The Commercialization of Art

I, who have been an avid admirer of the arts and the freedom that the work and the term represents have had a reawakening after studying the history of artistic works. All the greatest artists that are revered in the Western World, were excellent at their trade, however they too were promoted heavily, marketed, and commissioned by the powerful families and the Catholic Church (no less) to create works that are admired by millions. Also, the fact that religious drawings, that touch people's hearts due to their faith, will always recieve an emotional response from the viewer regardless of the exceptional talent of the painter. Not to say that these artists did not have skill. They did, but so did thousands of others. If one is to view Eastern art, where the artist's name has not been promoted or discussed or even recorded, then one can easily say that they are on par with the European arts. However, it is rare to hear a famous eastern artist's name echoed again and again throughout musuems or in discussions about the arts.

A sad fact regarding the commercialization of arts is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles using the famous names of artist's which ensures that an entire generation of children will grow up knowing who Raphael is.

Marketing, commercialization, replication through posters and images, as well as religious leanings have biased the perception of art in the world today. Is it possible that we can actually live in a world where people see and think for themselves? How many millions of dollars have been made by replicating the Mona Lisa or frescos from the Sistine Chapel. Angels, demons, Gods, Serpents, and other religious Catholic "images" are famous the world over. How long will it take before the other religions with "graven images" (not associated with the Church) get an understanding of the fabulous amount of money to be made and decide to promote their "artists" on a mass scale. For shame..... You can NOT buy and sell God.

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Atheism

Atheism as opposed to Theism, asserts that there is no deity or divine essence within the Universe. My question is why such certainty in the non-existance of a Divine Being? I understand the millions of people who have "faith" in a certain belief system, largely to the fact that they were raised as children in a certain belief system. Religion holds value in the sense that it, in most cases, purports excellent values, provides a unity among it's followers, and serves as a gathering point/social community for it's believers. However, religion itself, it must be made clear has many less positive sides, especially the use of violence towards those who do not practice the same faith. In many cases, the religions themselves do not view violence in a positive light, however the followers of a certain faith may not be 100% religious (ironically enough).

Religion, is practiced by billions of human beings, and though not everyone can be right, it is rare to find people actually seeking truth. For there is only truth or untruth in the universe regarding the divine. One can not tell truth and lie at the same time..... As most religions in the world claim to be the correct one, it can only be said that the majority of the people in the world, must be "incorrect" in placing blind faith in the religion of their fathers. That is why education, knowledge, and extreme caution should be exercised when seeking truth. I have met a large number of people whom are happy to be born into and practice a certain faith throughout their lives, without really paying any attention at all to what they are worshipping or doing.

Hence, all the violence in the world, due to religion. If people actually cared for their belief system, and truly believed in it, they would not break the codes so nonchalantly and claim divine guidance when they do so.

Saying that, atheists, without proof claim there is no divine. To deny the existence of something, due to lack of evidence does not make sense, when the denial itself has no evidence. Would it not be more accurate to state, this is a grey area, and unknown? However, atheists too are subject to human feelings, and must have an idea of what will happen in the after life. Atheists do not believe in an afterlife yet somehow they must have knowledge that "nothing" happens after death except non-existence.

I believe Atheists are subject to what all other human beings are victim of which is the fear of the unknown. To die and not have a belief about what will happen must be a scary prospect. So the atheist has faith that when he dies nothing will happen and he will become non-existent. That is fair enough, however a belief just the same, as there is no proof of this concept.

Perception of our World with Limited Senses

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Being confined to the five senses is so limited, how can one perceive this world with only five senses. The fact of the matter is that there is so much in existence that our senses are not capable of defining. We know for a fact that energy exists, it is all around us yet we are not aware of the energy patterns in our world. Also, we have technology to detect heat, yet our bodies can not do the same function.

There could be so much going on around us, that we really have no idea what is happening in the vicinity near us. Imagine our perception if we were to add an additional 95 senses to the five that we already have. Our world would be a completely different place. Just as the world of a blind person is experienced differently from a person with sight. Take this difference, and multiply it by hundreds, possibly thousands, perhaps more and that is the minute fragment of our personal experience compared to the reality of the Earth/Life. It is definately humbling that our minor perception of reality, leads to science and other skills, and yet there is so much more out there. It is so true, that the more I learn, the more I realize that I do not know.

What is the true nature of the world we live in, I do not think we as humans will ever be in a position to define. For now, it will have to suffice that our perception of this world is a small fragment of what the world truly is. Humbling indeed.....

What about the Palestinians?

