The Lambent

Tag: Equality

  • Make Art

    Make Art

    Sometimes I feel like maybe I go easy on art (film, music, etc) and I like a lot of stuff that’s maybe not as respected
    Anyone relate?
    Most recent example is I’ve been really vibin with the new Lil Tecca album and I was surprised to learn this thing isn’t liked.

    A friend of mine brought up this question in a Discord server. It prompted some initial thoughts which I added to the discussion, but it brought me to farther contemplate the question. The ramblings in this essay are a result of those thoughts.

    I often find myself enjoying art that technically isn’t masterful, maybe it could even be classed as objectively bad. That fact often battles with my desire for harsh critique, it makes me feel like I don’t respect the arts properly. How do I enjoy art if critics I respect say it’s bad while giving sound reasoning for it being a poor quality work? If I’m being objective I often find plenty to critique with these pieces myself, but I still enjoy them. Does that make my tastes bad? Perhaps. Why do I care so much though? What’s the worst that could happen? I get judged for not understanding the arts, for having bad taste? So what! Don’t we despise the critics anyway? Society gets a vast array of issues wrong that should be objective with basic reasoning yet we assume it to be correct when entertaining matters of taste.

    That is not to say critique should be cast away. Quality critique accepted by an artist properly empowers one to more effectively express themselves. But critique can also make us question our own tastes rather than just letting them develop through natural experience.
    I’ve been trying hard to shift my perspective because of this side effect critique has upon individuals and society as a whole. It’s left me with a goal to bring my mentality to:

    If I like art, I should like it.
    If you like art, like it.

    Yes, we should respect the technical aspects of “good” art made through a clear understanding of technique and the history of the medium(s) being explored. That should not however stop us from enjoying abstract art that had no thought go into it (at first glance at least) or using our time on movies with a poor understanding of filmmaking. Those works are also art and we can still take away from them as humans even if just our most primal response of “I enjoy that” or the use of critical thinking to understand why we don’t like an idea that an artist presented to us.

    Treasure the masterful works of a Beethoven but don’t let that stop you from saving room for ice cream with Lil Tecca. Good taste doesn’t come from enjoying a book you’re reading to then abandon it because a critic you respect didn’t like it. Good taste that is true to yourself comes from a meaningful exploration of the arts. There’s a reason your tastes have changed from your childhood to your teenage years through to being an adult. What you enjoy will continue to change by means of experiencing life. Living is the most genuine way to refine our tastes. To suffer our most violent pain and to take in a breath of fresh air during our most serene moment. Living leads us to understand in greater depths ourselves, thereby the human experience and in turn humanity’s creations.

    Critique culture also makes us fearful (at least it does for me) of making art, especially if one considers themselves a “hobbyist”. The trap we fall into is the assumption that if art isn’t “good” through the lens of those analyzing, it holds no value. Whether that audience be a friend, yourself, or thousands viewing it through a series of tubes that audience can be crippling.

    I’ve been slowly realizing how flawed that perspective of fear is since I started my journey in photography. Some of that intimidation comes from the commodification and as a result the commercialization of art. Money has warped and mangled our brains so morbidly that everything including art has a value that finds its definition in what someone is willing to pay for it to be their property. Social media has twisted the wiring within our brains into an even more disfigured abomination. Money can at least buy us things, a like on Instagram gives us a cheap dopamine hit. This problem is made even worse with money now being tied to social media, we can now monetize views and likes directly and indirectly. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot of positives to artists being able to make a living just by sharing their work, but we are often unable to separate success from the worthiness and actual value of art. Artists who are producing valuable art can feel their work is valueless when in actuality that feeling comes from not obtaining engagement through a biased algorithm.

    None of this should be surprising, we know what happens when we tie money and fame to art, the horrors are right before our eyes. Art becomes a means to money rather than a way to engage with our soul or maybe just simply be an end itself. Even if the artist(s) are still passionate about what they’re creating the work will always be tainted by the underlying plague of capitalism. The value of art is no longer its commentary, the raw emotion it pulls from our inner being, the change it affects on society, its challenge to our worldview, expansion of our narrow mind, or ability to understand our thoughts. No, it’s the amount of money the movie made at the box office, the number of awards an artist’s discography has for sales numbers, the YouTube placard hanging in the background of your favorite content creator, or amount of likes art gets on the internet. Money and notoriety shouldn’t even be a factor when judging art’s value, but it has become the greatest factor. How could it not? Society revolves around money. I’m not even trying to make artists feel guilty. Everyone has to make a living and just staying alive is immorally expensive right now. Why do we act so shocked then when artists completely sell out for money? When they reduce themselves to doing commercials for the corporations they know are actively murdering us? Many of them started like every American not born with a silver spoon in their mouth, just trying to survive. As it turns out, often the only practical way to survive is to capitulate one’s morality, what else can someone do? The problem is that this participation normalizes and validates our current social structure and the money one is given farther numbs one’s moral compass. What we viewed as so destructive is now normal, it’s the way things are and they aren’t going to change so might as well make some money while I have the chance.

