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Monday, January 22, 2024

HISTORIC AMNESIA


Nancy Barra, "Ancient Wisdom" Pastel over Watercolor on paper, 16" X 12", from:Nancy BarraContemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo 


    She thought that sometimes, in order to prove or accommodate our beliefs we force ourselves to forget or ignore historical events that may contradict our ideas and opinions. It is a kind of selective memory or simply unconscious amnesia and in some cases a very conscious amnesia.

Let's see some examples:



Martin Luther King Jnr, Washington DC - 1963. CREDIT: Photo: Rex

    Doctor Martin Luther King was a key African-American leader of the civil rights movement in the United States during the 50´s and 60´s. He fought to eliminate racial discrimination and achieve equity in social institutions. His exemplary life was dedicated to create a society where people"will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character"


https://www.6sqft.com/historic-photos-document-martin-luther-king-jr-s-connection-to-nyc/


  Dr. Martin Luther King´s precious life ended with his senseless and brutal assassination in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. However,  his legacy continued with the creation of the Civil Rights Law of 1964, "which ended segregation in all public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin." 



Copyright ©2018 (April), The Atlantic by Alan Taylor, original caption: "A huge portrait of slain civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is held up by marchers during his funeral procession on April 9, 1968. More than 50,000 blacks and whites mingled in the tribute to the advocate of racial progress through nonviolence who was killed by a sniper's bullet."

    Notwithstanding, some young people from the new generation of digital millennials seem to forget or ignore one of the most important social struggles in the history of the United States and one of the most significant accomplishments of federal legislation derived from Dr. Martin Luther King's struggle and contributions. 

Copyright © 1996 Tetsuya Ishida, "Cell Phone Robot and Laptop Boy"Acrylic on board 40 3/5 × 57 3/10 in | 103.1 × 145.5 cm


    Undoubtedly, there is still so much to do in order to improve social justice and equality in the United States, however, social movements such as, for example "Black Lives Matter," do not even mention Doctor Martin Luther King in their proclamation and seem to ignore the struggle of thousands of black and white people, fighting together for a more equitable society. That part of history is not mentioned. Simply, it was decided that it should be forgotten, erased and replaced by more divisions along racial lines.


Copyright © 1995 Nancy Barra, "Interruption",oil on canvas 28"x22"from:Nancy Barra Contemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo

    And, she sadly reflected: "we know that social divisions do not benefit "we the people", but the power establishment."


Copyright ©1965 , MPI/Stringer/Getty Images. Demonstrators rally in support of jailed civil rights leader Wally Nelson. Location unspecified. Circa 1965.


    She thought of another example of social amnesia in the international arena: the pervasive "Russophobia," promoted today by many western leaders that prevents them to objectively assess the historical contribution of Russia during World War II.  Russia lost about 27 millions of its people in WWII trying to stop the advance of the Nazi troops in Europe. 


Copyright © History Skills, "The horrifying brutality of Stalingrad: The battle that broke Hitler's Wehrmacht."

    Without diminishing the loss of many lives and the bravery of the other European and American allied forces, the fact is that none of their armies lost so many people fighting the Nazis -including soldiers, women and children- than the Russians. 

    What would have happened if the Russians would have been unable to stop the Nazis in Stalingrad in mid November 1942 and lost the battle of Kursk against the Nazis in 1943?



Copyright © 2019 (July5) Moscow Times. On July 5, 1943, the largest tank battle in history began near the southern city of Kursk.

    Europe and the United States seem so easily to forget and ignore the crucial contribution of the Russian  people to the victory of the allied forces against the Nazis in WWII.

    In spite that Russia has diplomatically tried, after World War II, to become part of the European community and to be a close friend of the USA, they have always felt the disdain of the rest of allies towards them. This is another example of the historical amnesia that leads world leaders to forget facts and replace the truth with conveniently skewed narratives. This type of historical amnesia contributes to create divisions and animosity.



Copyright © 2022 (September) National WWII Museum/New Orleans. "Unsung Witnesses of the Battle of Stalingrad." (As many as half a million civilians remained in Stalingrad when the Germans approached in the late summer of 1942. Those who survived the initial onslaught and did not manage to flee, had to eke out a living on a battleground ravaged by incessant bombardment and street fighting. An overwhelming majority of them were women and children).


    We know that when past situations do not align with our beliefs or present circumstances, we try to alter them or ignore them. Well, the official social media apparatus knows how to help us to do this so we can more easily align and accept its narrative. It is not a mystery that established social media has borrowed the conceptual framework from the propaganda techniques aimed at selling consumer products and they have simply adapted them to influence ideas, narratives and beliefs.  




Copyright ©2010 (March) Arcadio/Gaglecartoons.com. LA Progressive,¨Corporate Media: All the News that Suits the Suits."

