Dear recent Fourteenth Amendment enthusiasts, I understand that someone recently coined the term “anchor-baby” and that a few in the GOP have been using that and similar crass phrases in order to try to justify the incredible notion of “reconsidering” the Fourteenth Amendment of our United States Constitution. I have heard this amendment referred to by historians as one of “Lincoln’s amendments,” the first Republican President and possibly the best U.S. President. Actually the amendment was adopted on July 9, 1868, so Lincoln missed out. But that’s not the point. Lincoln’s voice of reason during a tumultuous time led to the Reconstruction Amendments, which ended slavery and guaranteed that the states could not revoke our national rights. More on that later, but if you’re a gun fan you’ll want to read on.

Dread Scott (born 1965) is a provocative American artist who attracted the attention of the nation when his piece, “What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?” was installed in a School of The Art Institute of Chicago show in 1989. The work was denounced by President Bush Sr. because it required that the flag be placed on the floor and allowed—even dared—the audience to walk over it. A mad rush by politicians to “protect the flag” ensued. Senator Dole specifically noted that the law would apply to “the so-called ‘artist’ who has invited the trampling on the flag.” (Dole was a hawkish war veteran and was probably still miffed about losing in the primaries.) The United States Senate took valuable time—I assume we paid them for this important work—to vote on a bill to ban flag display on the floor. As if this was going to become habitual. 1989 saw a Congress in typical knee-jerk reaction mode, much like they the GOP are today on virtually everything, including the Fourteenth Amendment, citizenship, and the illegals droppin’ anchor-babies. Dread Scott’s expectations in 1989 for an interactive audience were likely far surpassed.

As a point of reference, modern political art has a long history, dating back to at least the early 1900s. For example, Picasso’s Guernica (1937), painted in response to German bombing of Guernica, helped focus the world’s attention to the German arms buildup leading to the second world war. This genre includes protest art, activist art, and resistance art—all of which share the goal of peaceably bringing attention to social causes—war, famine, exploitation, etc.—that have been overlooked or underreported. In the U.S. the artist relies on First Amendment protection of their creative expression. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees this protection at the local level.

The original Dred Scot (1799 – 1858) was born a slave in Virginia sixty years prior to the Civil War. His owner, Major John Emerson was an army officer who took Scot along with him during his various reassignments throughout the country. Long story short, Emerson died, leaving his property to his wife. Scot sued the heiress in court for his freedom and won a jury trial in 1850. The Heiress appealed the case and the Missouri Supreme Court reversed the jury’s decision. Scot appealed to the Supreme Court (Dred Scott v. Sandford) in 1857 and lost, basically because he was not a citizen and therefore could not bring suit in federal court—sort of a catch-22 that sounds like contemporary American bureaucratic nonsense. As a side note, Dred Scot and wife may have had the very first anchor-baby, as their daughter Eliza was born free, on a steamboat near Illinois. Maybe the 2010 GOP heard that boat story and kept the anchor?

The Fourteenth Amendment has several components, which together ensure protection of the Constitutional rights. This earliest work of the Republican Party is impressive and important. You would think the GOP would be proud. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment makes most of the Bill of Rights applicable to state and local governments. In June 2010 this argument was used by the Supreme Court (McDonald v. Chicago) to overturn Chicago’s handgun ban. From the opinion, “the right to keep and bear arms is enforceable against the States because it is a privilege of American citizenship recognized by §1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which provides, inter alia: ‘No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.’” The Fourteenth Amendment is what protects the Constitution and all other amendments—even in Chicago!

And there’s more the GOP should be proud of in this Fourteenth Amendment. The Citizenship Clause overruled Dred Scott v. Sandford, and the Equal Protection Clause was instrumental in the civil rights movement of the late twentieth century. In short, the Fourteenth Amendment formally defines citizenship and protects civil and political rights. The amendment is on very firm ground. Why on Earth would the GOP want to trash its own legacy, and why in such a tasteless manner?

Did the Fourteenth Amendment protect artist Dread Scott’s right to desecrate the flag? City of Chicago and Cook County officials were out for blood, trying to close the exhibit and punish anyone involved. However, the Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that local, state and federal flag desecration charges against him were unconstitutional—even in Chicago. Scott’s website says he makes revolutionary art to propel history forward. Someone please pull up the anchor so we can get moving; we have a very long road ahead and time is fleeting.

