“You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” – Nina Simone
The visual narrative of this piece, took me longer where i found myself censoring myself twice. Originally the narrative was about my travels to China travel. Additionally I wanted to include reflections to go along with the COVID 19 narrative but felt people were not ready due to fear of the unknown.
Reflective Remembrance
I found myself doing more reflective remembrance and memorial about “viruses” of North American racism as well as COVID 19 and reflections of September 11, 2001 (9/11).. Im fascinated by how America has endured U.S politics and undergone a change in our way of life as a civilian during these modern times of 21st century.
Anarchy In L.A.
Even the day of finishing this project, I was taking heat by local anarchists accusing me of being on the side of the oppressors because i posted a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., quote about peaceful and organized protest. Go figure!?!
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Alex Paramo
Pride in the Name of Love
Pride in the Name of Love by Alex Paramo
Since this article was originally written our nation has elected a new leader. A man whose hate-filled speech is on the record and that he continues to employ in the White House. His ascension to power has, in some quarters, mobilized the liberal and progressive movements against him and those who support his rhetoric. Now more than ever we need to utilize the relationships inherent in our common humanity to spread the power of love.
This portion of the article was originally published on 06/24/16
I
n light of the Orlando tragedy our natural inclination might be toward despair and sadness. We should be sad but also motivated. Motivated to not let fear drown out courage, not let hate drown out love. It never can and it never will. We are all one family and one consciousness whether you subscribe to it or not. Therefore doing harm to one is doing harm to all but the collective energy of love heals and give us the strength to forge new realities and help us slowly come back into balance.
Whatever the overt motivation of the murderer, the covert motive is always hate. The only way to defeat hate is through unity. Unity brings folks together from all walks of life. United in this human experience we must move past stereotypes, past fear.
I read a thoughtful article in the Albuquerque Alibi, “Silent No More” by Ty Bannerman, where I discovered the story of Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben who helped train George Washington’s Army during the American Revolution. Von Steuben was gay, and his story has been unfortunately hidden as have been the stories of thousands of other men and women who fought and/or served honorably in the U.S. armed forces.
Bannerman’s article discusses the new monument at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial Park that will openly honor LGBT veterans. Despite the fact that it is long overdue, I am proud of New Mexico and hope that other States follow suit.
We must bond together as a nation, and as people in the global sense with the message of love. It is our natural inclination to work together and ultimately our salvation.
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