Perspective | The Direction of Intention

Low Information Nightmare [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on March 17, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

We took down the chimes because we knew the blizzard was coming. We watched the monster winds , sleet and snow, approach on radar. I am forever grateful to have immediate access to weather radar so I know what’s coming. It saved us once-upon-a-time when we were caught in a tornado. Just after the winds lifted our car from the ground, we huddled behind a restaurant and watched the radar for a small break in the storm so we could make a run for safety.

Last night as the blizzard buffeted the house, as we ate bananas at 3am, we talked about all the things in the world about which we know nothing. Does ice on the tracks impact how the trains run? How do they move Anselm Kiefer’s monumental paintings from his studio to a gallery? In the age of Goggle it is possible to find out how to lay bricks but would I really know how to do it until I’d studied with a master bricklayer? At what point is abstract knowledge actually useful? At what point do we know what we are talking about?

Yesterday I heard a phrase roll through the news cycle that I’m coming to detest: low information voter. It’s sanitized language and brings up a number of questions for me. The first is obvious: are we mislabeling an intentionally misinformed voter as a low information voter? I’ve watched dozens of interviews with “low information voters” who are quite capable of regurgitating pat-phrases seeded into their brains from their source of misinformation. Are they then a low information voter?

The ghost of Neil Postman whispered in my ear:

“The question is not, Does or doesn’t public schooling create a public? The question is, What kind of public does it create? A conglomerate of self-indulgent consumers? Angry, soulless, directionless masses? Indifferent, confused citizens? Or a public imbued with confidence, a sense of purpose, a respect for learning, and tolerance? The answer to this question has nothing whatever to do with computers, with testing, with teacher accountability, with class size, and with the other details of managing schools. The right answer depends on two things and two things alone: the existence of shared narratives and the capacity of such narratives to provide an inspired reason for schooling.” ~ Neil Postman, The End of Education

Shared narratives. An inspired reason to ask questions and to seek greater understanding. These two things actually form a feedback loop. They are fluid and not fixed: greater understanding informs and evolves shared narrative which opens new questions. You might think that shared narrative and pursuit of greater understanding would be essential concerns for our democracy but we are learning – I am learning, much to my surprise – that is not true. Our narrative is intentionally divided. The current republican party openly and intentionally demonizes learning. Low information voters are easily manipulated and a political party empty of ideas and ideals relies exclusively on a voting public that readily swallows their rubbish.

If our democracy took itself seriously, would we tolerate highly profitable sources of misinformation? Would we so easily polish “ignorance” into a shiny phrase: low information voter? If we took our democracy seriously and intended to protect it, wouldn’t “low information voting” be unacceptable since the responsibility of casting a ballot is predicated upon knowing what you are voting for?

I live in the age of Google. I can see storms coming and that informs my choices: I take down the chimes. I secure anything that the wind will destroy.

I live in the age of Google. I can -and do – in a moment fact check any assertion that comes my way. For instance, I know that the Save America Act is not what it appears to be. It is a storm coming. It does the opposite of what it purports to do. It has nothing to do with voter ID and everything to do with preventing voters from voting. It is a straw man; incidence of voter fraud in the United States is statistically zero. Do low information voters know that? This wind will destroy our democracy.

The woke folk on my side of the divide read Project 2025 and learned from the chaos and grift of the first four years of the authoritarian wannabe. We screamed, “There’s a storm coming!” The necessary information – like weather radar – was readily available. It was easy to see. Low information is, in actuality, the unwillingness to look.

What’s happening now in our nation is not a surprise. The campaign to create low information voters was -and is – successful. Eliminate education. Demonize truth as a hoax. Create “alternative” facts (legitimize lies) while labeling actual news “fake”. Split the people.

If we survive the attempted take down of our democracy, an item high on my list of things to address is the elimination of the possibility of the low information voter. One need not have a mass of information in their brain to be educated, they only need the desire to question, the dedication to discern what is true from what is dross. One need only understand the need to check the radar and act accordingly.