The established social media gives us the message that we should be part of "an everybody´s explanation of the world." They appeal to our fear of the freedom of thought because they know that we feel comforted and more secure being part of that amorphous "everybody" and sharing "the majority" of the people´s opinions. Thus, we feel less alone and more protected.



Copyright © Andrea Lightfoot, from 
https://unsplash.com/photos/herd-of-sheep-on-green-grass-field-during-daytime-Pj6fYNRzRT0


    Well, it is time for us to wake up and take responsibility for our historical amnesia and begin to remember and research who really deserves our due recognition. 

    Maybe, it could be easier and safer to be part of a comforting flock of thought but, nothing compares to using our own mind and judgement to find out the truth. 


Copyright @ 2009 Nancy Barra, "Anticipation" Oil on canvas, 
22" x 28", from: Nancy Barra Contemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo


    We need not to forget that we all have our undeniable and uncontrollable moral compass and we need to use it now if we want to recover our shared human memory and overcome our historical amnesia.

 

Copyright © Unreal/Unrealism, "A compass with a heart-shaped needle pointing north, surrounded by colorful swirling patterns, symbolizing love as a guiding force."


                    Dedicated to Jan











Wednesday, September 29, 2021

DIVIDED

"They will not break our hope"

("No nos romperán la esperanza")




Copyright © 1975 Anonymous Chilean artist, "No nos romperán la esperanza," Arpillera (wool sown on burlap), 24" x 18". 


















 


We humans are not meant to be isolated from each other. We simply need each other. Our ancestral emotional needs lead us to stay connected. Our tribal existence has grown and extended into a rich, complex and splendorous ivy, covering all the stones and fields on our beautiful planet. 




Pic courtesy:all-wallpapers.net


















We enjoy making love to each other, embracing, laughing together, communicating and comforting each other. This atavic need to stay connected is intrinsic to our mysterious DNA. 




Copyright © 2010, Anne Mourat "Like two strangers", sculpture in clay, from:http://www.penseesbycaro.fr/2010/09/anne-mourat-une-sculptrice-hors-gabarit/



We first experience all these emotions of closeness at the nuclear family level. If these essential experiences are not available for a child, their level of humanity and connectivity becomes greatly damaged during their adult life. 





Copyright ©2014 Nancy Barra, "La Pachamama", acrylic on canvas, 16" x 12" from: Nancy BarraContemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo.


























When we experience and enjoy this connectivity at the family level, we can also project it to our community and then to our broader networks and to the whole world.






Copyright, 1986, National  Geographic calendar, "Mother and Child," photograph


 Notwithstanding, the power elites have historically tried to divide us in different ways including: economic level, race, religion, politics, geography, gender, sexual preference, culture and /or ideology.  Since the birth of civilization, to divide people has been an effective power tool of these elites to keep people separated and ultimately, fighting with each other, while they become more powerful and richer.

 



Courtesy Wikipedia, © 2017 The National Herald Indian. Article: "The mutiny which helped the British create the Hindu-Muslim divide."  Illustration, unknown artist.




















There is evidence to show that as a group becomes larger, the face-to-face and participatory tribal interaction and decision making become difficult and ultimately impossible. Sometimes smaller groups elect representatives  to participate in functional decision-making of the larger group.



Copyright ©  No Date, Leap into Life Foundation, "Daagomba Tribe meeting". Photograp




















Then, as the number of group representatives grows, it becomes necessary to elect higher level representatives from the larger group of representatives, creating bureaucracies and centralized and pyramidal governments. Division and separation from the people they are  supposed to represent becomes the norm. 



Copyright ©1984 Aries in www.writerscafe.org/writing/Aries1984/1552597 "The pyramid of needs: a poem". Photograph.

 


The representatives -who reach the high levels of government- immerse themselves in climbing the political structure. They feel disconnected from the cusp of political power as much as from their original communities. The memories of the communities they are supposed to represent fade.



Copyright © 2020 Pierre Guichard, "Gabrielle and Zip going down the Chañar Ravine" in Vicuña, Elqui, Chile, oil on canvas, 11.50" x 7.50"



















Those with good intentions become disillusioned with the functioning of political networks and alliances. Others are usually absorbed and coopted by the government bureaucracy and the ideological environment of the political establishment, which plays an essential  acculturation mechanism for the newcomers of these “modern democracies.” The real interests of the communities are rarely represented.



Copyright © 2015 Tamara Pearson in resistance words.com/2015/08/17/Steadman, "The powerful political art by Ralph Steadman," illustration.


















This is a real constitutional challenge for modern societies. This is the conundrum between political representation and true democracy. What would be the answer? What can we do about it?

 



Copyright © 2000 Nancy Barra, "Gancho Coto asking questions", Pastel on Paper, 9" x 12", from Nancy Barra Contemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo. 
























