Guernica was not neutral. Slaughterhouse 5 was not neutral. On the Beach was not neutral. Ohio was not neutral.
Eventually, no matter how protected your circumstance or privilege is now, neutrality will no longer be an option. The opportunities for expression are much greater now than they will be in the very near future. There will be no one left to stand up for you and you will be imprisoned, exiled, or eliminated if you oppose them. Look at freedom of expression under Putin; we are fast-tracking to that destination.
"In physics, a moment (also known as moment of force or torque) refers to the tendency of a force to cause rotation around a specific point or axis." Great art, art with a greater purpose, can become the moment upon which all things turn.
Unfortunately, I think you're right on the money. Americans are about to lose freedom of speech in unprecedented ways -- ways most of them are completely unprepared for. We're already seeing people sanitize their phones before reentering the country. You know, like they do in dictatorships. That's why we have to keep speaking out and potentially have a plan to escape so we can keep doing so.
I mean that's a nice idea in theory, but historically, vocal artists and writers have often wound up having the choice to stay and be murdered (in which case they could no longer continue criticizing their target regime) or flee and keep fighting from afar.
Look at all the Iranian filmmakers working in Europe and the Americas. They never would've gotten their anti-regime films out if they'd stayed in Iran. Look at Ali Rizvi. He wouldn't exactly have been able to publish The Atheist Muslim in a country that treats blasphemy as a capital offense. Look at Picasso. How could he have spent decades churning out anti-fascist works if he had lived in Spain during the Franco regime? He'd be buried in some unmarked mass grave somewhere. No Guernica. No Charnel House. No nuthin.
Living abroad is a legitimate way for creators to continue the fight, especially since loud and political artists are often the first targets of repressive regimes. If it's a choice between leaving or being silenced, I argue we should leave.
My partner and I just had lunch with a much loved retired attorney. We picked her up at her assisted living facility and took her out. She isn't marching in the streets with a sign these days, but she has her computer and phone and all the contacts from years of civil rights advocacy. She's doing what she can from where she is with what she has available. And God bless her for it.
I understand what your saying. And I wish you well. I do believe everyone that can do something will be doing something.
Guernica was not neutral. Slaughterhouse 5 was not neutral. On the Beach was not neutral. Ohio was not neutral.
Eventually, no matter how protected your circumstance or privilege is now, neutrality will no longer be an option. The opportunities for expression are much greater now than they will be in the very near future. There will be no one left to stand up for you and you will be imprisoned, exiled, or eliminated if you oppose them. Look at freedom of expression under Putin; we are fast-tracking to that destination.
"In physics, a moment (also known as moment of force or torque) refers to the tendency of a force to cause rotation around a specific point or axis." Great art, art with a greater purpose, can become the moment upon which all things turn.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists
Unfortunately, I think you're right on the money. Americans are about to lose freedom of speech in unprecedented ways -- ways most of them are completely unprepared for. We're already seeing people sanitize their phones before reentering the country. You know, like they do in dictatorships. That's why we have to keep speaking out and potentially have a plan to escape so we can keep doing so.
Escape? We stay and fight like hell. There are way more of us than them. 'They' just don't know it.
I mean that's a nice idea in theory, but historically, vocal artists and writers have often wound up having the choice to stay and be murdered (in which case they could no longer continue criticizing their target regime) or flee and keep fighting from afar.
Look at all the Iranian filmmakers working in Europe and the Americas. They never would've gotten their anti-regime films out if they'd stayed in Iran. Look at Ali Rizvi. He wouldn't exactly have been able to publish The Atheist Muslim in a country that treats blasphemy as a capital offense. Look at Picasso. How could he have spent decades churning out anti-fascist works if he had lived in Spain during the Franco regime? He'd be buried in some unmarked mass grave somewhere. No Guernica. No Charnel House. No nuthin.
Living abroad is a legitimate way for creators to continue the fight, especially since loud and political artists are often the first targets of repressive regimes. If it's a choice between leaving or being silenced, I argue we should leave.
My partner and I just had lunch with a much loved retired attorney. We picked her up at her assisted living facility and took her out. She isn't marching in the streets with a sign these days, but she has her computer and phone and all the contacts from years of civil rights advocacy. She's doing what she can from where she is with what she has available. And God bless her for it.
I understand what your saying. And I wish you well. I do believe everyone that can do something will be doing something.
But my part will be played out here.
Bravo!