A Solution to Obama's "Obscene Inequality"
ashfaq ishaq
spokesperson for the world's children at the International Child Art Foundation
In an interview with CNN's Amanpour on June 23rd, former President Obama averred that "obscene inequality is a most pressing threat to our democracy." He could have added that it's also ominous for our economy because crime is surging, and retail theft might exceed $100 billion this year.
There can be a way out: Cultivating disadvantaged young people's two most critical human attributes—creativity and empathy. Creativity can empower them to blaze new trails to disrupt the vicious cycle of intergenerational poverty, while empathy can sprout communal energy for "a more perfect union."
But human creative development faces a roadblock—the "4th-grade slump" in creativity discovered by E. Paul Torrance, a pioneer in creativity research. Barriers to empathy are adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), a root cause of nonsocial behavior, and the transgenerational transmission of trauma and hatred that pits one group against another, making the future as bloodthirsty as the past.
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The arts can help our nation grow bottom-up prosperity and social justice because creativity and empathy are rooted in the arts—the original creatives were artists, and the concept of empathy originated from einfühlung or feeling-into an artwork.
Our arts-based intervention has two phases: Lower SES students' creative development through a free school art program, the Arts Olympiad, followed by their empathic development at the World Children's Festival.
The scale of our intervention depends upon you—your creativity and your empathy. Your donation today will paint a more equitable and democratic landscape and limn a more peaceful and prosperous future. Please help us reach out to more Title 1 schools nationwide this fall. You can help bring the children together at their world festival next summer at the National Mall across the U.S. Capitol. https://icaf.org/about/why-icaf
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1 年Hello Ashfaq. It’s been a minute. Hope you & yours are doing well. Thank you for the invitation. Elated in accepting. Very proud of the fact you’re helping our younger generations in art world there in DC. Saw something this past Sunday on CBS. The piece was about the National Mall. It is called “Beyond Granite”. It was a very cool piece to learn about. See below. I understand that you help children. The organization below is with adults. Is it possible that the both might be able to work together? As children in need of art will learn coping skills & know that someday when they grow up, they too may be able to create something productive?!? Never know it might be something fruitful. Anyways, always my pleasure seeing what new things you’re doing. Take care, Amy https://www.beyondgranite.org/
Head of Commercial & Industrial Banking at Patriot Bank, N.A.
1 年Couldn't we just go back to sound money, since abandoning it is what caused the "obscene inequality" in the first place?
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1 年Thank you ashfaq ishaq. The arts are indeed a balm to the soul of the individual and to the soul of the community.