This sidesteps the tired binary of utopia versus dystopia and lands somewhere much more honest and hopeful. It recognizes that real progress is messy and alive, not some static perfection. I appreciate the call to artists and creators to move beyond fear-driven narratives and start sketching out new, vivid possibilities. The future isn’t about escaping trouble; it’s about composting the old anxieties and cultivating something richer and more human. That’s a vision that feels not just possible, but necessary.
I have found in creating the art that I make that there's room for all things.......the good, bad, and ugly so to speak. In what I create, all depends on moods (my own and society as a whole), ideas, concerns, humor, satire, irony, and so on. And as we all (should?) do....EVOLVE and as we do that, so does all the above stuff changes. Is there a collective consciousness? Perhaps, but we are all very much individuals, some with critical thinking skills, some without that just regurgitate what they see/hear on mainstream media and the vacuum chambers provide. And when there's a mutual communication where one is not forcing their opinions on the other but having an intelligent conversation where they can 'agree to disagree'....that's progress. I don't see that happening with too many people though at present time and have lost friends who disagreed with me when I expressed my views after being asked about them (never proselytizing). But I digress.
I think creating art that reflects your thinking at any given moment becomes a record of what is happening at the time and how you feel about it is the opportunity for others to see they are not alone in their perceptions, or maybe they are, but at least you are bringing people together instead of isolating. Important works that you do enhances communication, regardless of the tone. 🤩
I am beginning to believe that we are actually at the cusp of a "new world", a new concept of survival, and a new reality that has seen that the monstrosity and empowerment of wealth and greed is merely a mirage that disappears as we get closer to it. And I believe that Trump is actually contributing to this shift in perspective.
People have now seen the stinky downside of what greed and corruption is doing to our society through racism, separatism, dishonesty, and false promises. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the platform of the GOP and Trump are openly working to screw over our citizens for their own personal aggrandizement, but for all their efforts they are actually revealing their hands before the end of the game, scrambling to make it appear that if we should follow their lead, and we can be like them. Who wants to be despicable?
To me they are the ghosts that used to scare me as a child, waking from my nightmares screaming, until my mother came in and assured me there are no such things as ghosts, and they faded from what I thought was reality.
Once they are gone, we realize we are still here, loved, protected, intelligent, kind, empathetic, and no longer subscribe to the falsities we were led to believe. When it comes down to it, when we have seen it was all a magic act, and a bad one at that, we can choose to be better. We can work together to form a new society based on clarity and truth, not dumbing-down to marauding ghosts whose illusions of reality are destined to fade and disappear as they are revealed.
As the truth of this false reality is increasingly revealed, we will once again find commonality and community. This is our trial by fire, the test of strength, courage, or faith in the face of adversity. I hold out hope.
Yes, the rethuglicans have been working on destroying the federal government at least as far back at the Ronald Regan years. It really got rolling with Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Fox News and then that whole ecosystem got stronger and stronger and unhinged from reality. Now here we are.
Yes, I used to listen to him while I went on walks, laughing at his ridiculousness. His ditto head ne'er-do-wells have now become today’s GOP. I guess we have to pay more attention to what we think couldn’t be anything more than satire. Silly me.
I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh when I went for walks. His whole shtick was to get the worst of the worst dittoheads all riled up about Femi-Nazis, librerals, environmentalism, taxes and used outrageous rationalizations that were totally laughable. The target audience could basically be called the worst of the worst MAGAites. It would be hilarious when he was making his case (very tongue in cheek) to uninformed, uneducated, idiots who bought it hook, line, and sinker. They eventually were better known as today’s GOP.
This sidesteps the tired binary of utopia versus dystopia and lands somewhere much more honest and hopeful. It recognizes that real progress is messy and alive, not some static perfection. I appreciate the call to artists and creators to move beyond fear-driven narratives and start sketching out new, vivid possibilities. The future isn’t about escaping trouble; it’s about composting the old anxieties and cultivating something richer and more human. That’s a vision that feels not just possible, but necessary.
I have found in creating the art that I make that there's room for all things.......the good, bad, and ugly so to speak. In what I create, all depends on moods (my own and society as a whole), ideas, concerns, humor, satire, irony, and so on. And as we all (should?) do....EVOLVE and as we do that, so does all the above stuff changes. Is there a collective consciousness? Perhaps, but we are all very much individuals, some with critical thinking skills, some without that just regurgitate what they see/hear on mainstream media and the vacuum chambers provide. And when there's a mutual communication where one is not forcing their opinions on the other but having an intelligent conversation where they can 'agree to disagree'....that's progress. I don't see that happening with too many people though at present time and have lost friends who disagreed with me when I expressed my views after being asked about them (never proselytizing). But I digress.
I think creating art that reflects your thinking at any given moment becomes a record of what is happening at the time and how you feel about it is the opportunity for others to see they are not alone in their perceptions, or maybe they are, but at least you are bringing people together instead of isolating. Important works that you do enhances communication, regardless of the tone. 🤩
I am beginning to believe that we are actually at the cusp of a "new world", a new concept of survival, and a new reality that has seen that the monstrosity and empowerment of wealth and greed is merely a mirage that disappears as we get closer to it. And I believe that Trump is actually contributing to this shift in perspective.
People have now seen the stinky downside of what greed and corruption is doing to our society through racism, separatism, dishonesty, and false promises. It is now becoming increasingly clear that the platform of the GOP and Trump are openly working to screw over our citizens for their own personal aggrandizement, but for all their efforts they are actually revealing their hands before the end of the game, scrambling to make it appear that if we should follow their lead, and we can be like them. Who wants to be despicable?
To me they are the ghosts that used to scare me as a child, waking from my nightmares screaming, until my mother came in and assured me there are no such things as ghosts, and they faded from what I thought was reality.
Once they are gone, we realize we are still here, loved, protected, intelligent, kind, empathetic, and no longer subscribe to the falsities we were led to believe. When it comes down to it, when we have seen it was all a magic act, and a bad one at that, we can choose to be better. We can work together to form a new society based on clarity and truth, not dumbing-down to marauding ghosts whose illusions of reality are destined to fade and disappear as they are revealed.
As the truth of this false reality is increasingly revealed, we will once again find commonality and community. This is our trial by fire, the test of strength, courage, or faith in the face of adversity. I hold out hope.
Substack is weird today, LOL. Sorry for the duplicate answers
Yes, the rethuglicans have been working on destroying the federal government at least as far back at the Ronald Regan years. It really got rolling with Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, Fox News and then that whole ecosystem got stronger and stronger and unhinged from reality. Now here we are.
Yes, I used to listen to him while I went on walks, laughing at his ridiculousness. His ditto head ne'er-do-wells have now become today’s GOP. I guess we have to pay more attention to what we think couldn’t be anything more than satire. Silly me.
I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh when I went for walks. His whole shtick was to get the worst of the worst dittoheads all riled up about Femi-Nazis, librerals, environmentalism, taxes and used outrageous rationalizations that were totally laughable. The target audience could basically be called the worst of the worst MAGAites. It would be hilarious when he was making his case (very tongue in cheek) to uninformed, uneducated, idiots who bought it hook, line, and sinker. They eventually were better known as today’s GOP.