    This leads us to a farther haunting conclusion. If art, and really anything we produce is defined through its monetary success and popularity, how do we as a society define you? Is your worth really that of your income? Is it how productive you are at your job? Of course we know that’s ridiculous, but that’s the way society functions. That’s how capitalism defines your value. Why do we conform to this? We allow billionaires to disparage us with their actions and words. They don’t even take the conservative approach of telling us the hours of work at a job we hate isn’t “working hard enough.” Work doesn’t even define you to the billionaire, rather it’s the amount of money that work makes. Because enough of us fall for their lies they get away with claiming they don’t oppress us with their wealth hoarding and make laws that actively murder the lower class through lobbyists. They should all be in jail just from the damage they’ve done by claiming you’re worthless. That you’re lazy scum they have the right to wipe off the bottom of their corporate shoes after you’ve served your purpose to them.

    You have value and that value is not defined by the money you make, your social media likes, or even your productivity. If you are not in the process of murdering, oppressing, and exploiting millions of Americans and billions more around the world then you already have more value than any billionaire. The fact you’re not purposely harming others is plenty to validate your existence. Don’t let anyone disparage you from your attempts to improve your life and the lives of others. You’re capable of expressing your value to greater extents than the narrow box society places you in.

    I would like to finalize this essay by affirming one medium of expressing your value, the one this essay is really about. Your art has value because it meant something for you to create it, that’s all the value and validation it needs as an excuse to exist. If someone else likes it, that’s a cherry on top. Make art and share it, it doesn’t matter if people don’t like it. It’s good because you had an experience making it as a human with intrinsic value. And who knows, the critique and praise resulting from your own effort could be far more revolutionary to your life and our world than you ever thought possible. You are valuable, therefore what you create must contain some of that value intrinsic to you. Making art is to defy the very value system they inflict upon you, to clearly display their lies for everyone to see, to acknowledge for yourself that you’re not worthless!

  • We Are All the Same People

    Editorial Note: I no longer hold to the religious beliefs I did at the time of writing this, but I think there is value in this article remaining published. Especially in the haze of Christian nationalism we find ourselves in during the year of 2025.

    We are all the same people
    With sinning hearts that make us equal.

    These are some of the closing lines to Emery’s song entitled “Listening to Freddie Mercury” that was released as part of their album The Question in 2005. This song has always stuck with me from when I first heard it as a young teenager. Society has changed a lot in just 15 years, but at the time it seemed Christendom had a very, let’s just say unbiblical view towards people with same sex attraction. And many still do, one of shunning and malice, even hate in some cases. So the very song title is a clever rebuke towards those individuals. Especially coming from a Christian background these lyrics, among other things always aided my belief that Christ’s and the apostle’s teachings could in no way be used as justification for such mistreatment of other human beings. In fact quite the opposite. The song also seems to go farther though, condemning holding disdain for others in general. As right before the declaration of equality there is a list of sins that the religious world would find much fault with,

    Gary’s getting drunk to forget Sarah
    Sarah’s stealing money from her parents
    Aaron’s lying straight to John
    About Megan and the things that went on
    Jessica’s a gossip, Laura’s a slut
    Derrick hits Bridget and Ben deals drugs
    Seth spends all his money gambling

    But then we are left with these lines,

    Joey stopped praying
    It’s all the same

    The equalization of a Christian’s failure to fulfill their duty of prayer with that of abuse, dishonesty, and deceit.

    It rings a bell with Martin Luther’s 95 Theses after seeing the church prop themselves above the people and hold that they could forgive sins in return for money (among other wrongs). Somehow they were of greater purity than the ‘common folk’. Luther could not read though Paul’s sweeping declaration “For all of sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 KJV). And before that his elegant legal argument and conclusion, “What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise; for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin” (Romans 3:9 KJV). While coming to any other conclusion than the equality of every person. The pope is equal to the peasant because they have the same heart. There was and is no religious leader, pastor, priest, or person that could forgive sins, because every human is equal.

