic needs are met for everyone to people who nourish our souls with poetry and painting. And we need these people to inspire us to go beyond ourselves and make our own contributions to the world. As Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see."