veterans day...

This is the day set aside in the USA to express appreciation to those who have served in the military to defend this country. Yesterday we held classes for Veterans at ESSA and were visited there by Senator John Boozman. Senator Boozman has a reputation for assisting servicemen and women who have served in the military.

My own class was in box making. Others were in blacksmithing, painting on glass and jewelry making.

Politicians get us into corners that our service men and women must fight their ways out of.  Whether a war was necessary or not our veterans stood up to serve and they and their families made sacrifices on our behalf and we have a duty to honor their service, whether a war was justified or not.

As a board member and founder of ESSA, I had suggested a Veterans Day event recognizing that veterans, regardless of when they served and in which war, are in need of the healing that comes through the practice of the creative arts.

The mission statement at ESSA claims that art is vital to the human spirit. As such, art is one of the ways that we cope with tragedy and loss. It is also one of the ways we push aside the inclination to be combatively engaged.  It's the old swords vs. plowshares dilemma. As described in the philosophy of Black Elk in "Black Elk Speaks," the "power to create is the power to destroy" and vise versa. We can devise means through which to blow stuff up and wreak havoc in the lives of others. Or we can build together. On this Veterans Day, I suggest the latter. We must learn from service and sacrifice.  Yesterday's event was a whole lot more fun than blowing stuff up. Each of my students made two boxes.

Make, fix and create. Give others the chance to learn likewise.