Re-visited Reflections from a
Discombobulated Patriot
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| The United State of McMerica (2010) |
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| Broken English Readymade (2016) |
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| The Untied State of America (2017) |
By Tom Wachunas
“Everybody has their
own America, and then they have pieces of a fantasy America that they think is
out there but they can’t see…So the fantasy corners of America…you’ve pieced
them together from scenes in movies and music and lines from books. And you live
in your dream America that you’ve custom-made from art and schmaltz and
emotions just as much as you live in your real one.”
― Andy Warhol
“It was the best of
times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of
foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it
was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of
hope, it was the winter of despair.” ―
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Ah, Independence Day. Celebration. But
these days, more intensely than ever before, I feel bothered, bewildered,
befuddled by the spiritual malaise that has settled across our land - a viral
cloud of discontent, disagreement, even despair. Discombobulation. My country,
‘tis to thee we bring our proud plethora of time-worn logos, promos, memes, and
mottos. Yet despite the sheer weight of corrupted values and confused, conflicting
voices that threaten to crush us once and for all, we’re still standing.
Terribly wounded and divided, yes; morally destitute, starved for solutions,
hungry for purpose and meaning, yes. Utterly splintered, yes.
But
amazingly, still standing. What could account for this? To whom do we owe our
thanks for continuing to somehow survive our myriad self-made disasters and
depravities? If this isn’t evidence of God’s merciful patience with his
disconnected creation, I don’t know what is. Frankly, I’m mildly surprised we
haven’t yet altered those promising and profound words on our coins and
currency – “In God We Trust” – to read “In
Us We Trust.” Would that be
independence, or simply arrogance?
Still standing. And
here in 2019, I’m still standing by what I shared here back in October of 2017.
You regular readers have seen this art of mine before.
So I repeat what I
wrote then, with this added thought: Nothing changes if nothing changes.
…“Political”
art? That’s too easy and convenient a descriptor. Try ‘spiritual exercises,’ or
‘meditations,’ or even prayers. The
pleas, the please, of a hurt heart. An S.O.S. – Save Our Soul. …One nation,
under God?
The American flag, abstracted on grocery
bags. Grocery bags – containers of consumables, sustenance, nutrients,
sanitation necessities. Grocery bags – containers for disposables, things
unwanted, trash. White stripes scratched with letters. Detached syllables.
Words and phrases once familiar, now fragmented, foreign, fraught.
What do we stand for, and when? In whose
presence? Untied, we kneel. The American Scream. Forgive us, Father, for we
know not what we do.
Not yet, anyway.
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