Art, Activism, Localism- Future Alchemy

I haven't much interest today in socio-political commentary. I spent the day outside with my family, beneath the sun and clouds, submerged in salty water or with sand and pebbles nuzzling through toes. My child laughed and lay on rocky shores and threw stones. I napped in the semi-shade early in the day and never really woke- even now my eyes are closing as they do when the day has wound down and I sit to write. I vacillate between a desire to become intimately devoted to and active in the political realm- fighting for social justice with congressmen and senators, lobbying for education reform or sane and contemporary healthcare- and working in the comfortable bubble of my own family life to make small changes such as using less natural resources, buying local and organic and raising a courageous child with manners, morals and a general interest in the well-being of his fellow human beings. I even attempt to quell my partisan opinions by searching for a place in myself that agrees with the social and global policies and opinions of the current administration- after all, it seems like so much has been left undone in the past, the rich getting richer, the poor getting nowhere. The other pole to which I vacillate is that of art. Perhaps art is the only thing truly worth our time and energy. Creative efforts to make both the present and the future more beautiful, more thought provoking, more moral (yes, I think art has a moral component. I will have to save that for another entry into the old blogosphere). Music, poetry, painting, sculpture, these are worthwhile uses of glycogen and amino acids. Art, activism, localism- perhaps the future demands all three, perhaps vacillation is an unnecessary use of energy. This derives from a lack of interest in socio-political commentary, and we've moved from salty bays to fresh water ponds, poems and co-ops.