Not long after a “Kumbaya” moment in Washington, the New York Times editorial today awakens our attention to bad spirits and reiterates our need to be continuously vigilant against the scour of right-wing nativism. I accept that racism may never be completely exorcised for so long as opposing factions continue battle. In that, I ascribe to our president’s crusade in full cry for hope.
Just the day before this editorial came out, the same publication carried Holland Cotter’s review of an art exhibit running currently at the Guggenheim Museum. Aptly titled "The Third Mind", the show features what appears to be a cacophony of American art pieces (1860-1989) which suggest Asian influence. The author could not have chosen a better example of an artwork that exemplifies the theme than Jackson Pollock’s "Untitled [Red Painting 1-7]". Seven images unfold a meld caught between the Abstract Expressionism and Asian calligraphy.
Once in a while, when our nation contemplates in a still of solemn oneness, our soul is at peace. But it remains a tenuous peace. Unlike the expression of art, there is no convergence offered. Opposing spirits collide yet again until another glorious respite—or, in the spirit of hope, until racism is cast into abyss.
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