I talked to my cartooning class today about how this election was the result of a lack of imagination on a massive scale. The racist currents running through the country affect all economic classes and thrive in unimaginative minds- minds that lack the capacity to imagine how other people live and how other people perceive the world around them.
As an artist and a creator I have a lot of work to do to be sure that the worlds that I create are welcoming to people from all walks of life. This does not mean that I have to dilute what I am doing to appeal to a mass audience but rather forces me to be more particular, creating richer, rounder characters- that are the foundation of good storytelling.
The election seemed to fall this year to a campaign that utterly lacked an ability to imagine an America that could stand to prosper by embracing its greatest resource- our diversity as a people. We think different thoughts and live different lives but these different experiences should be helping us forge a future America that welcomes freedom of thought and not only accepts but celebrates all of its people.
We do not need to mourn the loss of the America that we imagined and that seemed to be coming more and more in focus. Despite the people who are working hard to turn us around to the ways things never were, we just have to now work doubly hard to get there- and get everyone there regardless of race, gender, or religion.
Well stated!