The economist E. F. Shumacher in 1973, in his essay"Small is beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered," alludes to that type of small manageable social organization where the participants are face-to-face and they can dialog, plan, create, solve problems and enjoy time together, while fully participating in the tasks needed by their local community.




Copyright © 2019  Greens.org.au "Community participating in Australia", photograph.

















There is no need to decrease the world population by using wars or other type of genocide, but just to use -at an organizational community level- the people's energy for human connectivity and to capitalize on their skills, good will, creativity, social commitment and transparency to create, design and implement projects that are needed where they live.


 

 

Copyright © 2012  Natalie Ross from: compost now.org/blog,"Working on a community garden", photograph,





















This would mean a radical de-centralization of the decision making process of a democratic system, where communities are at the core of the decision making, planning and implementation process.  



Copyright © 2017 Birsa Munda  from cebuphilippines.net "Ägta Tribe from Philippines." Photograph.

























E. F. Shumacher said, for example, that schools should not need to be huge and impressive buildings, where teachers do not know the names of their hundred plus students, who enter and leave their classrooms at the sound of a loud and jarring electronic bell.





Copyright © 2021 Facebook: Richmond High School, photograph




Let's dream small with  E. F. Schumacher!

He envisioned to divide schools into small houses or buildings where students and teachers can know each other and feel participating in the process of learning, not only in an enclosed classroom but in the natural community surroundings.


 



















Copyright © 2016 from: blogs.ibo.org, "The 15 habits of
highly effective teachers,"
 
photography





This could be implemented in many organizations at the community level. In fact, many school districts in the US are implementing this approach through the community charter schools.


However, a successful implementation would require that entire communities in different fields: education, health, economic, financial, social, environmental, art, mass media, etc. would have the organizational freedom and willingness to take leadership to govern their local communities according to their specific needs and in a participatory and transparent manner.


 

Copyright © 2018 NYC office suites, "Best practices for working with different cultures in the workplace," photograph.













 


No more government representatives sitting down in congresses and parliaments for 40 or more years! 







At the community level, the representation would be on an effectiveness performance basis, ethical behavior standards and commitment to the goals of the community, which would facilitate the removal and replacement of those leaders who are simply not responding to the needs and ethics of the community.

 


Copyright © 2010  Jake Lyell  from:  Alamy.com, "Meeting Nkomo village, Uganda" photograph

















There could be a coordination between communities at the local and regional level to exchange successes and resources. 






Copyright © 2019 The Star newspaper( Ontario), "Shaking Hands," photograph.


















Those communities that have achieved success in their implementation plans can share their experience with other less successful communities as well as to share their surplus resources with less endowed communities, helping them to succeed. If we do this in a spirit of  solidarity with others, we might begin to break the divisions that are keeping us divided.



Copyright © No date from: Weallstandtall.com "Volunteering," photograph



Many would think that this is too idealistic and, therefore it would not work. Probably, it is. 





Copyright ©2010 Paul Bond in: fineartamerica.com,
"We hoisted our dreams into the light of another sun,"
oil on canvas, 14.1" x 18".























However, what really is not working at all on our planet right now is the increased created division among us, which is hurting us, making us suspicious, indifferent, belligerent and fiercely competitive with our  fellow beings.



Copyright © 2016 Nancy Barra  "Indifference", Oil on Canvas  10" x 8", from:
 Nancy Barra Contemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo.


We are increasingly isolated and divided, while at the same time, we crave for human contact, dialog, embraces, validation and simply to have the freedom to be together with other people. 



Copyright © 2019 Nancy Barra, "Contemplating," oil on canvas, 27.6" x 19.7" , from: Nancy Barra Contemporary Art/Arte Contemporáneo.





















We are dreaming now with simple situations like dancing in a party, laughing and singing with friends,  gathering with our family,  cheering our sport teams and enjoying fresh air and the beauty of nature with our loved ones. 



Copyright © 2013 Huu Hung Truong, "Smile," Photograph from: Vietnam Open Entry, Sony world Photography awards.




















You can feel the pressure of those human needs all over the world in the air right now. It is our essential atavic calling for us to eradicate these divisions and reclaim which is inherent part of all of us: our humanity.




Copyright ©2009 dailymailco.uk, "Free hugs in the train station in London," photograph











 


Can we break this artificial isolation and social division? Can we do it one-step-at-a-time in a small scale, without fear and animosity? I hope we can.



Copyright © 2019 Swift.kick.com, "The group hug," photograph.
















Could we extend our hand to others beyond our constricted cages so we can free each other? It would be so incredible if we do it! After all, we are the majority and united we are incredibly powerful, invincible, miraculous and beautiful.



Copyright © no date, Ana Shvets, "People reaching each other," photograph from: www.pexels.com
















I hope we find the strength to do it, with our hearts full of love and resolve, one day at a time,  for the years to come! In the meantime, let's say: 



                       "No matter what, 

                           they will not break our hope!"