“Because we are imperfect souls, our knowledge is imperfect. The history of learning is an adventure in overcoming our errors. There is no sin in being wrong. The sin is in our unwillingness to examine our own beliefs, and in believing that our authorities cannot be wrong.” Neil Postman, The End of Education

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE CHIMES

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Filed under: Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, education, information, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, misinformation, Neil Postman, questions, SAVE act, shared narrative, story, studio melange, The End of Education, the melange, truth, vote | 1 Comment »

At The Confluence [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on March 11, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Truth lies at the confluence of independent streams of evidence.” ~ Karl Deutsch

Our conversation last night was lively. We sat around the dining room table with friends until late into the night. We discussed the current tribalism of our nation and our seeming inability to arrive at a shared truth. You’d think that simple truth would be easy to come by given the plentiful streams of evidence. Sadly, apparently, our streams of evidence run into an ocean of misinformation and denial.

My grandmother used to say, “If it was a snake it would have bit you.” Of our current national predicament she might ask, “How many times do you need to be snake-bit before you open your eyes?” A nation-body can only take so much venom (lies) before it succumbs.

The word of the week is “confluence”. A confluence of evidence. A preponderance of evidence. Amidst a coordinated cover-up does anyone really believe that the current administration is as they claim, “the most transparent in history?” The Epstein Class, the president among them, is working overtime to dam the streams of evidence. Is there really any doubt that they fear the truth?

“Power is the ability to afford not to learn.” ~ Karl Deutsch

If ever there was a quote that encapsulates the current occupant of the White House and his sad sycophantic party, this is it.

They’ve learned nothing. We are in another why-are-we-there-war that costs a billion dollars a day. Those in power would rather not learn from the past. The real question is can we afford their ability not to learn? Foxy propaganda is a profitable, a tool of the powerful, so they feel no real need deal in truth or acknowledge history. Dedicated ignorance wears a red hat.

Some of the gathering evidence at the confluence: 79 trillion dollars have been “redistributed” from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1%. “The richest 1% now own approximately 49.9% of the entire stock market.” When we-the-people stress over “affordability” we can know with absolute certainty that it is not a “Democratic hoax.” The rising cost of living is all the evidence that we need. We will hear again and again – as we’ve heard for a few generations – that our economic woes are caused by “a flood of immigrants” or “people exploiting welfare” but if we actually look at the evidence, including the impact of the recent big-beautiful-redistribution-of-wealth-at-the-expense-of-the-poor bill, gutting medicaid and SNAP, the slop-story from the republican/authoritarian camp simply does not hold water. The evidence contradicts their assertion.

Streams of evidence are a gathering force and have a way of breaking through dams-of-lies. Not to mix too many metaphors but truth is also a snake that bites. As grandma might say, “It’s only a matter of time.”

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE CONFLUENCE

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Perspective | Leave a comment »

Less Than Exceptional [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on March 6, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“I’d rather be a dog, and bay the moon, than such a Roman.” ~ William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

It’s not that I don’t appreciate Senator Tom Tillis’ take down of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. She certainly deserves all the derision that comes her way. I found his comments to be the height of irony, rebuking Noem for her poor leadership while he and the entire republican congress have been the poster-children for excessively subpar leadership. They have been silent, abdicating their duty and oath to uphold the Constitution, enabling the takedown of our democracy and running cover for the Epstein Class. Tillis only found his voice and his courage after he announced his retirement. It’s easy to feign indignation once you are out of the game. He, along with every member of his party, deserves the same humiliation.

This is the comment that rankled me: “We’re an exceptional nation. And one of the reasons we’re exceptional is we expect exceptional leadership.”

Where-oh-where is the exceptional leadership in the republican congress? Had Tom Tillis aimed his comments at himself and his republican peers while DOGE was wreaking havoc on our government or while his party was abdicating all responsibility for tariffs we might find his comment meaningful. I particularly find his expectation of exceptional leadership to ring hollow while the president and his party continue to provide cover for an international ring of pedophiles or go to war without congressional approval or profit billionaires at the expense of the poor or unleash a gestapo on our streets or undermine elections or…

The entire cabinet is less than exceptional. The AWOL republican members of congress are weak. Remarkably unexceptional. As a co-equal branch of government they have proven to be dismal.

We-the-people do, in fact, expect exceptional leadership and are dumbfounded by what we see. Waiting to speak your truth until you no longer have skin in the game is less than exceptional. It’s the opposite of leadership. It’s cowardice.

