political end times -- personal detox

Listening carefully to the speeches of the nineteen eighties it was possible to picture an evolving planet where once downtrodden peoples would create glorious new prosperities, from oxen to BMW’s in a generation, but they didn’t mention the rest of it -- that the international dollar, seeking its own level, would go up in poor countries but down you know where. Well, they were right, it’s been happening with consequences. 

This feeling of being economically abandoned is all around but no one’s sure who to blame, so a lot of national politics simply expresses resentment and frustration. We have toxic conversations and retreat into tribalism, everyone seems to notice. There are currents in public life seeking solutions and a stratospheric class, insulated by immense wealth, who could stand to see it get a little worse -- an unremarkable attitude among ruling classes, history shows. Not complaining, just making an observation.

The democratic solution would be to unhoard the wealth, but there’s bound to be resistance. I’ll suggest art in the meantime. Each work of art in your house is one person’s unique expression, and pretty soon you’ll become friends. After a day of inching to work and back, being upbeat with the boss, being talked down to on the news, a little personal affirmation feels pretty good, and having an original painting in the living room can act as a slow release comfort and confidence restorer. This effect has never been scientifically tested, but anecdotal evidence is high.

Sorry if that sounds all mystical. It’s not the discussion usually applied to art in national magazines, in the local press, at all. It is, however, a fairly common notion among people who own original art, although they may not think of it in those terms. The real test would be, are these people more thoughtful and humane, more open-minded and yet more discerning than they would have been without owning and living with art, and the answer is yes, almost all of them would say so. Could art change your world? Perhaps not in the strictest sense, but will it have more depth, more detail, and will it seem ‘more real’ -- uh huh.