SOUTHWEST RAMBLINGS - Thoughts on Making and Living Art

The Inauguration

Tuesday is a special day for this country. Change is coming, hope is in the air. Many of us have lived through a lot of inaugurations: Carter, thankful that Watergate was finally behind us; Bill Clinton strolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, and John Kennedy and his famous words. For me there was also Nixon, Johnson, Ford, Reagan, Bush 1 and 2, with a slight memory of Eisenhower.

I particularly remember Kennedy in 1961. I had just finished with major eye surgery and was limited to 1 hour of TV watching a day. I saw Robert Frost on a cold January morning, breath in the air, and listened to JFK intone "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

That's the spirit I feel now. I was young enough to be impressionable with the new fashion, Jackie's tour of the White House, JFK's delight in the arts, and children in the White House.

I have been lucky enough to attend conferences at the Kennedy Center for the Arts. I even stood in the Presidential Box (when no one was looking) with several other arts educators who graduated from the same college as I did. I gaped as I toured the beautiful building, and I could have sat for hours watching video of previous honorees. So I decided to go looking for some of the wonderful quotes by Kennedy concerning the arts.

THIS COUNTRY CANNOT AFFORD TO BE MATERIALLY RICH AND SPIRITUALLY POOR.
State of the Union Message, January 14, 1963

I LOOK FORWARD TO AN AMERICA WHICH WILL NOT BE AFRAID OF GRACE AND BEAUTY.
At Amherst College, October 26, 1963

And probably my favorite, which has the tone of Dr. King's famous speech:

I LOOK FORWARD TO AN AMERICA WHICH WILL REWARD ACHIEVEMENT IN THE ARTS AS WE REWARD ACHIEVEMENT IN BUSINESS OR STATECRAFT. I LOOK FORWARD TO AN AMERICA WHICH WILL STEADILY RAISE THE STANDARDS OF ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENT AND WHICH WILL STEADILY ENLARGE CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL OF OUR CITIZENS. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO AN AMERICA WHICH COMMANDS RESPECT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD NOT ONLY FOR ITS STRENGTH BUT FOR ITS CIVILIZATION AS WELL.
At Amherst College, October 26, 1963

I will be watching recorded video on Tuesday, as I will be in school, giving tests, and our district internet infrastructure cannot support 100 schools trying to access video streaming. But my heart will be waiting to take wing, as hope takes hold.

Linda Moran is a fiber artist and high school math teacher in Tucson, Arizona. You can follow her marbling adventures at her blog, or visit her website.