Fear has Gripped our Nation and History is being Ignored

"And All that Jazz" mixed media in red box frame

The things we once learned from past mistakes are soon forgotten in the clutches of today. The rising generation is not equipped for self-governance nor alerted to the warning signs of impending tyranny. We are inundated with violence in our homes and schools and eager to blame “the other guy,” or guns, or the government when, in fact, as the cartoonist for “Shoe” puts it: “The enemy is us.”

We’ve become a gullible nation intent on harming ourselves. We depend on other people’s advice, knowledge, and strength rather than developing our own. We’re on the cutting edge of science and invention, but on the slippery slope that afflicts every generation after the lessons of the past have been forsaken.

"Lucky Lady" mixed media in red boxed frame

Nero fiddled while Rome burned, and we are just as likely today to perish from the bad choices that are being made for us and around us. Even when people vote their preferences, federal judges are overturning the people’s voice. Our land of laws and Constitutional principles is being rearranged, disassembled, and gradually pushed into chaos.

With Ebola threatening to sweep across the world, and terrorism shaking us to the core at home and abroad, is it any wonder that people are hunkering down; afraid to engage with others, fearful of spending money they don’t have, and not knowing where to turn for help.

"Shimmy Shake" mixed media in black box frame

History tells us that we are not alone. People have weathered all kinds of atrocities, tribulations and persecutions in the past. The key to holding it together is to remember those values and principles which made us strong in the first place; things like honesty, trust and integrity.

There was a time when a “man’s word was his bond” and a handshake was as good as a signed contract? Today lying and double-dealing has become “the thing to do” because “everybody does it!” Our own President has received many Pinocchio’s for deceiving the American people and he's in first chair!

Husbands lie to their wives and visa verse. Children lie to their parents. Bosses lie to their employees, and employees take out their anger by stealing from their bosses. Goods and services cost more because shoplifting is figured into profit margins as is price gouging by “middlemen” who put a thumb on the scale at purchase point.

"Yes, Sir, that's my Baby!" mixed media in grey box frame

Gas prices and transporting of goods is also figured into the cost of food and clothing. But in spite of the gloomy picture there is reason for hope. “The pendulum always swings.” When society gets too far afield, common sense usually pulls us back to calmer times. Swift thinking and logical choices made in the silence of the voting booth may prevail. Let’s hope it does so again before things go so far awry that there's no turning back!

All artwork in this blog may be purchased at Anfinsen Art on Etsy

"Vamp on a Ramp" mixed media in grey box frame

A Red, White, and Blue Salute to Our Veterans

"With These Hands -- Wonder" 18x24 mixed media on canvas

I remember vividly where I was on 9/11, do you? I stood with my fellow co-workers in front of a large-screen TV and wondered what was happening to our country? We watched in horror and disbelief as the replay showed a plane plowing into the first Twin Tower. In shock, we witnessed live another plane crashing into the second building. This couldn’t be happening.

At the time, my two sons were in New York. One lived in lower Manhattan with his wife; they both worked on Broadway. The other son worked between the Twin Towers and CitiGroup. Where were they now? Cell phone use had been cut off due to the emergency. My anxiety was in overdrive. I prayed.

"Hey, Coconut, Mon" 18x24 mixed media on canvas

Eventually, one son managed a communication from NY to California. The person in CA called his wife who lived in CT and I learned that he was okay. He was scheduled to meet that day on the 8th floor of the second tower, but the meeting had been moved to another location. We later learned there were many small but mighty miracles going on all over the city that limited the usual number of people who were supposed to be in the Towers that day.

Thankful that my boys and their families were safe, I rejoiced with other people who had been spared, and offered up prayers for those who hadn’t. Americans joined hands and hearts, praising God and showing their patriotic colors, but not all. Even in those dark hours, there were some who ridiculed “those flag wavers,” and blamed American Imperialism for the event. It was our fault. We deserved it for allowing such desperation and poverty in the world in the first place.

Unfortunately, those naysayers are still with us. The hate-America-crowd never seems to get tired of bashing the success and hard work of others or demeaning American values held dear by many.

(This is what I'll be doing on the 4th of July!)

My own father was a welder who took pride in repairing the ships that were damaged during World War II. He worked on the Arizona, the Missouri, and many of the ships prior to and after Pearl Harbor. As a child, we lived in government housing in Bremerton, Washington. Sailors, soldiers, and patriotic workers were part of our everyday lives. We took pride in their service and in their accomplishments. 

My Danish grandfather and his Swedish wife traveled all the way to California during World War I to work for the war effort. Papa worked in a factory as a welder, and Mama sewed clothing and uniforms for the soldiers and their families. They kept America’s factories running while the men were away fighting a war to preserve our freedoms. God forbid that Hitler should come here! People everywhere worked together for the good of America: the last bastion of freedom on the earth!

Papa and Mama came to this country via Ellis Island. They were proud, hopeful, and legal. They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps and carved out a life for their posterity. When you put down my flag and put down my country, you’re trampling on everything my ancestors fought and died for. These freedom loving people would give you the shirt off their backs, and they often did because it was the right and honorable thing to do. They earned their success through their own blood sweat and tears.

(Two beautiful red pears I plan to paint)

Several years ago, I was between jobs and feeling down and out. I had a medical background, so I managed to get an interview with the VA hospital where I lived. I was unprepared for the feelings that overwhelmed me when I walked through those double front doors. 

People in wheelchairs, old people, people on crutches, many with limbs missing coming and going down the hallway and gathering in the foyer. Flags and photos were everywhere. A feeling of reverence, and yes, despair, permeated every smell, every corner, every water-filled eye. I didn’t get the job, but I left a changed person.

I was so overcome with gratitude that I wanted to shake every hand, kneel at every knee, and hold every trembling, frightened person I passed and say: “Thank you;” but it seemed so inadequate! I was living my life with the hope of opportunity; whole, well, and free because someone here in this hospital and elsewhere in America gave up an opportunity, a limb, a loved one, a life of security for me.

God bless the men and women everywhere who serve our country! Thank God for the men and women in past generations who sacrificed their lives so that you and I can hope, and breathe, and choose our dreams. Freedom lives because somebody died—for you!