The world is always multiple things at once. Billions of people are trying to do billions of things and history is the unclear consequences of that confusion of actions, often a comingling of narratives that themselves are disagreed upon instead of a determined sequence of facts. Indeed, history is just the history of how historians choose to interpret history, and what they choose to interpret versus ignore.
This means, among other things, that the seeds of the future are planted imperfectly in the miasma of the present, and the things that happen tomorrow may result from those things. So if we want an open world where citizens are free from the fear of extrajudicial execution and migrants have their natural (and in fact basic animal behavior) right to freedom of movement against the corrupted cowards whose pain of broken souls and retardation of mental facilities leads them only to express themselves in terms of violence against the vulnerable, in fact that world cannot exist if we only act exclusively under the terms of those oppressors. For there to be peace in the future, the foundations of it must be set now.
Art is, fundamentally, part of the architecture of piece. Artists must make their work survive all attempts to destroy peace.
So, that's how you can keep talking about it. A human mind is capable of holding two thoughts at once: that there is urgent issues to confront now, and meaningful investments in future peace.
Beautifully put! I really love being in the company of so many writers able to express themselves with such eloquence here and I absolutely agree with your point.
Big question, right? This has always been for the lack of a better word the purpose or role? of art. I can only answer for myself that after banging my head against the wall as an activist and trying to build a 3rd party (Green Party) I pivoted to making a documentary on activists but focusing on the nature of empathy and what drives some people to move beyond themselves and their surroundings and try to help others. I feel this is the best thing I can be doing right now.
As much as the facts of what’s occurring are the facts, it’s also a fact it took us until 1950 to realize “separate but equal is inherently unequal” - and that feels like a pretty abhorrent reality to me. Right which that, The Great Depression feels like a pretty awful reality (I just skipped over two world wars) and then go another half century and we’re in a civil war.
All three of these examples are so abhorrent to what we’re about and that’s the point
ideals matter - we all believe that if we’re a part of Cole’s Substack - and so we have our art
James Baldwin had some powerful things to write about
Grapes of Wrath lasted longer than the depression
We have a mess of a leader (who WE elected) and it sucks
But he’s a result of a system - he’s not the system itself
In every human system - especially one as big as the United States
- there’s pressure from the top-down, resistance from the bottom up
Then this really solid core in the middle
I believe it’s all bigger than Trump - albeit much quieter - but pressing ahead
We all need both. No-one can focus on all of this nonsense all of the time without going absolutely insane - we can and should and must also have things in our lives that bring peace, comfort, and joy. Failing that, even distraction for a short while helps.
First, all talking about art, especially your own, is at least a little cringe. "No one wants to hear about my crappy writing" is a reasonable position to hold even in good times.
But for the same reason you don't stop talking under those circumstances, you shouldn't stop talking under these. I mean, read the room: people discussing ICE detentions don't want to hear about your new book right then. But in general, life is still to be lived and art is a part of that living. Human beings are not meant to live with nothing but stress. We need the ability to recharge. Family, art, sports (though, as a Blackhawk fan I am not sure watching sports lowers my stress ...) are all things that help keep us sane.
We need to be human in bad times as well as good, perhaps even more so. And art is a part of being human, so I don't think in the right places and contexts there is any reason to withhold.
Except, you know, my writing sucks and no one wants to hear about my crappy little stories anyway :)
I've never found talking about our art to be cringe. It's like talking about any other facet of our lives. Why would we deny such an elemental part of our identities?
Good Catholic boys aren't supposed to brag :). It really is just that -- I am not published, have only had one thing published, so it feels a bit presumptuous, a bit like claiming something you haven't earned. Not entirely rationale, but present nonetheless.
Joy as an act of resistance feels more important than ever now. I feel it is imperative to hold onto everything that can be good and beautiful in this world - especially in online spaces where it is so easy to become mired in the horror all around. I actually want to see people shouting about their art rather than apologising for it.
I certainly would never apologize for my art, but I am curious about how others are feeling interacting with artists. That's a very new phenomenon when you consider it. Twenty years ago, you had almost no access to those who created the art you love. You'd have to go to a book signing or a convention or, if you were especially fanatical, wait outside a venue to shake a musician's hand or get your ticket or CD or boob or whatever signed. It's a new dynamic that feels especially odd given how much louder the dystopian vibe is in 2026 compared to the relative tameness of 2006 (oh god, how good we had it in hindsight).
I’m not sure I make a huge distinction between interacting with an artist about their art and simply discussing it with others. My point was more about making time and space for art regardless of what else is going on in the world.
Yes, I do think art is a route to positive mental health. In the upcoming season of 5AM StoryTalk's podcast, I have on Dr. Dacher Kelter. He's a psychologist who is at the forefront of studying awe/wonder and its effect on our mental health and general well-being. He was also one of the most important consultants on the INSIDE OUT films. His work really relates to my "in search of beautiful things" series here and general belief that art -- experience it -- is a necessary part of the human experience.
I've been pondering this question for awhile. My creative impulses ebb and flow like they always do. More stress tamps it down, sure, but ideas keep coming. I find myself wondering how folks in other times of great stress dealt with it.
– Tuco (Eli Wallach) *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* 1966
with my head replacing the word “shoot” with “make art”
currently i’m in “have to make art” mode – writing, writing, writing and occasionally creating a meme to help me vent
then, when i finally have something to share, i will “talk” about my art – hopefully only to those people who i believe may be interested in it ... or at least, understand why i’m talking about my art while the world slides toward fascism
The world is always multiple things at once. Billions of people are trying to do billions of things and history is the unclear consequences of that confusion of actions, often a comingling of narratives that themselves are disagreed upon instead of a determined sequence of facts. Indeed, history is just the history of how historians choose to interpret history, and what they choose to interpret versus ignore.