“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt” ~ Mark Twain

Kerri’s albums are available on iTunes and streaming on Pandora

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE MOON

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Filed under: KS Friday, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, Constitution, cowardice, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Kristi Noem, leadership, Mark Twain, oath, republican, story, studio melange, the melange, Tom Tillis, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment »

Join The Chorus [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on March 4, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

Horatio reported that he and T are becoming hermits. Kerri and I feel that we, too, are tending toward the reclusive. It would not surprise me to learn that there is a national impulse toward hunkering down. We had a Saturday plan for adventure and awoke to find the liar-in-chief, the pedophile-president, had started a war with Iran. We scrapped our plan. It was lightly snowing so we decided to relish the temporary quiet that the snow brings. Kerri headed outside to capture the snow crystals collecting on the tall grasses. Find the beauty in the moment regardless of the bleak circumstance.

I am aware that the danger of authoritarian takeovers, like the one we are experiencing, complete with a masked gestapo that does not feel bound by the law, a president who is immune to the law, and a congress that ignores the law, is that it will make agoraphobics of us all. It is human nature to opt for safety, which successfully inhibits freedom of movement. That’s what the bully and his cohort count on. Pitting safety against freedom is in the authoritarian playbook. That’s why we must step out, take to the streets, join hands and exercise our fundamental right to protest while we still have it. It’s all that now stands between us (our democracy) and the authoritarian take-over. A free people create safety for each other; people running for safety have already lost their freedom.*

Do you find it ironic, as I do, that one of the many reasons given for this war-of-choice is to help free the Iranian people from authoritarian rule – all the while the administration (if you can call it that) are assaulting our democracy, ignoring the constitution, pulling out all the stops to suppress our free and fair elections in order to establish authoritarian rule here at home?

I find the real beauty of the moment to be the people of our nation, concerned for their freedom, taking to the streets. Instead of running inside to hide – as this administration thought we would – instead of seeking safety in the face of the thuggery, we’re facing the bullies, standing-up for our basic freedoms. Renee Nicole Good. Alex Pretti. We’re invoking the spirit of John Lewis and all those who knew that freedom is a prerequisite of safety. The intention of freedom-and-justice-for-all is a prerequisite of democracy. Once lost, there is no safety, there is no justice.

We are living in a very bleak circumstance, indeed. And yet there is so much beauty – the guardians of freedom – the people – pour into the streets. It inspires even the most dedicated hermit to dust off his coat and join the protest-chorus.

Horatio also reported that each week, he and T, along with their granddaughter, take to the streets and lend their voices to the cause of democracy. They dance and laugh and sing with the other protesters. They stand in the winter cold waving signs at passing cars. These are not the actions of hermits-in-the-making. The truth betrays itself. These are the actions of people who are less concerned with their safety and comfort than they are determined that their grandchildren will live their lives in a country that is free.

*read Timothy Snyder’s remarkable book, On Freedom

read Kerri’s blogpost about SNOW ON GRASS

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Identity, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, authoritarian, comfort, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, freedom, Iran, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, On Freedom, safety, story, studio melange, the melange, Timothy Snyder, war | 1 Comment »

A Cautionary Tale [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on February 24, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

I’ve not read John Steinbeck‘s novel, The Winter Of Our Discontent, but now seems to be a good time. Here’s an overview: “John Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent is about Ethan Allen Hawley, a man from a fallen aristocratic family in a corrupt, post-WWII American town, who abandons his morals for wealth, exploring themes of disillusionment, integrity, and the decay of the American Dream as he manipulates his way to success, only to find emptiness. The story follows his internal struggle as he gives in to the materialistic pressures from his family and society, ultimately questioning the true cost of success and the nature of honesty in a self-serving world.” (A I Overview)

Perhaps this would be an appropriate book for members of the republican party to read? They seem hellbent on abandoning their morals for wealth, manipulating their way to power (otherwise known as lying and gaslighting), actively assaulting the American Dream en route to finding emptiness.

It is cold comfort to realize that our current kerfuffle is not unique to our times. Moral bankruptcy has been – and continues to be – a persistent problem in the national psyche. My favorite phrase in the overview is this: the nature of honesty in a self-serving world.

As we’ve previous written, we hit the trail as often as possible to clear our minds, to step out of the daily hoohaw and reconnect with tangible reality. We inevitably focus on the beauty that surrounds us. It is inescapable to take a walk in the woods and not arrive at some level of understanding of interconnection. It is a short leap from there to the realization that any harm done to others is harm done to yourself. Any poison dumped into the river is poison dumped into yourself. And, on the flip-side, any service done for others is service to yourself. Any generosity offered to others is a generosity given to yourself. Thriving community is – and always has been – the blossom of other-serving.