    One of the most stunning Biblical contrasts in my opinion is seen when comparing John chapter 3 and 4. In chapter 3 Nicodemus, a religious leader comes to Jesus at night because he did not want to draw attention from the other leaders that despised and rejected Jesus as the Messiah. Nicodemus would have been one regarded highly and esteemed by the Jewish people. Someone seen to be in great standing with God. In chapter 4 Jesus comes to a well where a woman draws water alone (something that would have been done in groups normally), a complete outcast. Outcast by the Jews because she was a Samaritan and outcast by her community because of her life choices.

    Jesus saw into both individual’s hearts, all their sins, failures, accomplishments, and motives. Yet he treated them both with the same care and respect. Addressing them still as distinct individuals that were very different but of equal value. Nicodemus needed to realize he was in the same standing and value as the Samaritan woman. He must have been shocked when Jesus told him he must be born again (John 3:3). And the woman already knew her failures. She must of thought of herself in such low esteem. So Christ elevates her, because she needed to see she had the same standing and value as Nicodemus. He invites her to enjoy living water and to become a true worshiper (John 4:13-24). Worship was not limited to those attending stunning temples or those with great wealth to tithe. Rather the grandest and most precious worship to God would be from the lips of true worshipers, such as this woman.

    Also in these chapters not only is observed one of the greatest contrasts, but one of the most beautiful statements in the gospels. Toward the beginning of chapter 4, John remarks that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria” (John 4:4 ESV) when traveling from Judea to Galilee. Now Samaria was in between Judea and Galilee, so obviously he’s going to travel through Samaria. Well it wasn’t so obvious, the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans. In fact they shunned them to the point that they would rather travel around Samaria, taking much longer. All this just to avoid them. So this remark holds much greater significance. As a Jew himself it would have been a shock that Christ would travel through Samaria. But not only that, he must travel through Samaria for one woman that everyone else despised. Not only was she despised by the Jews, but she was despised by the Samaritans, her own community. Even Jesus’ own disciples marveled that he would even speak to a woman (John 4:27). It can be easy to forget how little power and respect women had at this time in history because of how far we have come, but this was the awful situation. All of this though did not stop Christ from talking to her. She was an outcast to everyone but Jesus, who would go through Samaria just for her. This woman would not be an outcast to him.

    It has never set well with me even before I had a logical argument against it when professing followers of Christ would make a habit of mistreating, derailing, or even speaking very rudely in private of individuals or groups for their sin. Clearly there’s not only no moral basis for it, but as laid out there is also no logical basis for it either. That is not to say wrongs should go without criticism or even rebuke. The heart that allowed that person to commit such a sin that apparently required such a reaction is same heart that is in the one pointing out the sin. So what should be repulsing is not that individual, but rather the awful potential of the human heart and condition to commit such acts. Acts that would apparently offend that person so much that they would have such ill will toward another human being. I am as well guilty of speaking ill of others and being quick to pass judgement. So do not feel as this is just an attack on others, but an examination of my own heart as well. It is wrong. And it becomes a very serious problem when those occasions become a habit and that habit when festered in groups will have nation wide effects. We have seen it firsthand.

    So let us extend beyond the religious world and look at the nation. It is very disheartening to see a country where individuals and groups can hold such malice against their fellow countrymen. You’ve seen the political discussions where it starts reasonable but then one person assumes the other is in the vocal minority camp of a hate group, hate America, hate a certain group of people, and so on. Everyone, including myself seem so quick to pass judgement. Understanding the completely different worldviews and circumstances each individual comes from that makes them see the world the way they do seems like something very distant.

    And of course everything that is happening does not need to be repeated, it is known. No matter where one stands politically it is evident the amount of division and disdain for one another is wrong. It is not a good feeling to be part of it or to observe it. This lack of compassion and inability for rational discussion is not sustainable in a nation that desires liberty and equality. The government can be blamed, Trump can be blamed, the far sides of the political spectra can be blamed, Covid-19 can be blamed, along with much more. But what good does blame do when we — ourselves have fed into the division that has been created? The plan of those that despise liberty and equality has already been completed. It is up to us if that completed plan will be allowed to stay intact and destroy the house divided against itself.

    Let us not just repeat empty words of equality. Rather let us be guided by it. Don’t allow the pain and suffering of those in the past that fought for the declaration “all men are created equal” be insulted. For it was their desire that every hateful heart in the nation would be turned to hold this truth as self-evident. Self-evident not only in words, but also in deed. No matter what our worldview, religion (if any), political views, and past circumstances don’t let those that have sewn division succeed. Let us rather cling together to the truth of equality, laying aside malice.

    With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

    Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address