The Haus Of Beaver

If our freedom is in danger (which it is), then so is our creativity to have hope, to live, love, and bear witness to the beauty of one another. To bear witness is a form of acceptance as well as being in each other’s presence. We are present for a reason. We have an affinity toward one another. We have solidarity to share in the human experience with whom is right in front of us. We, as people have things in common and we share a common ground, it is a foundation of human integrity. In this day of tyranny and heavily destructive injustice, when the truth is no longer valued, government deformed, and life is no longer precious, we must check our ivory tower and think about our consequences. We must treat everyone with love and continue to be creative about it. Loving is an art form, and no matter how you do it, as long as you do it, you are contributing to the solutions that lie within us. It is no longer enough to speak truth to power now that power no longer acknowledges the truth. Power can be dismantled with a combination of intellectual conversion and bodily assertion of the oppressed. Poverty is not just a class but of the human body and the human spirit as a whole. The irruption of the oppressed, (whether they be people of color, foreign, women, children, LGBTQ, religious background, poverty-stricken, etc.) is deepening in volume. This lament is growing larger than a weeping pain, it is a screaming from the oppressed, a cry out against the oppressor! It is a resistance and we must all take up and fight every day, every moment, with our thoughts, actions, and courage to be authentic, together. It is work that gets our hands and feet dirty and allows us to be comfortable to be uncomfortable. We must protect the vulnerable. Our brothers and sisters in our homes and in distant foreign lands are begging for our help. They are begging for the light. Without vision, people perish. There must be a balance achieved. This is the most real time, in today’s age, we will learn how deeply we have been embedded. We must consider the metrics other than the economics at play. We don’t often know how our actions will play out so we must pay close attention to the very things in front of us. We have to take active steps not to drink the Kool-aid of individualism. Water physically connects us universally, we must be vigilant to not poison those waters. Just giving a decision to the lowest level doesn’t necessarily mean Human Flourishing. We are up against the entirety of our culture. We must protect our people, our lands, and our freedom to live how we want to live. We must free the oppressed, protect the vulnerable, and help the poor. Even if that means, we ourselves suffer in the process as an act of selflessness. These are Strange Acts of Love.

In my quest for social justice, I have written ten essays as part of my observation and analysis on the preferential options for the poor, exploited, and the oppressed, ethics on truth and the counterculture of belief systems, social teaching, and human integrity to life. I have created dozens of paintings and drawings that reflect upon the worlds of the living and the dead in the context of private devotion: Reflection and prayer in life directly affect the soul's fate after death. These actions, thoughts, and pieces are my personal prayers that intend to aid souls or restore energy to its proper place in the universal struggle for equality and balance. Photographers and my dear friends, Gerri Fernandez, and the late Patrick Kenneally, were gracious enough to collaborate and document the process. It has been a year-long project in the making and it is what I choose to do with my voice, to contribute to the resistance, not be afraid of the unknown, and have an affinity with those who are different.