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Can The Arts Be Used to Combat the Craziness of The World?
Of course. The pen is mightier than the sword, after all.
The world is a crazy place. Spend any time on social media, watching or reading any news outlet, or doing anything anywhere and you’ll be inundated. There’s no end to the number of things happening in the world at large that suck.
It can feel hopeless. When everywhere that you turn you’re being overwhelmed with negativity, that can make you feel weighed down, distressed, sad, angry, and any number of other negative emotions.
Living in a fear-based society, the narrative skews negative frequently. It can also feel like no matter what you do, there’s nothing for it.
When it comes to big-picture issues, such as war, politics, and social justice matters, you have very limited options. Most of these center on voting and attending protests, boycotts, and the like. As you change the focus onto more local issues, such as litter, rudeness, and seeing how friends and neighbors treat others, the options are still limited, but slightly more direct. You get to add picking up trash, having conversations with people, and choosing when and how to interact — if at all.
When you get to your immediate friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors, once again the limited…
