We’re Living In Strange Times
As I write this, I realize I picked a good time three years ago to retire from my federal government job. I have the good fortune of a secure retirement income, a loving family, and good personal health and fitness. I am thankful that none in my immediate family have fallen victim to That Which Shall Not Be Named. However, my in-laws have indeed lost several family members. My home town is the current epicenter of the greatest pandemic since the Spanish flu of 1918. Our health care system is stretched to the breaking point, and even more lives would have been lost if not for the stalwart efforts of heroic medical professionals at every level. We are asked to put our lives on hold, avoid personal contact outside our homes, and limit our excursions to the bare necessities. Those of us who cannot work at home leave the house every day in fear of catching a deadly disease, or bringing one home to their families. Sadly, millions more have been forced into the unemployment lines as businesses and services shut down, some never to return. Despair is everywhere, and while there is at least some light at the end of the tunnel, no one trusts our lives to return to “normal” any time soon, if at all.
So what is a creative to do? Not create? If we are fortunate enough to have avenues such as open parks and woodlands to take respite from the trials and tribulations thrust so rudely upon us, should we feel guilty? If we are even more fortunate to be able to bring some light to others’s lives by our endeavors in writing, visual arts, or performance, why should we not? The most lasting monuments to man’s ability to recover from its darkest times were created by artists. Shakespeare wrote his greatest works during the Black Plague. The Roosevelt Administration’s creation of the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression enabled thousands of artists and artisans to inspire the American people with hope in their art, music, and plays.
But now, we’re in a depression (maybe) and pandemic simultaneously, the latter being the main cause of the former. If anything, I feel it as important as ever that creatives make every effort within societal rules to keep creating, and to find new avenues to bring the light of art to an increasingly isolated populace. Many people complain about the Internet increasingly dominating our lives, but I cannot imagine how much worse life would be without the ability to interact with each other, to do our jobs, to present and exchange ideas, online like we can today. I will do what I can to get out and shoot where it is safe and appropriate to do so, and to share my images via social media to anyone who’s interested.
Thanks, and stay safe out there.
