Political Issue, part 2
all images, copyright Kevin SproulsSo, here we are, heading into the dying days of the Bush administration. I wonder if the exiting bureaucrats will be removing the "O" keys from government keyboards. (You have to be a bit of a political junkie, like me, to remember that ploy of Transition 2001.) I'm just glad to see the last of these bunglers. Some competence, please!
Charging Elephant, ca. 1997, previously unpublished
This big fellow may seemingly represent a Republican Party coming on strong, but I must point out the downward trunk aspect, indicating that the brute is running away.We have to remember our roots, people. Those great presidents were raised up by us, and for us, for a fateful purpose.
I have heard various stories over the years, about our first president. It seems that a Divine Providence was hanging over him. There are many accounts of near-miraculous victories and lucky escapes. They say also that the man could dance!
This princely, gaunt crusader, too, is worthily admired. Abe would regularly engage with all comers at the white house, at least early on. I understand that, eventually, a special corridor was constructed for him in the presidential manor so that he could pass without being detected by those lobbying for assistance, or lodging grievances. His assassin was on the lawn a week or two before killing Lincoln to hear the Great Man propose granting voting rights to the black man from a balcony of the white house. Apparently, that speech sealed his fate.So, although we've had to wait quite a long time, a kind of karmic justice is playing out. We've got another charismatic, ethical, deeply intelligent man of Law taking up residence in the nation's historic domicile. My feeling is that race is completely irrelevant in the purpose of this country. We, above all people, ought to know that each man/woman, regardless of race (and certainly of class), is a divine reflection, and equally entitled to the protections and benefits of our democracy.
from an exhibition for Columbus Day, 2005, mounted in Grand Central Terminal, New York
Although the tribulations of this country and world over the last several years has sometimes left me despairing, the lives and acts of our authentic patriots have always inspired me to believe that this nation was meant to go on for more than just a couple of fleeting centuries--- their sacrifices surely must signify a deeper, more persistent historical role for us.
Let's, then, Celebrate this January 20th, the Inauguration of another Great Statesman! I would not expect an egg to be expertly hurled at the presidential limousine this time around, or to see the motorcade in cowardly flight from an enraged populace. Let's also look forward to helping the new president heal this nation's woes, as well as the global tumult we are going through.
Go Forward, Barack. May Fortune Smile upon You...
