It is happening!

Although the media has until a couple of days ago underplayed the activity, Lo and Behold there are protests happening in many American cities - starting with actions on Wall Street that began in mid-September. Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston are having sizable turn outs. Other cities are revving up. Voices are being heard and the dissatisfaction is becoming visible. Yes we can!

What about us?

The 1960's & 70's were trying times. It felt like a revolution was happening in this country on many fronts and people were speaking their minds - race relations, women's rights, labor, anti-war protests filled the streets and the front pages of the newspapers. There was conflict, radically opposing sides, violence, peace and perseverance. As a result many things transformed and we evolved as a nation. None of the issues concerning us then are perfectly resolved now but things are better, much better.

Where are we today? This morning's New York Times lead with a headline "Protests Rise Around the Globe as Faith in the Vote Wanes." From Madrid to Libya people are showing their outrage over incompetent and oppressive government leadership and the growing international division between the haves & have-nots. Conditions everywhere - including here in the United States - are appalling for so many. In our country more than 46 million people have now slipped below the poverty line. Unemployment is over 9% and 48% of young people are without work. Many in the middle class have watched as their savings diminish, homes lose value, jobs disappear and future outlook seems grim. As baby boomers approach retirement our 401Ks continue to shrivel and our government threatens Social Security & Medicare benefits. Why aren't we out on the streets??? I think there is a sense of helplessness, a feeling that there is no way out. The 2008 election brought excitement, optimism, hopefulness - many of us thought things were going to change. But circumstances - a global economic downturn for one - put an end to that idea. As critical resources continue to funnel into the ongoing wars ( at a cost of 1,291 billion dollars and an estimated 250,000 lives to date) many in our own country suffer. On top of all the problems we face as a nation we are saddled with a dysfunctional government, and are living as a deeply polarized, fearful citizenship (fear fueled by endless misinformation coming from many sources including our political leaders). All of this has resulted in a sense of bitter dis-empowerment.

I hope we find our way back to the streets. Soon.

Letter to the President

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

5 May 2011

Dear President Obama,

I am pretty certain that you will never see this letter but feel compelled to write to you never the less. On Monday morning I woke to the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by a small Navy SEAL team. I find the jubilant response to this event disheartening.

Ten years ago a terrible act devastated our country, killed three thousand and cause unimaginable suffering for the families and friends of the innocent dead. Like so many traumatized Americans, I still feel the reverberations from that sad day. In response, the United States met this tragedy by mirroring the violence and causing similar human suffering – multiplying the destruction thousands-fold. The death of our service men and women alone doubles the death toll of 9/11/2001. The terror of that day pales in relation to the hundreds of thousands of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To my own surprise, my strongest impulse after the September 11 attacks was the sense that all concerned, including the highjackers, were victims and that as a nation we missed an opportunity for peace and reconciliation. What could provoke such a violent act? Where does the hatred really stem from? And how are we responsible for generating the ill will towards us?

The ongoing wars seem to, on some levels, validate the rhetoric against the United States. A powerful tyrant with superior military force and endless resources, we have the potential to destroy on an epic scale. Just as we see the “enemy” in those who intend harm, how can we not expect to be seen in that very same light by those we harm? I continue to believe that our lust for oil is at the center of this conflict and that decisions made and actions taken way before September 11, 2001 have fueled this hatred.

Osama Bin laden was simply a figurehead for an energy that still exists. I am far from naïve and realize that no matter what your personal thoughts are Mr. President, politically you could only proceed as you have. The leader of this nation must stand mighty and bold. But I did have hope for change when I voted for you. In fact I made a portrait of you for my Peacemaker series (now hanging in the Martin Luther King Room at Boston University) because I saw the potential for peace in you. Bin Laden’s murder – as necessary as it seemed to many – is not a victory. Any violent loss of human life is tragic and has negative impact on the human spirit. For me, this is not an opportunity to cheer, rather another sorrowful wound in the heart of someone longing for a peaceful planet. Is it impossible to think that the United States can, by example, lead the world to another way of existence, one where all beings can be safe, happy and live without fear?