If there is a persistent hoax afoot in our nation it is the republican-cowboy-notion of “every man for himself”. It is a lie. It is a swindler’s philosophy, a justification for raw exploitation. Exploitation of others inevitably fleeces everyone. It is not true, as the republicans-since-Reagan would have us believe, that the “welfare mothers” and “illegals” are taking advantage of our hard-earned tax dollars, it is in fact the Epstein Class, the morbidly wealthy, who have in the past 5 decades sucked over 50 trillion dollars of wealth from the middle and lower classes into the coffers of the 1%. What is the cost of success in a self-serving world? As many have written, we are witnessing the suicide of a superpower at the hands of a bloated oligarchy.

Here’s the last line of the overview: “Ultimately, the novel serves as a cautionary tale about the emptiness that results from sacrificing one’s principles for material gain, resonating with Steinbeck’s broader concerns about the state of the American character.”

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE WINTER FLOWER

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Filed under: Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: allegory, artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Epstein Class, exploitation, generosity, interconnection, John Steinbeck, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, morality, power, self serving, service, story, studio melange, the melange, The Winter of Our Discontent | 1 Comment »

Riddled With Choices [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on February 23, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

“It’s everything behind you that brings you to what’s ahead.” ~ Visa advertisement

Once, long ago, a couple in The Netherlands offered to support me for a year so that I could paint without the pressures of making a living. They were artists, maintained a studio and were central to an active artists’ network. I’ve often wondered where my life would have taken me had I accepted their generous offer.

When Kerri and I met we talked about our “broken roads,” the life-choices that we’d made that actually – somehow – led us to meet. Every crossroad is riddled with choices. Some of the impacts of the choices-made are foreseeable. Most are not.

The road behind us, in these un-United States of America, is littered with the carnage of a tug-of-war between those who believe the words We The People are only meant for the privileged few and those who believe the words are all-inclusive. We have in our national broken road a Trail of Tears, generations of slavery, Jim Crow, women’s Suffrage, Japanese internment…we also know the abolition of slavery, a civil rights movement, voter rights…We have amendments to our Constitution, a Bill of Rights, that protect our liberties against an out-of-control government.

We are at a crossroads. The tug-of-war is in full view and the choices could not be more clear. Do we choose the path of freedom-and-justice-for-all or do we choose the fascist path of rights for the privileged few?

Lately, if you listen to the messaging from the White House and the resounding echo-chamber of the republican congress, the Constitution is merely a suggestion, discarded when inconvenient. We are currently witness to the unconstitutional ruling by the Supreme Court elevating the president above the law (making him a king), the suspension of due process and habeas corpus, and a complete disregard of the 4th Amendment protecting us against unreasonable searches and seizures. Our government is actively protecting an international ring of pedophiles comprised of the world’s wealthy elite – including many members of the current administration – while simultaneously constructing a network of concentration camps meant to house people of color en route to deportation. Each day, ICE, the agents of our government, egregiously violate the rights of-the-people with impunity.

It is also true that each day the people of the nation take to the streets to exercise their right to protest. The people of the nation are coming together to protect their neighbors from government abuse.

What’s behind us is a tug-of-war. What’s with us presently is a tug-of-war. What’s ahead of us?

Every crossroad is riddled with choices. Some of the impacts of the choices-made are foreseeable. Most are not. If we believe the polls, the people of the nation overwhelmingly choose the path of diversity, equity, and inclusion, a path that leads to the promise of democracy. The current administration does not.

The vast majority of our people are sick-to-death of the maga lies, the rampant gaslighting, and incessant blaming (abdication of responsibility), whining, whining, whining of this administration and the republican party.

Everything that’s behind us can lead to the fulfillment of the truths that we hold to be self-evident, that all people are created equal and that a government of the people, by the people and for the people is not only possible, it is our imperative.

Everything that’s behind us can also lead to rule by the elite few, the elimination of liberty-for-all. The embrace of antique white supremacy.

