High Desert Sunset
The sixth painting in my Coronavirus series. In the face of protests, illness, isolation, political devisions and withdrawing from world organizations, walks though natural settings calm me. I marvel at the way it changes with the seasons and appears different as daylight turns to dusk. The atmosphere is contemplative and peaceful away from news. Meandering the hills of Oregon’s High Desert is purifying , returning me to center. I come home refreshed and ready to step into the rhythm of my daily routine. (Sorry, but the painting is spoken for)
OPINIONS-MINE MATTERS TOO
On July 7th, Harper’s Magazine posted communication online titled— A Letter on Justice and Open Debate. It will appear in print in the letters section of the magazine’s October issue. The letter is a wake-up call to people who are quick to judge, act and react without debate. Though the writer’s concerns had been bubbling in conversation for some time, the letter was sent in the midst of unrest caused by the killing of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks and the unease of sequestering, job loss, illness, and uncertainty.
It acknowledges the importance of ongoing protests calling for social justice and racial equality but segues to the growing intolerance for disparate views. The authors are especially critical of liberals unwilling to hear any voice but their own. Though they mention the call for police reform and “greater equity and inclusion,” they argue that the way we are proceeding bans opposition and weakens the norms for “open debate and toleration of differences in favor of ideological conformity.”
They remind us that the free exchange of information and ideas is the lifeblood of a liberal society and that censorship that used to be assigned to the radical right comes more frequently from the left as well. Liberals, they say, are blind sighted by their ideas of what is morally right and give “swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions.” They use moral certainty to shame and ostracize questioning people who want to take a deeper look at issues. There is mention of recent dissidents fired for expressing opinions contrary to current public sentiment, for publishing controversial articles, and for circulating peer reviewed research with outcomes that don’t support popular beliefs. Teachers have been let go for quoting literature that might make students think critically and broadly about a subject.
The writers conclude that we are creating a stifling, intolerant atmosphere, one in which democracy will suffer. Intellectuals need room to experiment, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of reprisal. The letter is signed by 153 well known scholars, journalists, and artists including such luminaries as Norm Chomsky, David Brooks, Salman Rushdie, Gloria Steinem, and J.K. Rowling.
Adding to the debate over intolerance and freedom of speech is the criticism directed at Facebook, Twitter, Tik Tok, and other social media platforms. It is difficult to decide if Edward Snowdon is a hero or traitor for stepping forward. Complaints abound from right and left leaning voices, politicians, social clubs, welfare, organizations, and religious groups. They come at a time when hate speech is rampant at campaign rallies and conspiracy theories abound turning men like Bill Gates into a pariah by linking him to the onset of Covid-19. Malicious rumors spread like lightning through the internet leaving people angry, afraid, confused and harmed. Scientists are distrusted while the anti vaccine and flat earth movements grow.
We watch while residents in countries like Hong Kong lose their rights, making many of us wonder if we will be next. Our right to privacy is all but gone. I can’t think of a more important and timely discussion to have than one centered on open-mindedness and the limits to be placed free expression.
To deepen this discourse, I copied excerpts from an article about the letter to Harper’s that was written by Jennifer Schuessler and Elizabeth Harris for The New York Times on July 7, 2020.
“The debate over diversity, free expression and the limits of acceptable opinion is a long-burning one. But the letter, which was spearheaded by the writer Thomas Chatterton Williams, began taking shape about a month ago, as part of a long-running conversation about these issues with a small group of writers including the historian David Greenberg, the writer Mark Lilla and the journalists Robert Worth and George Packer. . .
“He said there wasn’t one particular incident that provoked the letter. But he did cite several recent ones, including the resignation of more than half the board of the National Book Critics Circle over its statement supporting Black Lives Matter, a similar blowup at the Poetry Foundation, and the case of David Shor, a data analyst at a consulting firm who was fired after he tweeted about academic research linking looting and vandalism by protesters to Richard Nixon’s 1968 electoral victory. . . (Do click on these links. They are illuminating.)
“Such incidents, Mr. Williams said, both fueled and echoed what he called the far greater and more dangerous “illiberalism” of President Trump.
“Donald Trump is the Canceler in Chief,” he said. “But the correction of Trump’s abuses cannot become an overcorrection that stifles the principles we believe in.”
“What concerns me is a sense that a lot of people out there seem to think open argument over everything is an unhealthy thing,” he said. “I’ve spent my whole life having vigorous arguments with people I disagree with, and don’t want to think we are moving out of this world.”
I too am concerned about the issues raised above, and experienced them first hand on July 4th. As we do every year, we flew the Betsy Ross flag to commemorate the country’s independence from England but this was the first time we had people stop at our house and ask us to take it down. The recent protests had made them aware that there was slavery in the thirteen original colonies and that we took land from Native Americans, but rather than accept our history and decry that part of it, they wanted to wipe the slate clean as though it never happened. As they watch fireworks they forget the struggle for freedom from a foreign power, that thirteen colonies united as states under a constitution, and that Betsy Ross’s flag flew over the new nation. What they did not perfect, but the country they formed were an improvement over monarchy.
It is important to know history and to understand it within the context of the period about which it was written. It allows for reasonable discussions that can help us decide what changes we want to make and the best way to do so. There is an advantage to listening to scientists, historians, thinkers and dreamers for they help us grow and get better. They lead the way for America to become great.
You can read the letter in its entirety: Titled “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” and signed by 153 prominent artists
Check out the article from The New York Times and other papers by Googling:
“Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction Is Swift.”
If you have not done so before, do respond to this article below. Your opinion matters for it can change the way people think.
