My wife is a delightful and interesting artist, and her ideas tend to incubate in the dream realm.
We've been marching and helping with the Occupy movement in every way we can think of. The images of the occupiers were filling her nighttime landscape. She awoke one morning with a song and a plan. She wanted to set the images to "Somewhere," from West Side Story.
I objected. We want to Occupy Everywhere, right? Yes, but she persisted. There was something in the song. And, in the end, I agree. After three days of contemplating the images, and editing them to the music, I find myself focusing on a different aspect of the movement.
I had been looking at the intensity of what many are calling a war. And it is that, in many respects. Power rarely yields without a battle. This is what we're seeing at UC Davis and elsewhere.
But if you look closely at the faces of the protestors, there's so much more that is stirring here. A young man's head is being crushed by the boot of a police officer, and his face is calm, full of conviction. He's already beyond the immediate violence, staring at something far bigger, better. When I see that, I know we're on to something. This really is the Big One. I think that at its core, the Occupy movement is about loving and respecting one another and creating a society far greater than we can even envision today. We want this with all our hearts.
Please take a look this short tribute to this great movement:
youtu.be/nC98magI3xI
Happy Thanksgiving.
Robert