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06/15/2005: "Not to be a buz kill but..."
Do you ever think that being an artist is a frivolous and self-indulgent pursuit? Last night I was working on the painting of the woman with the musical saw and listened to the Nova episode called World in the Balance: The People Paradox: ”NOVA investigates the impact of forces that are radically changing populations in both rich and poor nations”.
This is code for “The world is doomed Elise, and you are partly to blame!” It touched on every depressing topic you can name, one in particular that I’ve been aware of for years is the Bush Administration’s decision to ban aid to those "who perform or advocate abortion" but what it has really done is cause the closure of reproductive health clinics (that were often seconding as aids clinics) all over the developing world. This policy has contributed to far more deaths than the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq combined!
I’ve been feeling so happy lately. I had given myself permission to charge purchases related to getting fit but now I feel like this horrible over-consumer..., for example a child born in the US will consume 30x more resources than one born in India. It’s a daunting problem, on one hand, people need to consume to create jobs to reduce poverty etc. but it seems like such a vicious cycle that is rapidly becoming unsustainable. And the whole time I’m listening to all this, I’m painting away my pretty pinks and blues thinking to myself…”what the hell am I doing with my life?”