Des Moines, 2007. The true beating heart of America. Of the world. You want a place where people get along? Come to Des Moines. The diversity may not be here. The population may not be here. But people co-exist, amongst each other, devoid of competition, at least as devoid as they can be. This is where I’ve always belonged. It has taken me 30 years to find. And the finality is so terribly far away.
My generation.
My American generation chooses one of two paths. Both are easy. The first, live your life, make money in the system that is provided, conform all that you can, provide for your family, and then die leaving behind life lessons, life insurance and an inheritance to those still alive who share your blood.
The other – reject all that this country and this life have offered you, and flee to another country or frame of mind, fight the system from the comfort of your treehouse.
Both of the paths before us are devoid of the other. The first path does not come in contact with the artist. The second path does not come in contact with the regular person. Without knowledge of both worlds we will never achieve the same world, and that is the ultimate goal. All of us are artists. All of us are regular people. Yet without the understanding of the other, we will never form into one.
Protest.
Protest is boring. Protest does not solve anything, anymore. Here is what protest says to those who you are protesting: “Look at all of those people. They’re not worth a damn. They will never influence votes. They will never influence my cash flow. They will never amount to anything. Fuck em.” And the scary part is, they are correct.
At some point between 1952 and now we forgot the middle ground. We forgot that the entire point, on both sides, was to converse, to decide together what the outcome of such and such an event should be. But instead we shout at each other in our own ways. The protesters shout, mount performance art calling it theatre, create great gangs of likeminded shouters to shout down an enemy who is not listening. The leaders hide in their buildings, knowing that the protesters don’t matter, and continuing on with their day’s events.
I just got an e-mail from Toxic Pop, a newsletter outlining the weeks underground events in NYC. Who’s heard of it?
Discourse.
The entire point of art is to create discourse to lead to a conclusion. Art is not a conclusion. It is the catalyst.
The entire point of money is to have the most in order to live a better life. Money is the conclusion, only so far as it affords you the opportunity to shut the rest of the world away.
The artist is correct.
But the artist is just as selfish as the capitalist.
The artist wants all to see his art so that the world will pay attention and heed the answers.
The artist does not understand that he does not have the answers.
The audience has the answers. And the audience is made up of the capitalists, because they are the only ones who can afford the art the artist creates.
Those in the middle. Those in Des Moines. They do not have a say. This is exactly why this is the proper place to be.
For the people of Des Moines have more of a say than anyone on the planet.
You could get fed up with this country, and move on. Move to Europe, Canada, as most do. Say “Fuck it!” to your home country. The sad part is, this is seen as admirable these days. I see this as giving up.
Stay. Fix the problem. But don’t do it in New York City. Don’t do it in LA. Don’t do it in Chicago, Boston, DC, Seattle. Do it in Des Moines. Do it where Presidents are made. Do it where you will have the most impact. Obey the very basic rule of capitalism – if it ain’t there, make it. Why create the same thing where it already exists?
The only way to fix the problems of the world are to fight them from within. Use Capitalism, understand it, defeat it. Run for office, win, change the world. Create a show for those who have never seen your point of view before. And speak with them post. There is nothing wrong with Democracy. Unless it comes in contact with Capitalism. Go to the heart of the country and meet the people there. Work with them. Understand them. Let them understand you. And together, your world and theirs will become the middle ground. And the world shall be fixed. Once and for all.
What follows will be ideas to change the world. I await your response.
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3 comments:
Don't you think that there is some middle ground between doing nothing and moving to Des Moines to change the world?
I would reccomend some time protesting and learning and becoming involved with local groups; whether those local groups be in Des Moines or Miami.
Oh and Hi!
I've sent a link to this to everyone I know on MySpace. Hopefully, a great discussion will be started here, and hopefully they will be as inspired by you as I have been.
There are those people who talk, talk, talk...they claim to have all the solutions yet they spend all of their time and energy complaining instead of doing.
Most people have dreams. What's VERY admirable about you is that you not only have a dream, but you're devoted your life to the cause that you're passionate about. Those who act instead of just speak are few and far between. You, good sir, are a revolutionary. Your ideas alone are not what make me say this. You're working towards the greater good. If I were wearing a hat, I would tip it to you.
Bravo :)
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