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According to history, many of the Palestinian grandfathers sold their land to Jewish immigrants. Is it right for their grandchildren to claim shares of land when they would not have inherited any to begin with? Perhaps only the Palestinians whose land was stolen should be involved with the call for land. However, the entire country was destroyed, the greater share of land stolen (as opposed to being purchased) and a civilization imprisoned. A complete mess, unfortunately war always is.....

The Human Rights violations (in all cases) are a completely separate issue, land or no land. Every human being should be able to live without persecution. A very sad situation. What is even worse is that above all people, the Israelis should know not to persecute others, because of their history.....

Hypocrisy when people are aware of their hypocritical nature is self serving. More dangerous, is the hypocrisy that appears when people truly believe they are on the righteous path and still act unethically. Is that possible, to be able to overlook such blatant contradictions of morals? Can the mind and heart be powerful enough to completely blind a human being's sense of reason?

Unfortunately, atrocities in Israel, only serve to reinforce prejudice European viewpoints established before and during WWII.... Very sad, especially as the Ten Commandments and the Message of Moses was about freedom from persecution, kindness, and other virtues.

Reality

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Are We Really Here?

Are we really here? Is our reality technically real. I feel, I touch, I smell, I see, I hear, I taste, and “I think, therefore I am”. But our existence is so limited by only these senses and the interactions we have with our environment through our senses, mind, heart, and body. These are all perceptions and a form of reality though how is it that my reality and your reality are one and the same.

On Playstation home, video gaming has now created an online world where you interact with other players in a real time environment. If the technology increases, to stimulate all five senses does that make that world real. If I get hurt in that world, and this impacts my body in “the real world” then does that make the Playstation world another form of reality? I undoubtedly believe NO.

Do we all live in different worlds, perceiving different thoughts and ideas? Yes, as human beings we definitely have different thoughts and ideas, and my perception of reality will be completely different from the person sitting next to me. However, do all of these worlds interact and collide together to form a superworld that we all mesh and function in one unit or one reality. Something that is created in your reality or sub world can completely impact my subworld by it’s wave ripple through the superworld. However, this may not make total sense as in the deepest darkest oceans, there are sea creatures that exist and their reality or realness is apparent and effects the superworld. Some of these sea creatures do not see, hear, feel, taste, smell, or think, yet they still do exist. Is it possible to deny their existence? One cannot because the elimination of their subworld would send ripples through the food chain and cause impact upon the superworld which effects my reality and your reality simultaneously.

Our current physical reality is very clear during our waking moments and when we are in a world interacting with others around us. The world of dreams is perhaps another issue left for another day.....

Molecules and Existence

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Our human bodies possess molecules that design our very existence along with living cells, neural receptors and transmitters in the brain whose electric and nerve impulses allow us to think and function.  Animals possess similar cell structures and electrical impulses in their bodies and also are capable of growing, reproduction, interaction, and life.  Plants grow and the wonder of nature is essentially all around us.  

After our deaths, our bodies return to the Earth and the molecules take on another form.  They are no longer ourselves but rather, part of a tree or a molecule in the ocean or some other random particle that makes up our universe.  Just as the water we drink, incorporates itself into our bodies, it becomes part of who we are for that instant.  No one can doubt that more than 70% of our bodies is created from water.  But at the same time, within the cycle that we are alive, this water exits our bodies and is discharged a multitude of times.  Therefore, our bodies are constantly changing with old atoms leaving and new atoms entering.  Are we any less a person than we were previously due to the absence of the historical molecules  or atoms that once formed our bodies?  The answer is decidedly no, as our existence continues and our thoughts continue.  

However, this raises the question, at what point is it that we cease to be ourselves?  What percentage of molecules are required to exit our being before we cease to be a whole person.    Death occurs when the body no longer functions, or does the body no longer function when death occurs.  Does human death constitute the removal of the life source within?  Our being, our essence, our form, resides in our thought and in the concept of an "unknown energy" that is untapped and not measurable by science.  The soul (or this "unknown energy" ) is our essence, not the molecules that confine the human body.  A human being that has lost all faculties of thought, reason, still possesses the life force that religiosts call a soul.  

I submit that perhaps the soul carries the body, the body does not carry the soul…..But in that case, where does that leave animals and plants, for they live and die. But their existence varies from humans as they do not possess free will.  All animals perform the same basic instincts as the animals that came before them.  They follow their nature or some preprogram that is recorded in their systems.  There are no lions in the Antarctica, the weather is too cold for them.  They can not choose to go live on top of a mountain when their species originates from the plains.  How do birds know migratory patterns, and how do sea turtles know to return to the very spot they were born?  They follow the instructions or pre-program, and lack free will and free choice.  Animal bodies go through similar changes and functions as human bodies and yet the animals are so decidedly different from human beings.  

