JULY 2024 – Free expression, free speech, freedom of inquiry, all of these things are absolutely essential for a healthy society and future, but also for creating anything creatively meaningful. This may seem painfully obvious, and yet, somehow it has become a question mark in the minds of a lot of people on the national and global landscape. The antidote to bad ideas and thinking is not censorship, rather good ideas and a healthy discourse and debate. Without the opportunity to speak your mind and test ideas, you’ll never be able to understand others and find ways to coexist and push the bounds of human knowledge ever further.
Political correctness overreach and efforts to sanitize the creative works of past authors and artists, like what happened to Roald Dahl’s books in 2023 is an absolute crime against history, culture, and art. Literature, paintings, architecture, statues, fashion, poetry, these are all waystones and markers of our cultural history. To covertly rewrite books and police the language of past eras is an affront to not only the artistic legacy of the author, but to the richness of society and the historical record. It steals perspective, originality, and vision from the creators and turns that which is original and unique into a watered down mess of banal compromise and nothingness.
Imagine a world where comedians have to be politically correct, musicians/poets can only use approved melodies and words, artists & designers have to create one-size fits all solutions and pieces. What would that look like? Is that a future that you’d want to live in? Where the heart and soul of everything has been removed and replaced with generic, unoffensive, sameness? I’ll leave that thought for you to ponder and draw your own conclusions. But as someone driven by the creative spirit, that is a painful path to tread, and one that leads to a very dark place for humanity.
Took some time off from work to travel this month and visit extended family. Did a bit of hiking, campfire cooking, and a lot of relaxing. It is so rewarding to see some of my favorite people doing so well and making progress on their respective journeys. Lots of happiness, stories, and smores were shared and it was fantastic. And for the chronically online, a good reminder that getting away from screens and having real-world interactions is so vital.
To further celebrate Summer, I snagged a book I hadn’t yet read from one of my favorite authors, Rafael Sabatini, titled ‘Fortune’s Fool’ (a sentiment I can relate to a little too well sometimes, haha). Following the exploits of a flawed hero in historical London during the outbreak of a plague, it is an enjoyable read and fed my interest in honor, stoicism, and swashbuckling!
Here’s to living true to ourselves and protecting the ideals of creative free expression for future generations!
~ CS
