A Call to Fellow Artists

Fellow artists, I’m calling out to you. What President Trump’s leadership is doing to America is deconstructing it, abusing it, and causing anarchy in the process. Let’s be part of changing this together.

You’ve seen the murders and aggression in Minneapolis. Two people were murdered not just under the President’s watch but with his cheerleading. You’ll hear his supporters say they weren’t perfect people, and few will disagree. That does not justify the brazen killing of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two American citizens fighting for the inalienable rights of human beings on our soil.

These were not “mistakes” or a matter of occasionally breaking a few eggs. Renée Good and Alex Pretti were human beings imperfectly trying to protest tyranny. For their trouble, they were maliciously murdered.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti a “domestic terrorist” despite obvious evidence to the contrary. She later admitted to having called Pretti that without actually knowing what she was talking about.

While the Trump administration claims that Good weaponized her vehicle and Pretti was holding a gun have been clearly debunked (see links below), the Trump administration continues to project they were justifiably killed. They also believe that the rioters who stormed the Capitol January 6, 2021 were doing the right thing, and that that Capitol Police were right in not shooting them. This is despite clear and certain threats against Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senator Mitt Romney, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

It’s not just Minneapolis. It’s happening in California, Illinois, Georgia, Texas, Montana, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Arizona, and Oklahoma. Virginia is likely facing the reign of terror soon.

The President will throw some people under the bus if he tries to dodge responsibility regarding ICE. Maybe they’ll be relocated or be fired. Maybe they’ll resign, but that resignation is not just an admission of their own moral failure, but that of our president.

I’m a writer. My trade is executive communications, but my art is literary fiction and poetry. Through my writing, I often examine the human condition and the spiritual implications.

I’m not political. I’m outraged.

This isn’t about citizenship, immigration, or the laws of the land. This is about human rights, dignity, and the truth. This is about America and American values, the ones we claim are inalienable and thereby, universal and irrevocable.

Regarding the atrocious ICE actions—yes, we need to sort out those questions and enforce the laws surrounding immigration. But that is not what is happening. This is a purge.

I am a patriot. I love America. If you read enough of my fiction, you’ll hear clearly an American voice. I grew up in the Midwest, on the edge of America’s Heartland. I get misty-eyed when I hear a veteran play the Star-Spangled Banner. I get just as misty-eyed when one of our youth steps up to the microphone and sings our old anthem. I believe in America, her values, and that we, the people of these United States, can come together to further build and rebuild “a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

And that’s why, with my American voice, I’m calling out to the artists, whatever your medium, to use it to shout loudly for the values that make America great and denounce the actions perpetrated by President Trump. It’s not because of his party, but because of his specific leadership.

I watched as the President’s ICE agents tore up parts of my hometown, Chicago, Illinois. My house was just a couple miles from the city’s border, and I have worked across that area and have friends and family in many neighborhoods. I know Bridgeport and the other areas well. Good people live there.

This is the President’s directive and his responsibility.

Why Artists?

I’ve watched him try to steal the arts. My fellow artists, you know this. He has tried to suppress freedom in the White House, with the Kennedy Center, insulting everyone he can. He knows artists have a power of influence and he is understandably afraid of that influence. He’s even just announced he’s closing the Kennedy Center for two years for construction. You are already making an impact.

Shutting down artists is an effective way of limiting dissent. Keep in mind, President Trump is also bullying journalists he doesn’t like, attacking intellectuals he disagrees with, and simply, anyone who stands against his actions and is influencing. His fear of the growing dissent is showing, and you, my colleagues of the arts, it is time to boldly step up with your skills and gifts.

Use Your Power for Good

What can you do? That’s up to you. You know your creative skill set. You know your audience. And you know your platform.

I’m not famous. I don’t have a large following. I’m just one voice. Most of my influence can be found in the speeches I write for other people who do have a large audience. I’m thankful for that, but it will take all of us.

You also have a voice. The size of your platform is less important than using the voice you have.

But as you do, speak with rage, but not hate. When we hate, we are no different from those who hate. Speak the truth in love.

I think about music specifically, but not exclusively. You can apply this to your art form.

Write peace songs. Talk about love. “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing”, is a great example from 1971. This is counter to the violence propagated by President Trump’s administration. It’s more than what we are fighting against, but about what we are fighting for.

Write songs that expose the truth, like “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” by Bob Dylan. Dylan had a few inaccuracies—do your best to get the facts correct.

Make it loud and make it heard. You aren’t just speaking your voice, but all of ours. And you aren’t just speaking for the artists, but for every American who wishes he or she could do what you can do.

Being silent is an option. I won’t judge you. I recognize you might be legitimately afraid of retribution in your professional and personal life.

Remember what FDR said during his first inaugural address on March 4, 1933:

“This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

If you’ve ever looked at a historical tyranny and wondered, “Why didn’t the people say something? They just let things happen.” Only you can answer that.

But if you’ve ever wondered when you could speak up heroically through your art, here’s your chance.

Because it’s not about you and me, it’s about all of us. It’s not “with us or against us.” It’s working toward the good, all of us together.

Let freedom ring!

Artists Making a Statement

This is an incomplete list and will be updated as I can. I’m only including ones who have made a statement through their art, or if the’ve said something calm and cogent. That means no hardcore ranters. Also, inclusion here does not mean I agree with all their views.

For Further Reading

Note: No one hired me to write this post. To the contrary. There’s likely professional risk or social risk. Or not. I don’t know. Standing up for the right thing isn’t about what others think of me.

If you’d like to support me in this effort, the best way is to buy one of my books. They vary from dark and heavy (Death, Misery, & Other Curiosities) to light and warm (The Raging Giant Blue Goldfish) to urban philosophical (Underscore) to quirky (The First Time You Die), as well as a few others.