a baron bridge of the missingippi (2012)
brandon lee kramer
the floods of the past five years have caused havoc on the central united states. our so called bible belt is supposed to be exempt from such harsh reality, from the perverse punishment that noah had to endure. instead we, as a geographical entity, have gone through chaos. our crops, university buildings, homes and churches have been devastated by natural disasters; occasions one could hardly fathom, let alone prepare for appropriately. now god has begun his tricks once again. stringent heat for days -no- weeks on end. the sounds of summer have set in only to be overtaken by the biding sting of the sun. the photograph above depicts a reminder that he, or whomever you deem guilty, of such tumultuous cynicism still has a sense of humor. the lake that was once here and the bridge that once led children over the wetlands have both been devoured by his hands. this charlatan says little, but rather flicks his wrist with assertion. "i give you water to take it away," he posits, and destiny ensues. to me, it is funny how we regurgitate the myriad of information we have at our finger tips...
the american narrative is rich: "the end is coming," we say. we are compelled by that notion. columbus said we would find the garden of eden in america. i think we have, and adam/eve were not alone. we have become that manifestation: the ultimate sinners. we deny our responsibility, the truth that we produce our own illnesses, that we cause the lakes to dry up, and that the end is, in fact, not going to happen (like the mayans supposedly said). the irony in it all is that we won't blame ourselves. "how could something so horrific be because of me? the goodhearted, loving parent/sibling/child? i mean no harm... i am just afraid." it is this fear that pushes us forward. we can't take a step back to stop our rampant use of resources, especially amid an economic crisis. we cannot stop production, making more jobs, etc. this just is not in the cards.
i had always wondered what we are in such a big hurry to do. where are we going? surely, we must have some destination, no? is it heaven? is that where our three cars are taking us (we need that many to be american, right)? or is all of this for another reason? to me, it seems that we are not going anywhere, but rather trying to create as many detours as we can to obscure the line of where we are going: to death. though it seems morbid, is this not what all of this is for? we buy fast cars, tvs, bigger houses and more ornate visions only to block the reality that none of this really matters. we are going to die and there is nothing we can do about it. america facilitates the ultimate lie, that of complete self-denial that we have to die. we live for the "embedded now." this point in space-time that we are shielded from the lions and tigers that hunt us, from the starvation that would ensue if a plague really existed in today's usa. it is our middle/upper class relativism that blocks a pure vision of america. we need to wake up and realize that the end is not near, but rather here. we need to do something now, so that the poor that most do not seem to care about do not turn out to be the same goodhearted, loving parent/sibling/child you claim to care about. please, start caring america.
