University of Miami - Ibis Yearbook (Coral Gables, FL)

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nate just the basic commodities which a just so- ciety owes them: their food, clothing, shelter and warmth, least of all, affection. And lest you believe me simplistic, I ' m aware of the ar- guments on regenerative wealth and Gulf Oil ' s concern with the environment in Portuguese Africa. Portuguese Africa? By what right does one man possess another? And a study by Har- vard University has reported no significant holdings in Gulf Oil, which of course has al- ready determined that no significant justice would be served by playing an active role in the de-colonization of Portuguese Africa. It is unfortunate that we all cannot help but be guilty for our nation ' s acts. We buy our food- stuffs directly from a company making napalm or bombs, our clothing from a company polluting most of Delaware, our shelter from corporations which cheat consumer and em- ployee alike, our warmth from companies oppressing North or South American Indians or African natives, and our affection with good dope from Columbia or from a whore on the street. Most frightening is that the majority of these exposures provoke neither shame nor a sense of guilt, although they are a violation of some of the most fundamental moral taboos of civilization. The legitimacy of these actions is not questioned. Some say, Because our society functions in spite of, then it is justified. But lest we forget, the times they are a changin. We can now believe in long hair, our self-ri- tualizing blue jean society and the new poli- tics. We can hate business and government and American pie because we have nothing else in our blindness to hate. I can tell you where its at and where it isn ' t and you can tell me the same thing and I ' ll be damned if we don ' t recite totally different diatribes. We ' ve become experts at talking but our logic is stren- uous and our beliefs almost dissolved. We incline towards doctrine and very seldom think individually. But then, we ' ve got bruises and scars to show for our wounds and isn ' t that good? Didn ' t both Dostoevski and Sartre believe that true life was a life of insult and suf- fering? Didn ' t both Nietzsche and Van Gogh die as evidence of that insult and suffering? Didn ' t Martin Luther King say, We shall over- come? Well then --we probably will, granted of course, we aren ' t overcome first. We must each answer for the acts of the regime or leaders we tolerate, allow to rise, and give active or passive support to. We are each responsible for everything - - for our delusions and the delusions to which we succumb. We have the responsibility to delve into the root of things and the only important question is whether we do it before or after the fact. This is the logical requirement of human freedom and dignity. I know that whatever kind of world my own children have to grow up in, neither should they have to write such denunciations of their society nor feel the same guilt and shame I have felt in my lifetime. I believe we all deserve much better. But if we are ever to accede to a better life, we must accept full responsiblity for our present lives.

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Designs , according to Max, are like good feelings and that ' s why I want them on everything. Max derives his work from experiences in his own life rather than from formal art education. His style has the influence of the East and Swami Satchidananda, a guru who showed him the value of his childhood experiences. peter max Before, I was searching for where I came from and where I was at. Now, I am really dealing with the future and what makes it revolve man around earth, earth around sun, sun around the Milky Way. It ' s cosmic art.