Currency Fluctuation

It's pretty difficult to separate career from real life. There comes a time when one must speak his or her mind even in the remotest of environs. Today, December 16, 2021, is one of those times.

Growing up in middle America certain things were taken for granted. Food on the table, roof over the head, stability in institutions that shaped my every day life. The American dream. As I've grown I realize I was ignorant to the malleability of human avarice assuming standards would be kept, certainties would prevail and common sense was honorable. Oh, how experience concedes.

I am an actor, a writer, a singer/songwriter. Whether anyone considers me an artist is irrelevant, I speak from that perspective. And when lies are the currency of conversation art itself is in jeopardy. Not only art, society.

It's nine days before Christmas in the first year post Fascism in America. Shortly thereafter will be the anniversary of January 6. To borrow infamy, "A date that will live in...". An event never seen in the history or my country and only lightly so the world over. Not here. Never here. Until... The wheels of justice move slowly so the perpetrators are slowly punished. More's the frustration for the lion's share of Americans who saw the vile corruption of the administration some deluded souls sought to retain. Throughout history despots have always had their advocates. I liken it to Stockholm syndrome on a national scale. We're no exception. But we must remember the vast majority. The simple, complicated, voting, righteous, indignant, imperfect, patriotic majority that put an end to governance by psychopathy and called for a new day. Rather, an old day come back to save the day.

Chinks in the armor are exposing themselves so that even the most ardent conspiratorialist must worry. Divisions. For lies always come apart at the seams and these lies are no exception. Did I hear a collective sigh of relief?

To the brink of dictatorship from the statesmanship of democracy is a long road to traverse. Or so one would hope. But the lightning decomposition of the rule of law begs to differ. I thank God breaks held the decent as it did. We, as a nation, must understand the tenuous nature of all we consider foundational. Pillars of truth, democracy and civility didn't happen by accident. Neither did the assault on them. Let our legacy be that we rebuffed the assault and strengthened our foundation.

The work is not done. Treason is bile in the bowels of a nation. It must be exhumed, eradicated and punished. Our community demands it, our souls crave it, our pathology requires it.

I, for one, am optimistic. Having hung around a while I've seen these machinations before. We've always survived and I believe we'll thrive again. And art, whatever that means to you, will reflect the Sisyphean folly of small people on a big stage.

May you find peace, live well and go to the movies!