Nov 08 2009
To Blog or Not To Blog, That is the Question!
This thing that I have set up IS a Blog, and most blogs are full of text. Mine isn’t. I created this originally to post my art and sculpture, and I have done that, though not very regularly. I still create a lot of art, though don’t sell much, probably because I don’t market my work very much or consistently.
So…this IS a Blog, and I am going to begin writing text…my thoughts about the world, America, and what is happening in our society.
First, I am appalled that there is still discussion about continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have made a sculptural statement in my front yard asking for the US to get OUT NOW.
My History
Back during the Viet Nam War days, I marched in many anti-war marches. In 1966 I sent my draft notice back after reading the entire thing, simply saying that I was not going to point a gun at anyone, much less pull the trigger. I had to go before a judge in Pasadena, California, who said, “You should not have done that!” (sent my draft notice back.) He took my case under consideration, and a month later I got a letter telling me that I would receive a new deferment classification from the local Draft Board. I was VERY lucky. I had friends who reluctantly had gone to war and come back un-whole, ruined, or not at all, not to mention the devastation wrought on their families and friends.
That post-combat devastation is not new. It is happening, as seen and reported across America, daily! With the deep pain and hurt for combatants, citizens, governments far and wide…people of all colors, persuasions, economic status, and political inclination, I wonder why we are warring so much all over this planet.
Even if it is true, as Claude Levi-Strauss said in Tristes Tropiques, that “The world began without the human race and will certainly end without it,” why are we so irresponsible, so un-caring of each other? (Re-quoted from the November 8, 2009 issue of the New York Times, “Week in Review,” p. 9.)
Do we just harbor a continuous “Dooms Day” mentality that we cannot shake…ever? I keep looking for explanations, and better ways…survival for us all.
Continue Reading »