Thursday, September 27, 2007

The state of the world today...


For the last couple of days, I have woken up to the sun shining through my window, the warm air, and a good mood. This morning I woke up to a cloudy sky and a feeling of just staying in bed all day... and then I got up to see what's going on in the world. Hopped on Democracy Now, and got even more depressed...

Some people say they don't watch the news or read the newspaper because it is just too depressing. And then I think, well, do people not want to face reality-that there is a lot of fucked up shit going on in the world. I mean, would they rather know what's going on with Britney Spears, rather than what is going on in Darfur or in Iraq? Okay, how about not take it that far, but instead, would people rather know what's going on with Brad and Angelina, than know what's going on in their own neighborhoods- the schools that are losing funding for afterschool programs, the organization that is raising money for Hurricane Felix victims in Nicaragua, or the 90-year-old man who throughout his lifetime has been fighting for veterans rights, but will eventually pass before ever seeing his cause win.

I guess, for the majority, the answer is yes. People generally don't want to be brought down with the news. They got things going on in their lives- careers, families, entertainment news, life... I mean I get that feeling too sometimes.. just right now after watching the news I got that feeling again, that "what do we do now?" feeling. That feeling of overwhelment and anger of the state of the world today. That feeling of helplessness when hearing and seeing the monks in Burma who are dying and getting beaten because of their SILENT and NON-VIOLENT protests. The feeling of, "man when is this going to end," when I hear about the number of civilians that have died because of the ongoing conflict on the Gaza strip between the Palestinians and Isrealis. I don't even have to hear about news in Iraq, because just with that one word-Iraq- comes feelings of anger and sadness. And then I get that feeling of DISGUST, when I continuously hear about President Bush's ridicuolous remarks and his euphamisms to make the war seem like we're "liberating" Iraq. And then after hearing other country leaders speak about a "man" who is a money hungry dictator who uses corporations to profit off of people's suffering and is the world's number one human rights violator.... one cannot help but feel helpless.... and then that question surfaces again: What do we do now?

At this point in time, we are surrouonded by so many outlets to news, through the internet especially, and we are all more connected globally as well, yet, why does it seem like either things are stagnant, or getting worse? And why does it seem like people aren't doing much to change it...



Yesterday, I went to a free Photoshelter 2.0 workshop, and listened to Michael Zagaris, a photojournalist, as he spoke about growing up in the 60's, and taking photos of rock and roll bands in the 70's,80's, and 90's. His stories were inpspiring as well as entertaining, as he shared descriptions of bands he met, drugs he did, and his philosophy about life and society. After his speech, i coversated with him about history, revolution, social problems, etc...I asked him, "you mentioned that the social climate in the 60's is almost the same, if not worse, then the social climate today. There's a lot going on with the war and everything else. But it seems as if the youth were more involved then, then they are now. Why do you think that and what would be your advice to the youth today?" We went from tangent to tangent, but basically he put it this way, as an individual contribute as much as you can with the people around you. Share yourself, your art, your help to people you know, you don't know, your community. Put it out there....

It was quite interesting how what we talked about conincidently co-insided with issues that I'm reading in Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. It's an insane book! So good...Here's a short film about the book that inspired Evs, Sato, and I to start a "book club." Cause as Aristel, a good of friend of mine says, "Reading is selfish." Meaning, share, share share! Not just books, but thoughts too! The world works like that sometimes...coincidences and parallels. I love it...

short_film.jpg


A Film by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein, directed by Jonás Cuarón.




Aristel also said something else I wanted to quote. He told me, "Don't be a theif. There are two ways to be a thief: to steal or to with hold."

Share...communicate, express....reveal...

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