as is known, I spend a great deal of time wondering about
the ''Human condition'' and what does it mean to be human....
and part of this exploration lies within both ART and philosophy.....
ART we can defined as literature, paintings, plays, statues, music
to name a few of the ARTS that we engage with... and we must
ask ourselves, what is the point, the goal of ART?
We know that ART can educate us, and entertain us,
and titillate us, frighten us, and elevate us....and so much more....
the entire tapestry of existence can be portrayed in the ARTS...
and much of the ARTS is about the overcoming the daily tides
and woes of human existence... think of all the ARTS that portray
the family... of husband and wife... and the various aspects of
existence that can come from being married... the trials and tribulations
of being married... can one make some ART from a perfect marriage
that has no conflicts? I can't think of any aspect of ART that can come
from a perfect marriage that has no conflict... and that is a strong
part of the ARTS, that of the conflicts that arise in human existence...
think of the number of conflicts that can arise between just two people,
he falls out of love, she loves another, he gets cancer, they are childless,
they have money woes, he can't keep a job, she is an alcoholic,
he is a drug addict, they lost a child at some point and they blame
each other for the loss of their child, there are dozens more
scenarios that we can create between just two people...
and part of the questions between these two, is how do they overcome
their conflicts? and perhaps, just as likely, they can't overcome their
conflict and what becomes of these two?
ART can create situations that philosophy cannot even begin to understand...
how do parents overcome their child being a mass murderer in school
and was killed in doing so.... this isn't a fake scenario.......
this is real life in modern day America... how do the parents of
say, Timothy McVeigh live with themselves? How do the parents of
Dyland Klebold spends their days?
Or are the parents just another set of victims? Only ART can explore
this situation.... Who knows because ART has escaped its responsibilities
of being the voice of life... there are topics that even ART won't examine,
and that is both ART and our fault... but Kropotkin, what value does
the examination of such topics, what can ART even say about such events
as mass murder.... and part of the reason why ART won't engage in
such common events is the media only have profits on their minds,
where are the profits in exploring such topics?
yes, by all means let us continue to have rom-coms and stupid
sit-coms that solve their problems in 22 minutes....
ART at one point in time, actually reflected on these tough issues....
let us take ''Les Misérables''.... a man is pursued by a policeman
for 20 plus years for stealing some bread to feed his family....
this is a, as Hugo points out, a great injustice.. but a crime is
still a crime, regardless of who does it and what its purpose was...
and who does this today? who takes on the issues of justice and
what it means to be just? the conflict between feeding one's family,
which is an act of justice and stealing from another which is a violation
of justice... but why does one act become greater than another act?
is feeding a family less important than having some bread stolen?
and where is philosophy in all of this? Arguing about how many angels
can stand on a pin needle!!!!!
In the end, it becomes a question of priorities.. and what is and what ought
to be our priorities? and suddenly, philosophy becomes relevant again....
is private property so sacred that we put people into jail/prison, to defend
the rights of private property? and is that right? and what does, or what
should ART say about this? or is ART again, going to be silent about a
fundamental act in our existence... the sacred right to property...
which has become more fundamental than the right to ''life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness"... is private property more important
than people's lives? and who decides, ART, philosophy, the law and why
that belief and not another?
Kropotkin