All my Best,

Accomplished What?

I woke to breaking news this morning, the jubilant announcement that a small team of Americans killed Osama Bin Laden last night after a firefight in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Presidents Obama, G W Bush and Clinton see this as a momentous achievement. I don't.

After almost ten years of destruction and chaos in the Middle East caused by the US retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, this one murder becomes a symbol of victory in a tragic war. Hundreds of thousands dead, wounded, living in fear and squalor,with billions of dollars spent to compensate for the 3,000 lives lost in 2001. The lives lost on September 11th were the result of senseless acts of violence stemming from outrage and hatred. The response has simply mirrored - then magnified - this act. How can we "win" using the same behavior, that will surely trigger more of the same and then more of the same. An endless cycle. I would like to believe that as intelligent beings we could learn from our missteps. But ideologies, concepts, mental inventions and projections continue to subject us to tyranny. The irony is that the US purports to be wise, benevolent, and just. But the scale of our destruction - its purpose beside the point - dwarfs anything the Taliban, Al-Qaeda or Osama Bin Laden could muster. How can we be safe from terrorist acts when we continually use the same tactics to control, punish, or influence others. I'm afraid this is another "Mission Accomplished" that will only lead to more and more sorrow.

My Life in the Art World - The Teaching Job

Teachers are the topic of budget-cut discussions these days, taking the fall for so many other problems that have truly led to the current financial crisis. Public schools are certainly suffering because of overworked teachers, crowded classrooms, and the emphasis on teaching for tests. The incentive for talented young people to become educators is diminishing. How sad. Looking broadly at the problems we face as a species it seems that educating more of us about our history, the environment, over population, and war could help us decide to live differently. But the education process has to be valued, by both the leaders of state and the general population. It is difficult to hear the political discourse about the danger of the educated elite. Perhaps if everyone had the same access to information, knowledge, and opportunity we would have a more level playing field and a world population working together to improve our condition on this planet.

I decided to leave my part time college teaching job this past December after fifteen years. This state run, partially privatized school changed a lot over the years. Initially I had classes of 9 - 12 students for three hour sessions and could have two classes a day with ample time in between to see students during my office hours. My class last semester had 18 students and was 5 1/2 hours long. Budget cuts led to fewer and larger classes, more adjunct faculty (paid half of the full time salary rate, no benefits), bigger classes, less time for one on one contact. The amount of outside class time increased two-fold with the additional planning & grading required. The pay did not. I love teaching, working with subject matter I had a passion for and mentoring young people - some with a similar passion. The drain of the situation and the very limited appreciation of the institution led to my decision to leave.

Back to the bigger picture.. The complex threads of this topic are wide-ranging, but it seems to boil down to priorities and fairness. How can we reassign our resources and channel more into building an educated, intelligent, productive world population who can live together in peace and work collectively to maintain quality lives for everyone? Maybe it begins with valuing the people who chose to be educators.

The Budget

It is hard to listen to the media coverage of the budget process that our government is embroiled in at the moment. Cutting funds to the least costly programs and by doing so adversely effecting the daily lives of the folks who are struggling the most right now. Things like education, culture, and health care are the targets. I don't hear anything about significantly cutting military spending that is really strangling our assets. Since 2001 the wars in Iraq & Afghanistan (according to the National Priorities Project) have cost 1,157,287,000,000 of our tax dollars. This number continues to grow by the second. As we continue to fund these activities - which have resulted in the deaths of innocent people - our congress debates the evils of Planned Parenthood and a woman's right to choose an abortion. On one hand we, as a nation, fund the actions that end the lives of hundreds of thousands - children included - and furiously debate the morality of the personal choice a woman makes about her body and ability to have a child. Where is the sanity in all of this? Why are we letting this happen?