Keep the Mind Working ...

America is no place for an artist: to be an artist is to be a moral leper, an economic misfit, a social liability. A corn fed hog enjoys a better life than a creative writer, painter or musician. To be a rabbit is better still. >>>Henry Miller

So what to Henry Millers quote. I say America is a place to be an artist. I'd even venture to say that it is even more so then anywhere else I can think of. We're such a diverse culture whose roots don't run too deep. Because our history is so young an artist can be whatever he or she wants and virtually has very few to be compared with. By this I mean, when one talks about italian art, mexican art, french art...images of great masters pop into the mind of what this should be. (from writers to actors to painters & sculptors) I also feel that anyone in our society who lives for themselves and not for what our misconceived notion of the "American Dream" has unfortunately become they run the risk of becoming a "moral leper, an economic misfit, a social liability" regardless of whether or not they are an artist. One shouldn't care about these things. So what if a corn fed hog leads a better life. I personally wouldn't ever want to be one. Live in a cage, get fed when someone wants to feed you and what they want to feed you, to inevitably be sent to the slaughter house. What kind of a life is that. Yeah you have no worries, no decision and can just cruise on through but you have yet to experiance life. Also, a creative writer, or any creative artist has the satisfaction of having something to show for his/her work, and energy, even if it's never appreciated. Perhaps that is what he's referring to, the agony of not being appreciated to the extent to which you feel you deserve. This is all part of the battle of life you chose. Anyway...I'll end my rant there. That quote helps keep me steered in the right direction.