art trumps fear

Just as art and the media experienced a shift that we can still see after the events of 9/11, I believe there will be (and already has been) a “post-Trump” aesthetic happening in our culture. Like scar tissue that will always indicate where there was once trauma. There’s a new flavor in the way that we are reflecting the world back to itself that generations before us will mark as a new era. There’s fear mixed in this, a new but related brand of fear than that experienced after 9/11. People are wondering if it’s safe to make their art here. Muslims, Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, the press, national parks, NASA…all of these groups have already been suppressed, and we are only one week into a new presidency. Things are getting scarier and scarier for a lot of people.

Many people fear that they will lose their freedoms. It is distinctly un-American and unconstitutional for anyone to feel pressured out of this land of the free because of their race, color, or creed. Anyone using their power to suppress and oppress people in this way is not living by the American code, and we must fight against it rather than flee from it. We must have an unflinching faith in our own value as human beings as we stare boldly and defiantly into the eyes of those who would have us believe otherwise.

I strongly plead everyone feeling fear and resistance to make even more of your art than you ever have before. Your voice is needed more than ever. Don’t let yourself get bullied into a corner.

Are you Muslim? Show the world what it’s like to be a Muslim artist in a post-Trump America. Your unique voice is part of what makes our country an intricate tapestry. It’s beautiful because of the variety of threads, and to omit our contribution to that tapestry is a step in allowing others to unravel it. Don’t be silent.

Are you Native American? Remember that the English were refugees here before they took this country from you and don’t let your rights be trampled on, knowing that the good people of the world stand in solidarity with you.

Are you a woman? Well, you know what to do. Keep doing it.

Whatever it is that you have been put on this earth to do, keep doing it tenfold. Do it with all your heart. Every word you write and beautiful thing you make is a candle lit to obliterate the darkness. If someone tries to snuff out your candle, light two more. Light candles until the naysayers run out of breath trying to blow them out.

Stay gold and keep on keeping on.