We stand at a crossroads. I hope our descendants do not have to wonder where life would have taken them had we accepted as sacred and protected the rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution. I hope they have the opportunity to look at our history, our broken road, and give thanks that, at this crossroad, we chose the path of freedom and justice for all.

read Kerri’s blogpost about WHAT’S AHEAD

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Filed under: Identity, Merely A Thought Monday, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, choices, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, DEI, democracy, Diversity, equity, fascism, government, ice, inclusion, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, liberty, privilege, rights, story, studio melange, the melange, truth | 1 Comment »

Once Again Walk [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on February 17, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

What is the truth of it? It is the question of our times, isn’t it?

We walked this path through our beloved Bristol woods a million times in the past. Always in the daylight. Rarely at sunset. Since they built a ropes course that cut through a significant portion of the woods, a course that draws rowdy crowds, we stopped hiking there. Too many people. Too much noise. We walk our trails to get away from the chaos. We mourned it.

A candlelight Valentine hike enticed us to return to our woods. We signed up for the latest possible slot, knowing there would be less people later at night. We almost didn’t go. We felt exhausted from the day. We ran through our list of reasons why we should stay home but rallied, tied on our boots, and drove to the woods.

The Pringle Center at the head of the trail was buzzing with activity. People who’d finished their trail walk made valentines, ate cookies and drank hot tea. We passed through long enough to check-in and then stepped into the quiet of the night.

The muscle memory was surprising. I believe we could have walked the path blindfolded. The trail was like an old friend celebrating our return with luminaria. It was as if we easily picked up a conversation after years of absence, as if no time had elapsed. Our feet knew where to go.

There was no hurry. We lingered. We stopped and gazed at the stars. We listened for deer. We had time to walk a second loop. We were the last to leave the trail.

We sorted through many of life’s trials and tribulations walking this path through Bristol Woods. We’ve made significant life decisions on this trail. We often began our walks with troubled hearts and left the woods with quiet minds, ready to live another day. On this night, the eve of my 65th birthday, walking our second loop, all alone, the last people on the trail, we talked of what we are learning as we age, what illusions we are no longer chasing, what simple abundance we find ourselves embracing, what freedoms we find as we put our lives into perspective. We talked of gratitude for each other and reveled in the opportunity to once again walk in quiet through our Bristol woods.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE WOODS

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Filed under: Gratitude, Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, bristol wood, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Gratitude, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, opportunity, perspective, reflection, story, studio melange, the melange, Valentines Day | 1 Comment »

A Run On The Wheel [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on February 3, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

One of our first FLAWED cartoons features a gerbil running hard on a gerbil wheel while his supervisor-gerbil watches, smokes a cigarette, and says, “This work thing sucks.”

I found a revisioned truth in that original cartoon drawn over a decade ago. Kerri calls it “The Oligarchy versus The People. There is a class of gerbil that works hard on the wheel. There is a class of gerbil that profits from the work.

This morning while making breakfast I had another revelation about the cartoon. With the latest release of Epstein File documents, with the number of rich and powerful white men named in the files, with the damning accusations and implications running rampant through the files, I was struck by the blaring absence of investigations into those men. There is a class of gerbil that is subject to the law. There is a class of gerbil that the law refuses to touch.

The department of deception (formerly known as the department of justice) is refusing to release at least 50% of the documents. Given the picture painted in the latest batch of releases and the 100% certainty that they are covering-up for the worst-of the-worst, one can only wonder if there is a bottom to the depravity. Actually, we already know the answer to that question.

Though, there is a subtle reversal of roles happening on the ol’ gerbil wheel. We-the-gerbils-that-do-the-work are witnessing the power-gerbils running scared – and running faster and faster to escape the truth of their twisted lives. They will find, as we have, that a run on the wheel goes nowhere. They can run ever-faster but they cannot escape the truth of the wheel. And while they run they can be certain that we are watching them sweat.

There may be some justice after all.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE WHEEL

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Filed under: Metaphor, Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, depravity, disparity, division, Epstein files, flawed cartoon, justice, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, law, oligarchy, story, studio melange, the melange, truth | 1 Comment »

And Why? [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on February 2, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

High in the offices of KerriandDavid International headquarters, we stare at photos during our Melange selection process. Sometimes words appear in the image. In this photo the word, “Why” appeared. It’s akin to “Some Pig” showing up in Charlotte’s Web. “Whoa!” we whispered in unison.

“And why wouldn’t nature ask us, “Why?” Kerri added.

It may be that we have stared too long at photographs. It also might be the impact of too much coffee. In any case, we both saw the word in the bramble. It is an excellent and very appropriate question for nature to be asking of humanity. Why?