Human beings, possess free will, choice, thought, morality (and lack of), and so many other features that separate our species from all others on the planet.  Some are living in the most coldest climates while others live in the deserts.  There is an extremely broad range of differences between human beings in terms of accomplishments, thoughts, activities, and ideologies.  Which leads to the assertion that humans are not the same as animals or plants or any other organism on Earth.  Perhaps we are separated by more than just intelligence.  In nature you will not find this wide range in differences between the animals or plants within a given species.  

Morality - An Innate Human Concept

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There is something fundamentally  unique about human beings.  We are different from animals, we have choice, free will, we shape our destiny and yet at the same time we have some type of guidance.  All human beings across the lands throughout the world and religions hold very similar principles of morality.  Principles such as: Do not murder, do not lie, kindness is a virtue, generosity is treasured, loyalty is honorable, helping others reveals greatness within yourself, and many other universally “moral” concepts and ideals are commonplace.  

How is it that so many different societies, that in the past never interacted with one another could have such common moral leanings?  Human beings, within themselves possess an innate sense of right and wrong.  This sense guides those to choosing between right and wrong, though obviously people are able to ignore this moral compass or conscience if desired.  

Great corruption and a dangerous situation arises when human beings are dishonest with themselves.  People become truly lost when they make decisions that they know to be wrong and immoral yet use rationality to counterbalance this moral compass trying to justify and rationalize their actions.  For example, Genocide was justified with “moral” causes and twisted ideas of “cleansing” throughout history by various civilizations as people do not like to face their own demons within and admit to the beast that exists within their hearts that is causing them to act in such an unethical and barbaric fashion.  

There is always a rationalization to unethical actions in a majority of cases.  The rationalization will twist someone’s mind and heart (science has found the heart has brain cells in it) into a contorted creature that is human but has ignored the moral compass that leads to “humanity”.  Judgement and vision become clouded eventually leading to further and further misguided decisions.  

We continue to see modern brainwashing “justifying” immorality in our world today.  Four billion people live in poverty today, and yet somehow the financial banking system is still a valid and viable option because “the world can not survive without the money lender’s practices of charging interest and deeming the extremely poor not credit worthy”. How else will things run?  Even the financial collapse of bank giants in 2009, still has not led the majority of people in the world to question the banking system’s fundamental principles.

Wars ravage lands and their is always some “rational” excuse..... 

I truly believe, that human beings are capable of a greatness that has never been achieved.  It is idealistic, though if every person in the world would focus on listening to their own moral compass, and question the rationality that leads them to certain choices, with an open heart, then the world would be a better place.  I am an idealist and believe that these things are possible and the potential for true greatness is there for all of humanity to benefit from.

Choice, Free Will, and Destiny

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There are a variety of peoples on this Earth, each more different than the fingerprints and DNA that their body holds. We are all the same yet so completely and unimaginably different. There is no predictable life that one can say as soon as an infant is born, that he will grow up to be this or that. Our personalities are shaped and developed and to some degree created from the DNA that we were born with. Society then further changes us based on the opportunities that we get, parenting, wealth (or lack of), education, and experiences, this is how we become who we are.

But then to question all of these factors that have shaped us throughout our lives, and acknowledge that we should not be bound by the past, or the shape that society has labeled us to be, but rather free to make our own choices and choose our own destiny is one that is extremely emancipating from all of the stereotypes that the majority of society labels people to be. Our freedom and individualism as well as the right to make the choice to let go of any constraints is what creates the truly free mind and a person that truly does choose his own path.

I find the majority of people actually do not ponder what life really is, as they are so consumed with the day to day struggles that they do not have any time to step back and observe the living stage that is our daily reality. To actually take the time to notice and understand how choices are always there to make and seizing the day is a matter of choice, not compulsion. In the movie, Gone with the Wind, there is a sign that says “Do not squander time, that is the stuff that life is made of”. And yet daily, you see people in the rat race, that never really use their time to gain happiness or pursue what they enjoy doing. The 9-5 grind is the murderer of creativity, and the corporate cubicles the butcher of any thought or reason. But to be honest, taking a step back and taking a really long hard look into the mirror is not an easy prospect. To really take that journey of self discovery you have to be completely honest with yourself. Until taking that journey, I never really understood the concept of self deception. To believe something about yourself, that you are the victim, that you are stuck in a rut, that you can’t do anything about, is self deprecating and does not give credit or place responsibility with the reality that you are the chooser of your own destiny. Yes, we all have trials and tribulations, that is life, but to rise above those tribulations and take blatant responsibility for the life that you have created for yourself is an epiphany.