Arts & International Affairs: Volume 2, Number 2 | Page 142

Humans try to avoid the core of the problem as much as possible and try to withdraw from it the best way we can. But is it even possible for us to be reasonable about it? To put aside emotional turmoil in favour of rational argumentation, which democratic decision-making requires, is not a simple task. Take for example the ���� Brexit and U.S. presidential election votes, which exposed polarized reactions against democratic values. Only the enlightened few would agree that rationality is possible on such scales; everyone else uses emotions to communicate rather than cognition to articulate. As scholars and arts practitioners, we must ask: What is the role of cultural production in contemporary context of fear and security? The artist who wants to face opposing narratives needs to expose the root of anger and anxiety in the issues they are targeting in a way that can be communicated to all sides. But the artist’s observers are also consumers, spectators, and audiences that can participate, interpret, and create simultaneously. Therefore, the artist and his productions—what we can consider cultural by-products—are potentially positioned to relieve the burden of uncertainty that fuels anger and anxiety. This is just one proposed remedy, however. Until our anxiety is relieved, let us all take a deep breath and count to ten. One, two, three… 141