If we are learning anything these days it is that humanity is largely insane. This will not be the first time that humans have exhausted their resources and thoroughly soiled their nest en route to societal extinction all to make a buck or for the few to stand atop the pyramid.

Never doubt the power of story. Denial is, after all, a powerful form of story.

My WTF headline of the day, a perfect example of denial, is from US NEWS. It’s a report on the Womanosphere’s* continued and rabid support of ICE. The headline? Don’t Let Compassion Cloud You. I kid you not. It’s madness cut from the same cloth that brings us Stephen Miller insisting that Alex Pretti was a terrorist. No, don’t believe your eyes. Don’t let compassion cloud you. Keep your head in the gaslight. Ignore your heart. Gobble the propaganda.

Swear the ship is unsinkable even as it meets the obvious iceberg.

Since the early 1980’s we’ve known – through this magical thing called “science” – that carbon emissions were greatly impacting climate. The predictions from those early warnings were dire and we are, not surprisingly, living those dire predictions today.

The debate we are having is not about what is best for our survival but what is good for business. Don’t let science get in the way.

We are, whether we want to admit it or not, a part of nature. We are not above it even if we like to story ourselves as superior. Here is the lesson of societies long past that waved their superiority from atop the pyramid: nature is not really concerned with our story. Hurricanes are indiscriminate. As are mudslides and earthquakes. Drought does not care who it kills.

People, on the other hand are capable of discernment. People are capable of compassion. People are capable of knowing better. People are capable of learning from their past and their mistakes. In other words, people are more than capable of asking, “Why?” And, if they don’t, they end up making ridiculous statements from the top of their imagined pyramid like “Don’t Let Your Compassion Cloud You” or “Climate Change Is A Hoax,” or “He Was Brandishing A Gun.”

Whatever. Close your eyes if you must. Close your heart if you are capable.

I think I’ll listen to my heart while I pay attention to science. I’ll continue to ask, “Why?” My eyes and heart and brain are not in opposition to each other – and, even more to the point – while fully open and engaged, they are great at keeping me attuned to reality and off of some imaginary pyramid.

*I’d ordinarily provide a link as proof that such inanity exits but I refuse to support the algorithm that makes stupidity and cruelty popular.

read Kerri’s blogpost about WHY

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Filed under: Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, climate change, compassion, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, denial, discernment, heart, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, science, Stephen Miller, story, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

No Need [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on January 29, 2026 by davidrobinsoncreative

In their struggle for power, the princes, the two sons of the king, meet in battle and both die. It’s an ancient tale. Aesop could have written it. In the blind greed for power everyone loses.

I’ve tried to paint this analogy several times over the past decade. Each time I have been unsuccessful; the painting takes on a life of its own. Twice, instead of painting dead princes on the battlefield, both attempts morphed into Shared Fatherhood.

I tried again just before the turn of the new year. I am disgusted with both parties, democrats and republicans and tried again to paint the brothers dead on the battlefield. The meaningless loss.

Yet, once again, the lifeless bodies morphed. Their weapons and wounds disappeared. Clenched fists relaxed. Full of life, the figures embrace. They sleep together, peacefully.

I will not again try to paint the warring brothers. Clearly, my analogy for power-greed serves a greater invocation of generosity. Unselfishness. A shared cause, like a parent’s love for their child, a kindness for each other.

Invocation. The people protesting on the streets of Minneapolis are summoning peace. They are looking out for each other. They are standing in harm’s way for each other. They serve a cause greater than greed for power. They are teaching me what my paintings are trying to reach. A calling forth of the best in us. A desire for our representatives to serve a common center – democracy – instead of personal gain.

We walked the trail on a bitter cold day. The snow was frozen and crunched beneath or feet. It was quiet. The sun streamed through the trees and offered a touch of warmth. It never fails. When we step into nature and out of the noise, when we listen to the wind through the trees, spot the deer motionless in the tangle, when we stop to feel the sun touch us on a bitter cold day, I know beneath the greed for power there is a greater force, a deeper meaning. Two people sharing the joy of their child. Two people resting in the comfort of an embrace. A community in service to common good. The generosity of peace. The creation of peace.

These power-mongers will slay each other. It’s inevitable.

After so many attempts I’ve learned that I have no need to paint the obvious, I have no need to make a statement as old and evident as the sons of Oedipus.