Many people have taken to Instagram and in righteous indignation chastised a country for treating what should be a somber holiday and turning into an extravaganza of drunken gluttony. Their apparent goal is to remind the rest of us this holiday exists to honor the countless American military servicemen and women who died for something greater than themselves.
Ok, fair enough. Selfless acts and people do deserve some recognition, but what many fail to realize is this day is a celebration of war the very thing that killed the people we're supposed to be mourning.
We cannot ask the dead about their experience in war. We cannot ask them if in their last moments they thought what they were supposedly fighting for was still worthwhile. This holiday exacerbates the symptoms of the disease of nationalism. It is a sickness that has claimed untold millions of lives.
The dead cannot speak, but those who survived war can still teach us quite a bit, and the way many veterans communicate the dark wisdom gained in war are communicating is through art.
The National Veterans Art Museum in portage park is a gallery made up of works created by war vets. The art was mostly produced in art therapy sessions. Art therapy is a way for veterans to articulate the internal torment the experience of war leaves with the people it destroys.
Pain awoke something in them, and they were able to find a new sense of purpose showing us the truth about war. Their art is inspired by their scars; it is an expression of their pain.
The fractured lives and shattered minds that made this art lift the veil of our denial. Viewers are forced to confront reality, and it is far different than the sanitized ego stroking romantic illusions of battle put forward in our culture.
The iconography of Death is heavily utilized in most of the pieces. War after all, is humanity's most death oriented endeavor. The hollowed eyes of skulls are painful reminders of extinguished human life.
There are a number of mediums on display, and there is not one that doesn't invoke a discomfort from the truth it forces on the eyes. Eyes that often have often never seen the human cost of war.
Each display tells of that cost; it is part of the artists story, it is a product of their struggle. Most importantly though it reminds us why it is important that we do not let this national holiday serve as a campaign to celebrate war.
We can really honor those who have fallen by learning from their deaths the ugly truth about war. War can only destroy. That is what it does.
If we want to claim we care about veterans and those currently serving than the best thing we could do for them is not buy a yellow ribbon, hang a flag, or watch Saving Private Ryan. The best we could do is make sure no more lives are wasted on war. Please visit this museum.
http://www.nvam.org/#
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