When I asked him about this he said it just didn't occur to him to place children in his playground. So he is the artist and I am the commenter. He did not intend to make a comment. But I did.
As we continue our masked, socially distanced sheltering in place, it is worth considering the role of art in our understanding of this period.
Such art is all around us if we care to look.
For example, there is the pandemic dance. The other day, from a window, I watched a young woman talking with an older man up the street from where we live. I don't know either person.
They had apparently encountered one another while passing in the sun -- perhaps they knew each other, or perhaps not, I don't know.
Both wore masks. He was tall and white-haired; she was short and blond. She stood in the street, perhaps ten feet from where he was perched on the sidewalk.
I couldn't hear them, of course, just observe their body language. They had quite an extensive conversation. What was striking is that when a car would pass by, which was fairly often, the woman would move a few steps closer to the man, and he would step back to accommodate her and the proper distance.
Once the car was gone, she would return to the center of the road and he would return to the edge of the sidewalk.
A pandemic dance. Call it a work of contemporary art.
There are many other forms. The voices of young writers can be heard in new types of publications like the Journal of the Plague <https://www.journaloftheplagueyear.ink/blog/>. (Disclosure: I am on its advisory board and some of my essays appear there.)
As artists of all kinds find their way to capture the emotional reality of life in this pandemic, may we all find some comfort and new ways to cope.
***
Naturally, I was aware before posting yesterday's essay on free speech that it would trigger a firestorm of fierce debate, which did rapidly appear in the comments section. I welcome this debate, and especially the civil tone compared to similar conversations elsewhere, which usually dissolve into name-calling.
I knew that by defending Trump's right to free speech I would offend many people, but I did so because the option of remaining silent does not exist for me. I didn't survive a stroke and resume speaking out to bullshit people; my commitment to everybody is to be your friend by telling the truth as I see it.
The many critical comments did move me, however, to revise my essay several times, as I attempted to achieve the degree of specificity and balance I always strive for. Ultimately, however, I remain unsatisfied with my effort. This is difficult terrain.
What troubles me immensely is the emergence of a consensus on the part of reasonable people to support banning speech by the bad guys. Because I fear the consequences. What Trump caused to happen was awful but we cannot ruin our free society in response. Remember that the French Revolution started with lofty principles and gradually devolved to the point that those who convinced themselves that it was right to behead the royals lost their own heads as ever purer interpretations of ideological consent assumed supremacy.
My role, as I see it, is to raise issues like free speech and start difficult conversations. I do not require anyone to love me in that role. I am a far better Facebook friend to all of you by issuing a warning at this point than by going along with the majority view. So far as is possible, I will remain neutral when the inevitable ideological battles emerge, and I appreciate anyone who can understand that about me.
After all, that's what friends are for.
***
The news:
* The sacking of the Capitol was enabled by a host of factors including catastrophic security failures. But the temporary seizure of a global seat of power was, at its core, an outgrowth of delusional and destructive forces cultivated online and unleashed by President Trump. (WashPo)
* U.S. House Democrats to introduce Trump impeachment article on Monday (Reuters)
* White House Forced Georgia U.S. Attorney to Resign (WSJ)
* Capitol security officials are escalating safety measures for members of Congress at airports after multiple incidents in which lawmakers have been harassed or threatened as they travel to and from Washington, according to notice obtained by Politico. (Twitter)
* More Than A Dozen GOP State Lawmakers Attended Rally That Gave Way To Riots (NPR)
* Pence has not ruled out 25th Amendment, source says (CNN)
* Historian Eric Foner’s wise suggestion- Instead of impeachment, 4 which there is no time,they should invoke section 3 of 14th Amendment, barring from office anyone who took an oath to constitution & subsequently engaged in or encouraged insurrection or rebellion.Majority vote. (Katrina vanden Heuvel / Twitter)
* U.S. governors work to speed up vaccinations, Biden pledges faster distribution (Reuters)
* Twitter warns of new plans for violence, brewing again on social media, as reason for Trump ban (WashPo)
* 'Hang Pence' trends on Twitter after Trump suspended for risk of 'violence' (Fox)
* Illinois Republican congresswoman apologizes for invoking Hitler as she faces calls to resign (CNN)
* U.S. motions expand drug claims against Honduras president (AP)
*
In Central America, tensions rise as soldiers aim to stop migrants
(Reuters)
* Mortality rate for black babies plummets when they’re delivered by black doctors, researchers say (WashPo)
***
Edward (after offering Vivian a condo): "Vivian, what is it you want? What do you see happening between us?"
Vivian: “ I don't know. When I was a little girl, my mama used to lock me in the attic when I was bad, which was pretty often. And I would- I would pretend I was a princess… trapped in a tower by a wicked queen. And then suddenly this knight… on a white horse with these colors flying would come charging up and draw his sword. And I would wave. And he would climb up the tower and rescue me. But never in all the time… that I had this dream did the knight say to me, “Come on, baby, I’ll put you up in a great condo.”
... (later)
Edward: "I want you to understand. I heard everything you said. It's all I am capable of right now. It's a very big step for me."
Vivian: "I know. It's a really good offer for a girl like me."
Edward: “I never treated you like a prostitute.”
Vivian (out of his hearing): “You just did.”
... (later)
Vivian: “I want the fairy tale.”
(from "Pretty Woman")
-30-
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