This means, among other things, that the seeds of the future are planted imperfectly in the miasma of the present, and the things that happen tomorrow may result from those things. So if we want an open world where citizens are free from the fear of extrajudicial execution and migrants have their natural (and in fact basic animal behavior) right to freedom of movement against the corrupted cowards whose pain of broken souls and retardation of mental facilities leads them only to express themselves in terms of violence against the vulnerable, in fact that world cannot exist if we only act exclusively under the terms of those oppressors. For there to be peace in the future, the foundations of it must be set now.
Art is, fundamentally, part of the architecture of piece. Artists must make their work survive all attempts to destroy peace.
So, that's how you can keep talking about it. A human mind is capable of holding two thoughts at once: that there is urgent issues to confront now, and meaningful investments in future peace.
Beautifully put! I really love being in the company of so many writers able to express themselves with such eloquence here and I absolutely agree with your point.
Big question, right? This has always been for the lack of a better word the purpose or role? of art. I can only answer for myself that after banging my head against the wall as an activist and trying to build a 3rd party (Green Party) I pivoted to making a documentary on activists but focusing on the nature of empathy and what drives some people to move beyond themselves and their surroundings and try to help others. I feel this is the best thing I can be doing right now.
As much as the facts of what’s occurring are the facts, it’s also a fact it took us until 1950 to realize “separate but equal is inherently unequal” - and that feels like a pretty abhorrent reality to me. Right which that, The Great Depression feels like a pretty awful reality (I just skipped over two world wars) and then go another half century and we’re in a civil war.
All three of these examples are so abhorrent to what we’re about and that’s the point
ideals matter - we all believe that if we’re a part of Cole’s Substack - and so we have our art
James Baldwin had some powerful things to write about
Grapes of Wrath lasted longer than the depression
We have a mess of a leader (who WE elected) and it sucks
But he’s a result of a system - he’s not the system itself
In every human system - especially one as big as the United States
- there’s pressure from the top-down, resistance from the bottom up
Then this really solid core in the middle
I believe it’s all bigger than Trump - albeit much quieter - but pressing ahead
We all need both. No-one can focus on all of this nonsense all of the time without going absolutely insane - we can and should and must also have things in our lives that bring peace, comfort, and joy. Failing that, even distraction for a short while helps.
First, all talking about art, especially your own, is at least a little cringe. "No one wants to hear about my crappy writing" is a reasonable position to hold even in good times.
But for the same reason you don't stop talking under those circumstances, you shouldn't stop talking under these. I mean, read the room: people discussing ICE detentions don't want to hear about your new book right then. But in general, life is still to be lived and art is a part of that living. Human beings are not meant to live with nothing but stress. We need the ability to recharge. Family, art, sports (though, as a Blackhawk fan I am not sure watching sports lowers my stress ...) are all things that help keep us sane.
We need to be human in bad times as well as good, perhaps even more so. And art is a part of being human, so I don't think in the right places and contexts there is any reason to withhold.
Except, you know, my writing sucks and no one wants to hear about my crappy little stories anyway :)
I've never found talking about our art to be cringe. It's like talking about any other facet of our lives. Why would we deny such an elemental part of our identities?
Good Catholic boys aren't supposed to brag :). It really is just that -- I am not published, have only had one thing published, so it feels a bit presumptuous, a bit like claiming something you haven't earned. Not entirely rationale, but present nonetheless.
Joy as an act of resistance feels more important than ever now. I feel it is imperative to hold onto everything that can be good and beautiful in this world - especially in online spaces where it is so easy to become mired in the horror all around. I actually want to see people shouting about their art rather than apologising for it.
KINDNESS IS PUNK! as teh kidz say
I certainly would never apologize for my art, but I am curious about how others are feeling interacting with artists. That's a very new phenomenon when you consider it. Twenty years ago, you had almost no access to those who created the art you love. You'd have to go to a book signing or a convention or, if you were especially fanatical, wait outside a venue to shake a musician's hand or get your ticket or CD or boob or whatever signed. It's a new dynamic that feels especially odd given how much louder the dystopian vibe is in 2026 compared to the relative tameness of 2006 (oh god, how good we had it in hindsight).
I’m not sure I make a huge distinction between interacting with an artist about their art and simply discussing it with others. My point was more about making time and space for art regardless of what else is going on in the world.
Yes, I do think art is a route to positive mental health. In the upcoming season of 5AM StoryTalk's podcast, I have on Dr. Dacher Kelter. He's a psychologist who is at the forefront of studying awe/wonder and its effect on our mental health and general well-being. He was also one of the most important consultants on the INSIDE OUT films. His work really relates to my "in search of beautiful things" series here and general belief that art -- experience it -- is a necessary part of the human experience.
I've been pondering this question for awhile. My creative impulses ebb and flow like they always do. More stress tamps it down, sure, but ideas keep coming. I find myself wondering how folks in other times of great stress dealt with it.
for some reason this quote popped into my head:
“When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk.”
– Tuco (Eli Wallach) *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* 1966
with my head replacing the word “shoot” with “make art”
currently i’m in “have to make art” mode – writing, writing, writing and occasionally creating a meme to help me vent
then, when i finally have something to share, i will “talk” about my art – hopefully only to those people who i believe may be interested in it ... or at least, understand why i’m talking about my art while the world slides toward fascism