would i give up my citizenship to be with the person i loved?
would i choose that person over my country?
absolutely. that is the problem with patriotism- it doesn't really fit into the personal space of our lives. do we take our country for granted? absolutely. is it still the easiest place to eat, sleep, and find a job? hands down. does the freedom our laws provide make living our lives the way we want easier? sure, unless you are a woman or homosexual or not white (or any religion other than christian). and god help you if you fit into more than one of those categories.
i was thinking about artists today. in the united states, artists are free to do pretty much whatever they want, without the fear of being shot. they might end up on no-fly lists or foxnews, but if they aren't breaking any laws, they probably aren't going to have their freedom taken away. this is great, no doubt about it.
but what does all of this freedom do to the art? if the artist doesn't fear for his or her life, does that mean that the art is somehow less passionate? and what about the audience. if they know that the artist was writing their song or staging their play or painting their picture with the risk of being persecuted, would they take it more seriously?
just some thoughts.
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This reminds me of a study I read about on creativity, wherein deadlines and finite funding cause creativity to flourish relative to lack of constraints and unlimited funding. The so-called great art of the renaissance was created in fairly turbulent areas, you are much less likely to hear people praising art from other areas from the same time period.
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