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| The Polished Mirror |
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Iraq War XLT 5.8
http://europa.redjupiter.com/gems/polishedmirror/stickerprice51.pdf
At a recent art opening I spoke to my friend, artist Mark Elliott, about my opposition to the war in Iraq and my decision (and my mother's) to create this site and to pursue peace and justice under the auspices of Christianity and contemplative prayer. Finding this project agreeable, Elliott offered us the opportunity of being the first site to present his newest work, Iraq War XLT 5.8, to the public. As you will see, Elliott brazenly attacks what he sees to be the underlying cynicism of governmental rhetoric and the entire military industrial complex, which for commercial purposes had been planning the invasion of Iraq long before 9-11. As is clear from the daily news, the Project for a New American Century, proposed by Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld in 1998, is today in great jeopardy. Although their ideas have changed our government and the doctrine of pre-emptive war in the name of freedom has been made manifest, today Iraq, which they intended to be a bastion of capitalism in the Middle East, threatens to become a place of civil war and a bastion of horror in the coming decades. However sincere Bush may be in his religious rhetoric, the events that have transpired show that one cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. Indeed, as Elliott's "mathematics" show, the only ones who stand to benefit from these actions are those who have put their money in a small handful of corporations and those whose political careers receive aid from the Fear which John tells us is universally opposed to Love (1 John 4:18). I believe this to be a very strong work, and I hope that it can be the occasion for many to observe that behind the talk of aid and democracy, behind the talk of America as the "light," is the pursuit of gain, a gain not for all, but for the few.
Here is a statement from Elliott himself:
I feel that our federal government is highly corrupt, and serves only its own narrow interests. Hopefully we can wake up to this fact and do something about it. We can start by using our power as consumers. When we choose to buy a Hummer or another gas-guzzling vehicle, we simultaneously choose to imperil the world's people. We also choose to imperil our beautiful Earth. We are capable of making better choices. We could choose to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles. We could even choose to ride a bicycle around town. In these small ways, we can make a difference for everyone.
Click Here to view the work full scale in pdf format.
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