“United We Are, III” by Rachel Bohlander
Memory Day and the Constitution
This is what our Veterans, current military, and first responders dedicate their lives to.
Now as Americans we need to dedicate ourselves to a free and fair election. Some countries fine people for not voting, and I am all for that. Why would you not vote, or fill out the census, especially now while we are home-bound?
No liberty should be taken for granted. Artists, not just in America but all over the world, know this. In many countries artists can only paint or perform what the government allows. Artists, like scientists, are often the forward thinkers of our time and to deny both is to deny the Liberty and Truths that this country was founded on.
This pandemic and this presidency has shown us what happens when you deny science and endlessly lie while praying more to the almighty dollar than caring about people’s lives. Mother Nature is honest. You may not like what she does sometimes, but it is a fact. A hurricane is a hurricane and global warming is a fact. Humanity is teetering towards extinction and if we continue to disregard science and natures warnings we could be a very short-lived experiment on planet earth’s history.
Here are some statistics: 4.54 billion years ago the earth was formed. For 300 million years cockroaches have been here (and are still thriving). The dinosaurs lived for 175 million years and humanity, in one form or another, has been here for 200,000 years. Humans, just 0.01% of all life, have destroyed a tenth of the earth’s wilderness in the past 25 years and are responsible for the extinction of 83% of wild mammals.
The insatiable desire for money and power has done this. Our biggest challenge now is to learn how to live in harmony with nature. Mother Earth will do quite fine without us but we cannot survive without her. We can not beat her and why would we want to? Everyone on this earth needs to figure out a way to reduce our carbon footprint.
Observing nature is one way to learn. Understanding what our founding fathers wanted for this country and going back to those values is of paramount importance. We all have contributed to the global crisis and now we all must come together to make sure we will survive. Look around, breathe the air, and remind ourselves why we evolved and how we can make a difference.
Please have a thoughtful and healthy Memorial Day.
Creatively yours,
Margery E. Goldberg
“Persist” by Rachel Bohlander
“Lady Liberty Crying” by Katharine Owens
“Right to Life” by Suzanne Brennan Furstenberg
Stars & Stripes: The American Flag in Contemporary Art, a book by Ashley Roony celebrates America by featuring the art of sixty-four artists and their representations of the American flag and other patriotic symbols in their art.