Van Morrison's newest album, WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE, has amazing lyrics, great instrumentals, and, of course, his legendary voice. The problem is that the WOKE are so filled with hate that they will not listen to it or buy it. We live in such a polarized world that Michaelangelo or daVinci could be alive and creating masterpieces and yet, if their political views were known, half of the people in our propagandized and poisoned world would ignore it.
America once had a vibrant and creative culture. The movies were better in the forties and the music was best in the fifties and sixties. Our minds have been poisoned even if we haven't taken the clot shots.
How do we even define American culture? NPR said that the song Wet-Ass Pussy was the best song of 2020 (that's our tax dollars at work, by the way). Worldwide, we see examples of art, literature, and architecture that can no longer be reproduced. Let's face it: America is a whale stranded on a beach. It was a great experiment, but it is over.
And just a thought............need it be called "conservative" art? I just think that puts on a label that is not really necessary and it becomes charged with what can be easily be labeled as negative associations. Words are important and they are being cannibalized these days. How about just great art and leave it at that?
I think part of the problem is not just that conservatives aren't creating art, it's that conservatives are trained so badly to read art. So many books are boiled down to one or two problematic elements (sexual content, swear words, etc), and the conservative messages that you and the analysts you quote in this piece are lost. Not that we shouldn't be aware of the dangers of the foul mouthed protagonist, the gay best friend, or the lewd content - but we can miss the messages of community, maturity, developing a desire for marriage and family, etc if we are trained only to seek the problems. Similarly, we can miss the deadly nihilism present in existentialism found in seemingly family friendly movies like Finding Nemo, where the most emotional moment of the movie is a fish literally taking a leap of faith, instead of any kind of reality based meaning or belief. But Finding Nemo also has many positives - but we need to train our communities from childhood onwards to think about the art they're reading, and not just consume or avoid it.
Jenna, great essay! You are right. Andrew Fletcher said, “LET ME MAKE THE SONGS OF A NATION, AND I CARE NOT WHO MAKES ITS LAWS.”
There is an ever-increasing number of artists creating great content now. Tom McDonald, for one. He writes and produces all of his songs. He would not have been my choice in music (rap), but he has a positive message, and I have grown to appreciate his music and root for him. “The Chosen” is a worldwide phenomenon completely crowdsourced, and NO Hollywood is involved. So, yes, you and Andrew Fletcher are on the same page, and America is gradually turning those pages. Wonderful piece.
"And say you have a work of art or a piece of culture — getting Tucker [Carlson] to talk about it is not the goal. The goal is to get Stephen Colbert to talk about it, get the other side to talk it, because that's how you get the culture back." And going back to W. Percy for a moment, this was essentially his approach. He did not preach, he entered "through the back door." He got people's defenses down by creating heroes who were alcoholics suffering from satyriasis, and then once the camel's nose was under the tent, he was able to lay out his whole world view through self-deprecating humor, but never self-righteousness. (And as a side note, in his wonderful "Love in the Ruins," written circa 1972, he essentially predicted the profoundly troubled society we live in today.)
Great essay. Gives me some VERY deep thoughts to think. It is obvious what is being done wrong, immoral, illegal and easy to point it out. We need to go past that.
Bless your heart. That was just great to read. And I don't fall into any political camp. I disassociated my self from any political party. It was my first step in reclaiming something that I felt was being lost or at least twisted. I was so happy to read this. I agree. Make great art. See how it may impact the public discourse. We'll all be better for it. Thanks again.
Very happy to see your latest post. This is a deep subject. I must confess, I have read your post a number of times thinking how I might contribute to the conversation. I agree, conservatives should ignore the “woke” as much as possible and create their own “art” in any medium they may have talent. Having “actual talent” is important. Having the courage to exert that talent, in an ever judgmental world, is just as important.
My background is in the graphic arts, working closely with artist and designers. Some were good. Some were excellent. Courage made the difference. Since this is mainly a writing forum this quote may encourage someone reading your essay to take action:
“I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
— Ernest Hemingway
If their strength lies elsewhere — your closing statement “Do not wait for permission. Go and do it.” is powerful advice.
“The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.”
