Kanye West is just the latest in a long line.
Before him came Kenneth Halliwell, Paul Gauguin, and Picasso. How about Louis CK, Dave Chappelle, and Bill Cosby? And depending upon your political lean, you might even raise an eyebrow at Kid Rock, Bruce Springsteen, Aaron Lewis, or Neil Young.
What if we expand the definition of “art” a bit?
What about Colin Kaepernick, Mike Vick, Pete Rose, Barry Bonds, Lance Armstrong, or Muhamed Ali?
What if we expand it a little further?
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, or Robert E Lee?
We could keep going and expanding the definition of art until we land right on your front doorstep.
Yes, you. And me.
Can we separate you and me from what it is we do? That’s a bit messy, isn’t it? Because we have some of us in all of our work. Of course, we do.
Take me, for instance. I work in the tech industry. I create biometric sensor software. One could plausibly say I’m part of the evil, anti-freedom, Big Brother empire. But am I?
If we canceled the work of every person who’s sinned, we’d be left with zero work, except that from a single human.
The only way forward is to ask ourselves, “Is consuming, participating, or utilizing the same as condoning?”
Only you can decide for yourself. Don’t let the tribe do it for you.
