by Jessica Delfino
I went to a private screening of a documentary today produced by K Video, called "Giuliani Time". It was pretty damn interesting, pretty damn educational, and I learned more than I ever cared to learn about Mr. Rudy Giuliani, the (so-called) hero of the free-world.
As I sat in the very cold theater observing this documentary, the same thing kept coming to mind, and in general, when I think of politics and politicians, this is what comes to mind: I know nothing about politics. I am 28 years old and have never voted, not once, not even for the Last Comic Standing. I have a few ideas as to why this might be.
1. It could be because politics are considered to many, to be 'boring', and I believe that many of you share that point of view. Why is that? Why do so many people think that politics are boring? The truth is, politics are NOT boring. Politics are the most important aspect of our life, they affect EVERY SINGLE THING we do. Many people would rather be oblivious and live their lives unaffected by politics, or just ignore them, and that's truly impossible to do, even if you think it isn't. The main reason so many people think that politics are boring is because politicians (mostly male) TELL us that politics are boring and try to make them complicated and boring so that no one will want to pay attention to them so they can be free to do whatever they want to do.
2. Another reason is because every time I try to read the paper, listen to the news or watch the news on TV, I am bombarded with bullshit. I may be hyper-critical, and I generally give people the benefit of the doubt that they ARE lying to me. But there are other key factors involved in smelling bullshit. Body language is an important one, as is listening for misdirection or the insistence that an official doesn't have to explain his or her stance. (A perfect example is our President, Geo Bush, who was quoted in the paper yesterday as having said, "I don't have to explain what I do, that's one of the perks of the job I have." Perfectly put.
So, why would I want to get involved with an agenda that bores me and lies to me? The truth is, I don't. However, I do enjoy making art, and as the country tends more and more towards facism, I won't have a choice but to get involved. In the documentary, someone said, "You don't realize how changes in society affect you until it's at your front door." For example, the documentary covered the Soho Artists who were arrested for putting their art out on the sidewalks. I want to be able to put my art on the sidewalks. And why shouldn't I be able to? I own the sidewalks, to some extent. We all do. So, most people don't get involved with politics because they want to be oblivious and not be bothered. But it seems that I might have to get involved with politics so that I CAN be oblivious and not be bothered. Or so that you can continue to.
I really don't want to have anything to do with politics, truthfully, but the great Rev. Jen once said, "All art is inherently political," and I believe that to be true. So, I'm political, whether I want to be or not, as long as I'm making art.
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