John Igo Branch Library is finished. It’s a neat building and I liked painting it. The light was casting cool shadows which made for a fun painting. I went to the Central Branch Library the other day and left my card and photos of my paintings, followed up with an email, but have not heard back. The library is undergoing a major renovations and the woman I talked to wasn’t sure that the gallery would even be open in April. So I am thinking of alternatives.
I’m still going to paint all the libraries but I may not worry about getting them all done by April. This will give me more time to play and work on other things. I have yet to get back into the habit of drawing every day. Yesterday I managed to sit down and sketch but that’s about the only time I’ve done it since I’ve been back. I put some sketching and painting books on hold at the library which I plan on picking up today. I think I’ll spend some time with those and see what I come up with.
The topic of the day’s podcast was abortion. Van Jones interviewed a woman who calls herself pro-life and conservative at certain points in the interview but then insists that she represents the majority on abortion. I’m not sure I agree with that. I believe abortion should be safe, legal, and rare too but I don’t consider myself pro-life or conservative.
That aside, I found it to be a good interview. The takeaway was that neither political extreme, the right nor the left, are helping women who are in need of medical care. That I agree with. What protections and support have women be given now that they’re being forced to have these unwanted babies?
They also discussed the impact of the Supreme Court and how this decision will affect America’s perspective of them now. As a liberal I would say that Mitch McConnell’s maneuvers over the years didn’t help. If America is going to respect the Supreme Court that is not the way to do it.
It saddens me to see the extremes that people will go to to get their way. It seems as if that’s what we’re resorting to. For the past few years liberals have been calling for defunding the police and conservatives have gone nuts over it, claiming we can’t live without the rule of law. But now that the FBI has raided Trump’s home they want it defunded. Go figure.
It’s sometimes nauseating to keep up with social media. I’ve been scrolling Twitter but only stopping to read the posts of people I follow. Twitter will show me what all my followers are ‘liking’ and commenting on as well as things I might like, but those posts are usually immature and tasteless. I follow journalists and I want to read posts that have been confirmed or researched.
Maybe following politics is a bad idea overall. Maybe I should spend my time focused on other things. I would like to contribute to the world I live in, I would like to give back somehow. Perhaps I’m just like political extremists: looking for a way to feel more energized and alive. Is this a substitute for addiction? Is it just another vice? Bessel van der Kolk, the author of The Body Keeps the Score says that political extremism is a sign of trauma. Addiction is a way to wake up a numb body and spirit. Maybe paying attention to politics is the same for me.