Are we teetering into madness?
Has the television warped our better senses to such a degree that some among us are falling into an alternative reality based on what we’ve been watching?
In an age where complex, technologically driven systems are driving our economies, are we witnessing the division of society between those flexible enough for adaptability and those unable to shift paradigms?
We appear to be gyrating through a convulsion wrought out of a full-on societal, cultural shift that is happening so fast that a large part of our population is failing to negotiate the hard turn.
When the fear of an uncertain future threatens traditions, customs, and the ways of life of the people feeling most affected by their perception of being displaced, might they begin to wage war to push back upon those who are seen as the agents of change?
The solutions found in the compromises that end cultural conflicts are usually that the aggressor will be contained and marginalized, as in time, they must cede control from the push of modernity and change. So, what is the role of a populace to assuage the fears of those becoming irrelevant in order to avoid the transgressions of war?
The voices that appear and take a stance against those trying to exercise outdated power have traditionally been silenced through means of violence. How in an age of mass media dispersed as it is, does the activist find a voice or platform that will ask that faction of humanity stuck in outmoded traditions and beliefs to understand the need to step down for the sake of our planet and future generations when they believe they are protecting an ideal?
Art has been used to seduce and provoke. It works to educate and cast light onto issues. Art in its varied forms entertains us, tells us stories, shows us the world around us, makes us dance, and informs us through the skillful verbal eloquence crafted by a masterful articulation brought by our varied languages. Art is at the core of the human experience. Ask any mathematician about the art of numbers or a physicist about the art of the universe. Inquire of a geologist if there is an art to be found in the composition of our Earth. If art plays such a central but often invisible role in many of the facets of our daily lives, how do we negotiate and offer the message of change as a necessity that appeals to the consciousness of that person stuck in an age that is quickly passing?