“Vulnerable is the New Macho”

I’ve been futzing around with this phrase and this owl painting for a while, and recently came up with the “Vulnerable is the New Macho” limited edition print. Admittedly it’s a kind of “wish” piece, initially meant to address environmental issues. In many cultures owls represent wisdom. This owl knows our planet is a beautiful place—as well as the only place. This owl is aware of how vulnerable the Earth and all creatures great and small are to human shortsightedness and greed. What if we were to think of vulnerability as a strength, not a weakness? If we would only recognize our vulnerability to each other, we might just be able to own up and do something radical about taking care of all of us—and the planet.

Our country’s ethos has been so MACHO for so long—with many believing the only solution to the recent plethora of mass murders is to own more guns for “self-protection.” Then there’s our endemic Cowboy Revenge Syndrome i.e. The Iraq War II. Greed? How about those unconscionably selfish investment bankers and their predatory loans, opaque derivative trading and credit default swaps that caused a global financial meltdown, to name just a few examples of Macho gone bad? Maybe, just maybe, we could get all MACHO about being VULNERABLE and caring for one another? I mean everybody, not just humans, and not just “Americans.”

I’m truly horrified by what happened in Paris last week, but I’m also truly afraid of what’s going to happen in France, as well as other nations, in response. Perhaps “nations” have become a vestigial form of human identification—even a dangerous one. Not unlike intolerant religions. Maybe we can use the shocking events in Paris as a wake up call from a nightmare, to move us past the concepts of boundaries, nations, tribes, or sects, and see the whole human race as one people, and our planet as our one and only home.

OK. Enough! Owls are wise—and this one has what I hope is a pretty interesting idea, yes?

Peace and bunnyhugs,
Robbie