This Community Needs You

At BOOKMACHINE presents: Dia de Los Muertos Collection by Miss Holly Bliss. Photo by Chantal DeFelice.

Article by Guest Writer Jeremy Dean Harrison

Are you reading this? Chances are your mom or dad cut out this article, maybe printed it up and put it on the fridge with a magnet… RIGHT WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT! Or maybe, I bet you are in a coffee shop, with paint or colored pen marks all over your hands from “working” late last night. Maybe you had a glass of wine or two at the big art opening last night, and you are slowly starting your day. Any way you like it, This community needs you.

I am an artist. I paint, draw, sing, read, write, play guitar, write songs, go to the coffee shop, attend art gallery opening to support and promote friends, and I promote on social media… I am an artist. But most important, I am a community leader. There is nothing wrong with artists being community leaders, teachers, politicians, business owners… It is necessary! It is imperative to the fabric of our social imaginary. We are the leaders. Artists are the visionaries of the future. It is time that educated artists take charge of the education development, pedagogy practices, the police stations, the finances… well… maybe not the finances… but we must keep our eye on our community. If we fall away from our civic duty to work and promote our community, all is lost in our art. All of our art work is for nothing… get it… “art work… not hard work…”

Whatever. We are the leaders of this generation and it is our inalienable right to explain the difference between liberty and freedom to children. It is our civic duty to protect children from poisonous candy… We need to teach our brothers and sisters that exercise is mandatory for the general welfare of all! Imagine how much electricity we could produce in New York right now, if EVERYONE exercised for 30 minutes extra a day, just to help the people who are cold and hungry. Instead,  we tell ourselves… I want to be an artist. Phooey… I don’t know what phooey means but, it is similar to e = mc2, I think. We are the community leaders, we might as well get paid for it. Let us inspire the world to greatness. Lets help our children move away from imperfection. Let us make exercise mandatory for all and capture that energy to produce heat. Lets come together… right now… “John Lennon”… but seriously… This is not a joke. Go get a job. It is your civic duty to work in your community. There are many city and state job openings for good hearted intelligent people with college educations and artistic visions. Lets put art, music and sports at the forefront of education priorities. Getting a job is not easy… but life is not supposed to be easy. It is supposed to be challenging and challenges are FUN. FUN. Is a cool band by the way.

I challenge you, artist, with a beautiful smile and a college education, to go down to your local city employment office and turn in your sharp, well educated resume. Make some money, get some security, land some consistency and move out of your parents house and buy your own appliances… WHERE NO ONE CAN EVER TELL YOU NO AGAIN. You can use the money and the free vacation time to pay for your art! Funny right, but it is a great deal. Plus you get great health benefits for you and your loved ones. It is what us, as real artists should do. I am talking to you! @ you know who you are… lol… btw…

Plus… Not to mention, This community needs you. The kids need your guiding spirit. The families need your loving nature. AND we all need your beautiful smile and leadership ability. Come on, are you serious? What do you have to lose? Get a job and be the artist you deserve to be.

THIS COMMUNITY NEEDS YOU!!!

~ Jeremy Dean Harrison can be contacted at JeremyDeanHarrison@gmail.com

Jeremy Dean Harrison has a masters in Political Theory, a Bachelors in Political Science and Psychology and a minor in National Affairs. He is an expert in the global digital economy and loves to use social media to promote legitimacy, transparency, consistency and success. Jeremy is a leader, a poet, a screenplay writer, a philosopher, a problem solver, an entrepreneur and the singer/songwriter of “gladhappylove”.

2 responses to “This Community Needs You

  1. As an artist finishing her MBA – artists can do numbers too ; ) I think you have something here with this article, and I hope you pursue it further. I had a conversation about this topic not long ago with an MEd student. I think artists are good at seeing what is and what isn’t, like the white space on canvas. Using the workspaces of places like Google and Zappos as examples, they have built a place for exercise, creativity and fun. A place to make connections and be inspired, very much like art.

    • Kristen, thank you so much for your wonderful reply! I also think that Jeremy is getting at something very important here. And I agree with you, there are artists who also have another or many other skills. And this is my philosophy and the main philosophy behind “Ponder Tree” and my logo… that we are all like trees, we all have one main interests/skill, the trunk, along with more skills and interests, the branches, and our skills and interests/skills fit together with other people like puzzle pieces… And one of my missions in life is to help connect all the puzzle pieces that belong together to create this bigger picture… Thank you and I hope you stay in touch. ~ Michelle Saul-Yamasaki

Leave a comment