I’m seeing lots of art about walls these days. I see it when I’m trolling Instagram or Tumblr, or wherever. It makes sense, I guess. It’s topical. Even I’ve written about walls more than once. Especially when I was building a wall in my garage to section off a space for my studio. I felt like I was really a part of things. I felt like I had a finger on the pulse.
But that’s what artists do. They talk about what’s on everyone’s mind. Like walls, in this case.
People are mad about them. People are confused. People don’t know what the right answer is.
I don’t know what the right answer is (sorry to let you down…) but the most wrong answer that I know of is to act out of hatred. Up there on the list is to act out of fear, or jealousy, or ignorance. As long as we can get together and talk reasonably, we can probably figure something out. That’s easier said than done, these days! BUT WHAT DO I KNOW!?
Interestingly, there already is a wall there, or a fence, in most places. The line in the sand that splits off Mexico is not just streams and happy meadows. There is already razor-wire and guns.
……..
Some walls are better than others.
People didn’t like the Berlin wall. Maybe some people did, but I get the sense that most people were happy when it came down. And I hear that Berlin is really the place to be these days!
Most people like the Great Wall of China. It really is a great wall. A fabulous wall. That thing is old, too. And really nice! When you build something properly, it really pays off in the long run!
All politics aside, I have to admit that I get excited when I hear about something ambitious like the Trump Wall. ‘Could it be the architectural masterpiece we’ve been waiting for?’ I wonder. ‘Could it be the next wonder of the world?’
But it’s usually a letdown. I get quickly pulled back down to earth. I remember that we’ve forgotten how to build nice things. For the most part, at least. The Trump wall will probably be a piece of crap. This makes it doubly sad.
Life lesson: Double happiness is better than double sadness.
SO JUST DO THAT! EASY! WHY DON’T WE JUST DO THAT?
Put our walls up. Let our walls down. It’s like the yin and the yang. Go with the flow, suckers!
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