Van Morrison's newest album, WHAT'S IT GONNA TAKE, has amazing lyrics, great instrumentals, and, of course, his legendary voice. The problem is that the WOKE are so filled with hate that they will not listen to it or buy it. We live in such a polarized world that Michaelangelo or daVinci could be alive and creating masterpieces and yet, if their political views were known, half of the people in our propagandized and poisoned world would ignore it.
America once had a vibrant and creative culture. The movies were better in the forties and the music was best in the fifties and sixties. Our minds have been poisoned even if we haven't taken the clot shots.
How do we even define American culture? NPR said that the song Wet-Ass Pussy was the best song of 2020 (that's our tax dollars at work, by the way). Worldwide, we see examples of art, literature, and architecture that can no longer be reproduced. Let's face it: America is a whale stranded on a beach. It was a great experiment, but it is over.
And just a thought............need it be called "conservative" art? I just think that puts on a label that is not really necessary and it becomes charged with what can be easily be labeled as negative associations. Words are important and they are being cannibalized these days. How about just great art and leave it at that?
I think part of the problem is not just that conservatives aren't creating art, it's that conservatives are trained so badly to read art. So many books are boiled down to one or two problematic elements (sexual content, swear words, etc), and the conservative messages that you and the analysts you quote in this piece are lost. Not that we shouldn't be aware of the dangers of the foul mouthed protagonist, the gay best friend, or the lewd content - but we can miss the messages of community, maturity, developing a desire for marriage and family, etc if we are trained only to seek the problems. Similarly, we can miss the deadly nihilism present in existentialism found in seemingly family friendly movies like Finding Nemo, where the most emotional moment of the movie is a fish literally taking a leap of faith, instead of any kind of reality based meaning or belief. But Finding Nemo also has many positives - but we need to train our communities from childhood onwards to think about the art they're reading, and not just consume or avoid it.
Jenna, great essay! You are right. Andrew Fletcher said, “LET ME MAKE THE SONGS OF A NATION, AND I CARE NOT WHO MAKES ITS LAWS.”
There is an ever-increasing number of artists creating great content now. Tom McDonald, for one. He writes and produces all of his songs. He would not have been my choice in music (rap), but he has a positive message, and I have grown to appreciate his music and root for him. “The Chosen” is a worldwide phenomenon completely crowdsourced, and NO Hollywood is involved. So, yes, you and Andrew Fletcher are on the same page, and America is gradually turning those pages. Wonderful piece.
or this https://martinmugar.blogspot.com/2022/02/authority-and-freedom-by-jed-perl.html
https://martinmugar.substack.com/p/guston-at-mfa-boston Funny I should be addressing these issues in this blogpost.
"And say you have a work of art or a piece of culture — getting Tucker [Carlson] to talk about it is not the goal. The goal is to get Stephen Colbert to talk about it, get the other side to talk it, because that's how you get the culture back." And going back to W. Percy for a moment, this was essentially his approach. He did not preach, he entered "through the back door." He got people's defenses down by creating heroes who were alcoholics suffering from satyriasis, and then once the camel's nose was under the tent, he was able to lay out his whole world view through self-deprecating humor, but never self-righteousness. (And as a side note, in his wonderful "Love in the Ruins," written circa 1972, he essentially predicted the profoundly troubled society we live in today.)
Great essay. Gives me some VERY deep thoughts to think. It is obvious what is being done wrong, immoral, illegal and easy to point it out. We need to go past that.
Bless your heart. That was just great to read. And I don't fall into any political camp. I disassociated my self from any political party. It was my first step in reclaiming something that I felt was being lost or at least twisted. I was so happy to read this. I agree. Make great art. See how it may impact the public discourse. We'll all be better for it. Thanks again.
Jenna,
Very happy to see your latest post. This is a deep subject. I must confess, I have read your post a number of times thinking how I might contribute to the conversation. I agree, conservatives should ignore the “woke” as much as possible and create their own “art” in any medium they may have talent. Having “actual talent” is important. Having the courage to exert that talent, in an ever judgmental world, is just as important.
My background is in the graphic arts, working closely with artist and designers. Some were good. Some were excellent. Courage made the difference. Since this is mainly a writing forum this quote may encourage someone reading your essay to take action:
“I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.”
— Ernest Hemingway
If their strength lies elsewhere — your closing statement “Do not wait for permission. Go and do it.” is powerful advice.
“The truth is like a lion; you don’t have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself.”
— Saint Augustine
Keep writing