Want to learn more?

Popular Names of Constitutional Provisions, University of Washington School of Law

The Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. Yale Law Journal (The Yale Law Journal, Vol. 101, No. 6)

The official Dread Scott website

McDonald v. Chicago (6/28/10), Supreme Court of the United States

In 2010 this work was revised for orchestra, in two parts: “Bird Dance” and “Cave Dance” respectively. Bird Dance is scored for full orchestra augmented by the Glass Armonica and Ugal. Cave Dance adds a choir to the sound.

The Scarecrow Dancing: Bird Dance

The Scarecrow Dancing: Cave Dance

The score for either version of The Scarecrow Dancing is available to interested ensembles upon request. (2010)

On The Instruments

The Glass Armonica is far less rare, but nonetheless requires some explanation. The Armonica was named by its inventor, Benjamin Franklin. He devised a mechanical equivalent to the rubbing of wine glasses. Many variations of this instrument have been called for by more than 100 composers including Mozart and Beethoven. Any of the variations will do.

The Ugal is one of the instruments in a Balinese Gamelan orchestra. Since these instruments are each unique to the orchestra for which they are built, this part may require more than one instrument or another Gamelan instrument. Any metallophone with sufficient range may be substituted if needed. The requirement for this part is a long, resonant metallic tone from the bow on bronze. The Ugal is suspended over bamboo resonators, adding volume, color, and duration.

An identity of artificial construct
Borders drawn in blood and hate

Symbols and assertions confuse nation with individual,
desire with right,
loyalty with heroism

Obsolete and unaware
the patriot is the enemy of mankind

Your new electric car still has a tailpipe.

I just saw a very sexy all-electric car by Nissan that everyone seems to be justifiably excited about. I mean, considering the war for oil, the mess from oil, the price of oil, and the state of the ecology, this makes plenty of sense. I want one. I was promised a flying car a long time ago but apparently this is about as close as I may ever come–one that makes no noise and uses no gasoline.

Synopsis:
Practicing in psychotherapy in Chicago for 8 years, Mit Raitrakul, a psychologist who believes in a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, begins to have an unusual-yet -familiar dreamlike experience of a double reality. He discovers himself in his metaphoric life as a Thai transvestite bathroom janitor at an unknown train station, and running into familiar characters. Then he meets with Henri, a psychiatrist who has been seeing Mit for a few weeks for his drug addiction problem. They both seem to ask the same big philosophical questions about life and their purpose. While Mit’s profession is to help his clients by listening and understanding their behaviors and other complex dimensions of the minds, Tim, Mit’s parallel life as a public restroom janitor, also has a metaphoric experience by interacting and observing behavior of people who come into the restrooms, letting them reflect their thoughts and problems from their own cognitive experiences.

Movie Trailer:

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, voted to officially let corporations buy candidates and elections. How is this possible, you may ask? Well, apparently the promise of true Democracy is incompatible with true Capitalism–the engine that has driven us into this current depression by requiring that we defend “strategic” regions of the world that fuel our economy. I speak of the regions in the Middle East, S.E. Asia, and Western Europe as examples—as opposed to Haiti, Darfur, or New Orleans.

So there we have it, thanks to ambivalent voters since the Reagan ’80s, the Neocon/Nazi right wing, and an inept Democratic congress, we have allowed the makeup of our Legislative Branch to swing so far to the “right” of true Democratic ideals, this sort of vote was not only inevitable, it is just the beginning.

Many of the well-meaning “tea-baggers” and most of the related Fascist and/or racist groups will be surprised to find that the new leaders of our country—Bank CEOs, Wall Street (including the low-brow hedge fund managers), Big Oil, insurance companies, etc.—basically an unfettered corporate cash stream will now control our political system.

Want to read more? Of course you do!

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60K3SK20100121

http://letters.salon.com/politics/war_room/2010/01/21/scotus/view/index.html

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/01/22/call-for-immediate-arrest-of-5-supreme-court-justices-for-treason/

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/21/gop-citizens-united/

…and BTW, also read
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2010/01/22/air_america

Written for DanceWorks Chicago and Harris Theater (01/07/10).

Soundtrack available for download on its own…