Not Quite the End of the World

MissileReturnsHome, originally uploaded by carolsLittleWorld.

It’s not quite the end of the world. What I mean by that is, well, if you look at Facebook Twitter, or heck even just the regular ole’ Internet these days, you can spot all of these posts that go something like this, “Vote for XXX or the world is going to end!” This political season, things are especially heated. Everybody seems to feel, for whatever reason, that we are perched upon some kind of “cliff” or that women are going to cease to exist after election day or that we’re all going to collectively burn in some kind of “fiscal Hell” if candidate so-and-so does not win the election.

*Sigh*

OK, maybe my entire purpose in life is to tell everybody to CALM DOWN. Come on, everybody, you know you can do it. “In through the nose, out through the mouth,” as they say. Relax. It’s going to be just fine. You survived Reagan, and Clinton, Bush number one and Bush number two…the world is not going to end, take a cup a tea and chill already.

For those of you thinking that this is not art-related, actually, it is (in a way.) Politics does not define you. In fact, thanks to a new more global economy, you can define your own little world. It used to be the case that arts were more relegated to those wealthy people or those who could write grants quite well. Those days are over. Like it or not, nowadays, artists are basically small business owners. Thanks to technology, we as people can define who we are and what we do. If you don’t like your situation, don’t blame Washington, get out and fix it. Take some initiative. Do something for yourself. Fix your own politics and the rest of the world will align with you. You don’t need an election, a “fiscal cliff,” a “woman’s issue” or whatever to do what it is you want to do. Don’t wait for the politicians, get off your duff and make your own life happen.

The reality of the situation is that, no matter who gets elected, the sun will rise on November 7th. The sun will rise, the birds with chirp, the world will go on and, if you were smart, you too would go on….go on about the business of making art. Sure, art doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and, yes, we all have some kind of “skin in the game” politically but, don’t let the election define or, heck, even distract you. No matter how hard they try to spin it, the world doesn’t revolve around Washington DC. We make our own opportunities. You can opt to see that as a blessing or a curse. You are the person you make yourself out to be, nothing more, nothing less. To put it another way, are you really sitting there waiting for some politician to define you? I doubt it. And, if you are, why, should you really let that happen? Come on, man, aren’t you better than that?

Maybe this is the ultimate Libertarian way of thinking but, the government doesn’t own me. The government doesn’t make me who I am. The government doesn’t define me. At the end of the day, Washington is off, well, in Washington and I’ll still be here, little ole’ me, making the art I want to make, doing the things I want to do. I don’t need a politician to tell me that. I don’t need a government. Heck, all they really do is bobble their heads on my TV set and try to tell me that, unless I vote for them, the world is going to explode. They simply don’t have much influence in my world. Maybe it sounds like I have a big “artists” ego but, I’m bigger than that. Yes, I pay my taxes and, yes, they provide some kind of police and fire protection (I thank them for that, by the way) but the reality of the situation is that Washington and government in general does little else for me. They simply aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things or, to put it bluntly, as the old expression goes, “I’ve got bigger fish to fry!” I’m busy living my life and don’t really care what the politicos have to do about it.

Frankly, I don’t really care who gets in on election day. The world will go on, my artwork will continue, and I will strive to make the best work I possibly can. The government doesn’t do that. The government doesn’t do any of that. Yes, they take my taxes and, yes, they hopefully keep me safe (and out of war) but, apart from that, they don’t make the sun shine, the birds chirp or the paint on my canvas dry any faster. Washington is filled with a bunch of bobble heads who talk on my TV set about all kinds of things, most of which have little to no impact in my world. That’s the hard, cold truth. Time to face facts, this election, any election, doesn’t mean very much now, does it?

Sure, it’s great to be civic-minded and, yes, I do feel it’s everybody’s responsibility to go out and vote (your vote is your voice) but, really, can’t we all bit a little bit less hot headed about it all? The world isn’t going to end after the election, really it’s not. No matter who wins, the world will go on, really it will. Can’t we all just keep calm, let the politicians be politicians, just go vote and be done with it already? Frankly, I’m quite sure, if the situation were reversed, these politicians wouldn’t give a damn about you so why are you getting so worked up about them already? Relax, folks. It’s just an election. Yes, there will be winner and loser but, at the end of the day, a politician is going to come out ahead. A politician. You know those folks, right? Those are the empty suits who bobble on all over my TV set. They really don’t do all that much no, do they? So, why get so worked up about it?

The mountain is still a mountain, the river is still a river or, to put it another way, life will go on after election day, just you wait and see.

Until next time…