I think of it as The Fool's Journey. I've been asked who the "fool" is. It's me, but in the classical sense of the court jester. Only the fool was allowed to tell the king of his follies. All cartoons are available as prints or originals, framed or unframed, through my website or e-mail. For mugs, t-shirts, and other products visit my gift shop at www.zazzle.com/jcrowtherart* (be sure to include the *).
Those whose lives are madly spent
posted by John M Crowther @ 6:34 AM
I think of it as The Fool's Journey. I've been asked who the "fool" is. It's me, but in the classical sense of the court jester. Only the fool was allowed to tell the king of his follies. All cartoons are available as prints or originals, framed or unframed, through my website or e-mail. For mugs, t-shirts, and other products visit my gift shop at www.zazzle.com/jcrowtherart* (be sure to include the *).
Artist, writer, filmmaker, actor. Wrote "The Evil That Men Do" starring Charles Bronson. "Missing in Action" starring Chuck Norris. Performed one-man play "Einstein" off-Broadway and in Europe. Tours US with "Meet Mr. Wright," his one-man play about Frank Lloyd Wright. Art exhibitions in Italy and U.S. His work as a cartoonist has been seen in MAD magazine. Illustrated the children's books "How the Waif Bunny Saved the Boy" and "The Man In the Red Bandana" about his nephew Welles Crowther, a hero of 9/11, written by his niece, Honor Crowther Fagin, Welles's sister. Author of novel "Firebase," published in UK by Constable and US by St. Martins Press. For many years an avid student and reader of Tarot. Performs weddings as a Los Angeles County Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriage.
9 Comments:
Wow, is that a Crowther original poem? So very, very, telling of our American society! Have you seen the video, "The Story of Sutff"?
www.storyofstuff.com
How is it that we've managed to replace compassion for our neighbor's in need with the drive for owning and collecting superfluous material items? Things have got to change people! Great message John!
Oh yeah...and a belated Happy New Year to all of you too!!!
As I said before on this blog, I firmly believe that we are our brothers and sisters keeper. If I have two coats and another has none, it behooves me to offer my extra coat to my fellow being without expectation of thanks or gratitude.
Born Catholic, which taught me a healthy sense of guilt (grin), but as a young adult turned Quaker which taught me sound fundamentals, I try to walk the thin line between both. (grin) However as an artist hoping not to starve, I hope lots of people want to buy stuff especially my stuff!
I think you've missed the point Lee. The problem lies in the act of buying mindless token items people don't need or use. Disposable items are filling our landfills and polluting the environment with manufacturing toxins. This doesn't include purchases that are truly meaningful and lasting- like artwork! I'm an artist too you know...I'm not trying to shoot myself in the foot!
There's an old joke about a rich man and a poor man kneeling in prayer next to one another in church. The rich man addresses God, saying, "O Lord, I want to thank for all the bounty of the past year, for my stock dividends that went way up, for our record coporate profits, for my several million dollar bonus as CEO, for the new ski chalet in Vail and my new place in the Bahamas, and for the new Lear jet and multi-million dollar yacht." At a certain moment he notices the poor man next to him, eyes cast heavenward, saying, "please Lord, I don't want to be greedy, but they foreclosed on my farm this year, my wife got to have a heart operation, and my son was crippled in an accident and can't work, and I'm on disability.... do you think you could see your way clear to give us a bit of help?" The rich man gets out his wallet, peels off a few thousand dollar bills, and hands them to the poor fellow next to him. "Here," he says, "take this, and stop bothering God with all that piddling stuff."
There's an old joke about a rich man and a poor man kneeling in prayer next to one another in church. The rich man addresses God, saying, "O Lord, I want to thank for all the bounty of the past year, for my stock dividends that went way up, for our record coporate profits, for my several million dollar bonus as CEO, for the new ski chalet in Vail and my new place in the Bahamas, and for the new Lear jet and multi-million dollar yacht." At a certain moment he notices the poor man next to him, eyes cast heavenward, saying, "please Lord, I don't want to be greedy, but they foreclosed on my farm this year, my wife got to have a heart operation, and my son was crippled in an accident and can't work.... do you think you could see your way clear to give us a bit of help." The rich man gets out his wallet, peels off a few thousand dollar bills, and hands them to the poor fellow next to him. "Here," he says, "take this, and stop bothering God with all that piddling stuff."
Love the message in those words John... and again... another cartoon filled with joyful optimism!
I feel sure people don't set out to be materialistic... it's something that sneaks up on them from behind... overtakes everything... and robs them of the stuff that really matters. There is no-one more impoverished than he who has everything. But life circumstances have a way of changing... and hard won lessons are often eventually learned when they do.
Having said that... philanthropy is alive and well... and there are still many examples of those "who have" helping those "who haven't".
Oops... that doesn't read right! The "message in those words" refers to your poem... of course... (not the bothering God stuff above!) LOL
I think you are absolutely right Jean. People are not born materialistic. But they can become so when the culture in which they live drums a beat of powerful consumerism that's, in itself, a kind of brainwashing. My hope for my country is that its citizens will wake up from this pathological commercial "stupor" and realize deeper, more meaningful living.
Does that make sense?
Perfect sense Mary... as always!
I hope so too :-)
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