When I moved to Mendocino County in 2010, I sold my car, knowing
that I could survive among the magnificent trees up north without wheels.
I recently moved into a poor West Oakland neighborhood, where getting
around without a car is slowly but surely changing me.
Public transportation in my neighborhood
is quite the standard, and those of us who rely on it have become intimate with
frustration and desperation. Despite the positive aspects of
becoming adept at trip planning and learning to be flexible, the little amount
of control we have to arrive at our destination at an appointed time redefines
us. Last week, a middle-aged woman got off the bus I was on and ran with
all her might to catch her connecting bus, only to see it pull away. My
heart sank, and I believe that everybody on my bus who witnessed the woman
literally felt her defeat. Something slowly falls apart inside when we
regularly experience doing everything we can, to no avail.
Defeat. I'm more acquainted with the
word and experience now than I've ever been. Missing a bus now and then is not
in itself defeating; knowing that I can do everything in my power and still miss the bus, is. This is a
necessary life adjustment, yet it gives me pause about the society of
low-income people we are becoming. I won’t
here repeat the oft-quoted stats about the increase of poverty in the United
States; what I will say is that increasing poverty absolutely means increasing
despondency.
I honestly don't know what to say about the growing despondency. So what's my purpose in writing this blog
post? I would just ask that all
artists – critically thinking and creatively engaged people – make a conscious effort to
think about what life is like for those without the comforts you may take for
granted. Then weave those thoughts and
imaginings into your political discourse or abstract paintings or photography or whatever may be your particular art form. Your personal
experience and perspective are indeed precious, as is your willingness and
ability to allow your artwork to reflect more than that. I believe that in these most difficult times, we must extend beyond ourselves if we are to survive.
Copyright September 2013 by Dianne Durham
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