Shoot the Moon— At Principle Gallery, Alexandria
I am totally confident not that the world will get better, but that we should not give up the game before all the cards have been played. The metaphor is deliberate; life is a gamble. Not to play is to foreclose any chance of winning. To play, to act, is to create at least a possibility of changing the world.
–Howard Zinn, A Power Governments Cannot Suppress
Complacency never really serves us well. It’s not the same as patience, where you bide your time until you take action. It’s more like biding your time with no plan or intention for taking action.
It’s a settling for things as they are, even when the circumstances are not completely to our liking. Staying put when you should be moving on. Or using the Howard Zinn metaphor above, throwing your cards in on every hand without even looking at them, never daring to risk anything. You may not lose much this way, but you will never know if you have thrown in an unbeatable hand.
That certainly is true in art. I often say that my greatest challenge is in creating excitement in myself with my work. But sometimes even though I find a level of excitement in something, I get a nagging feeling that if I pushed myself, dared myself a bit more, that I might attain an even greater level of excitement.
I go through this all the time and beat myself for not taking that next step forward, for not taking action.
And in this season of presidential politics, the same is true for political participation. As a nation, we face the most important and far-reaching election of our lifetimes. Certainly, of mine. We are at a point that determines who and what we are as a nation. We are as close to being an autocracy, oligarchy, kakistocracy, idiocracy, or whatever you want to call the fresh hell being offered by the lying, grifting, criminal ex-president*** who has served as an agent of chaos for much too long now.
It boggles my mind how many of us refuse to make the effort to vote, let alone studying the issues and forming an informed opinion. I can’t fathom not taking an interest in something that could ultimately affect so many aspects of our lives, possibly for generations to come.
Come on, people. Get in the game. If you don’t play, you can’t win– and you still can lose.
Pick up the cards in front of you and ante up.
You might well change the world.
Redtree Times 
I totally agree. I was shocked as dismayed when he, who will not be named, won but hoped that it may not be bad if he surrounded himself with good people. Obviously, that didn’t happen and I hope that people will finally wake up and see him for what he is and not the TV personality that they think they know. He is evil through and through and has gotten away with it too long and hopefully we can put a stop to him politically.
Yes, let’s hope we can bring an end to this cultish movement once and forever in November.
Gary,
Just want to say thank you for the gorgeous puzzle that arrived at our front door. I certainly don’t want to be complacent about expressing gratitude to you, my friend.
Best regards,
Cliff & Deborah DuBord