great tee

Not sure what this piece means my friend, but here’s how I feel about my country and those who judge it. —

Ah yes the great target for the world, America my homeland.

When a country has both the audacity and courage to stand up for those in need they become the target of those who are concerned only for their own who opt to not help their fellow human beings.

Hidden agendas are indeed the work of governmental hoodlums and not that of its citizens. And if America’s government does indeed have its own agenda then that is between it and God and/or their own conscience, but at least they are not afraid of worldly recourse as they seek to save the downtrodden that no one else has the courage to save. ALL governments are repressive in nature in that, they are ALL self-serving lairs in the end. To the degree that the public is aware is to the same degree that it seeks to enlighten itself as to its own societal and governmental flaw. It’s simply easier to judge others than it is to look inward at our own, which of itself is a sin and a flaw.

If a mother and her child are walking down the street and are accosted by a thieving brute, do we the innocent bystanders simply stand by and watch as she is assaulted or do we intervene to save them?
Is it not true that to sit idly by and do nothing as she and her child are brutally attacked is as much a crime as is the hidden agenda of those who would help only for the fame of it?
There is as much wrongful sin in doing nothing to help those in need as there is within the hidden agenda of the back-door thieves in every government and within the hearts and minds of those judging as they sit idle with only concern for their own well-being I fear.

A good friend of mine from Montreal had once accused America of killing innocent children in Iraq. While this may be true on some fronts, no one could kill anyone if they were simply sitting home not helping those who were being killed by a ruthless dictator himself, so where is the difference?
Is it not true that to do nothing as people are being slaughtered is the equivalent of slaughtering them ourselves?
It was a fact that Saddam Hussein had already raped, tortured and murdered over 300,000 innocent victims, so to sit by and do nothing as most of the world did, and has done, is as much a crime against humanity as if they’d raped, tortured and murdered the victims themselves, which was my point above.
Let’s suppose that the mother and child referred to earlier were our wives and daughters. Would we be so inclined then to sit idly by and do nothing, or would we indeed intervene with the possibility of being judged by those who simply watched as they were raped, tortured and murdered?
Where America is going is the exact same place as the rest of humanity and its self-serving, judgmental souls.
Not meaning that the artist was taking shots at America. Just clearing up a few misconceptions that others may have about a nation of fallible humans the exact likes of their own as we initiate our own brands of sin and judgment.
Peace to all and God Bless….

Nicely put Symmetry44

I must agree with Symmetry, right down to the God Bless!

nothing bad intended here; this is not a “put-down America” statement but a reflection on how America is bleeding right now! Not only is crime at a all-time high with gangs and drive-by shootings but your economy is in recession. That’s it…….nothing else!

nothing bad intended here; this is not a “put-down America” statement but a reflection on how America is bleeding right now! Not only is crime at a all-time high with gangs and drive-by shootings but your economy is in recession. That’s it…….nothing else!
I lived for 8 years in the States and loved it.

’Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth" Picasso…..well done Arnold!

Impressive piece, Arnold. The voices that it raises only prove the power of your art. Well done!

Great piece Arnold, this image holds much truth, when an onlooker views this work they bring their own view. I too lived in the US for sometime as both countries are my home. When I look upon this image I feel both anger and sadness at the same time, when will it all heal? when will it be the ideal that it was conceived as, or was? Is it a tragedy or has the freedom illusion that is the “American Plantation” failed?
At any rate the image speaks volumes….

Thanks everybody……I also remember thinking of the school shootings(Canada too) specifically Columbine and why we were shooting our selves. My thoughts then were on violence in the media, entertainment, music, education, history, etc….and why society as a whole was imploding, turning on itself. Guess i could have used our flag but it just didn’t fit and most would not recognize it; a maple leaf dripping blood doesn’t have the same “punch”.