Mike T Artwork

One of my favorite Artists Mike T, check him out at:
http://www.miketartworks.com/BetaSite/MikeTArtworks.html

Dalai Lama

"We are born into a realm of constant change. Everything is decaying. We are continually losing all that we come into contact with. Our tendency to get attached to impermanent experiences causes sorrow, lamentation and grief, because eventually we are separated from everything and everyone that we love" - Dalai Lama

My Heroes

MY HEROES... don't we all have heroes? I completed this painting on June 9, 2008. For those who don't know from left to right; MALCOLM X, ERNESTO "CHE" GUEVARRA and MONSEÑOR ROMERO.
Malcolm X was fearless. First and foremost I respect Malcolm because of his CHANGE. If you have ever read the Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley you would know of his struggles. A man that was once a hustler selling drugs on the streets of Harlem completely changed into a great civil rights leader. This change is what I find intriguing. I believe James Baldwin put it best "Malcolm was a kind of hero.. when he talked to the people in the streets... he was the only person who was describing, making vivid making a catalog of the actual situation of the American negro, that is to say when he talked about the situations in which we find ourselves the actual day to day situation of being a negro father, son or daughter, a negro woman, no one could contest it, it was all true... its a real sinister event". He spoke about the truth. A man that was not afraid to die because he lived his life as if he was already dead. That being said he had nothing to lose.
Ernesto "CHE" Guevarra. I will be honest, he is the one leader that I need to do some more research about. What I respect from Che is the fact that he had an actual human approach and saw the suffering that was occurring in Latin America. He was aware of the social injustice in Latin America and the grand exploitation of workers for cheap labor that was headed by none other than the great United States of America. Above all, he was not afraid to speak his mind.
Monseñor Romero was a catholic priest of El Salvador. Monseñor means Monsignor in the English language. The reason he is so critical to my life is because this was a man that also went through a changing stage. The civil war in El Salvador is an important event that effected my life. I would be ignorant to say the civil war does not have anything to do with me. As I reflect and view my past history, the reason I am in the United States is because of the 12 year civil war that took place from 1980-1992. Basically, it was the poor, working middle and lower class that was fighting against the government of El Salvador. People were tired of all the injustices that were occurring in El Salvador. A policeman could kill anyone they wished and never face court or trial. Human rights were non-existent during those times. The wealthy elite upper class had complete control over El Salvador. Twelve years of bloodshed. Twelve years of brothers killing each other. It is important to note that there was a point in which the United States government were sending a million dollars daily in order to help support the government of El Salvador win the war.. of course the US did not want to see another revolution. The United States trained Salvadorean military on how to properly assassinate, torture and murder victims this school is called; The U.S. Army School of the Americas. I say another revolution because at the same time Cuba and Nicaragua where in their revolutionary stages.
My parents immigrated to the United States because they were afraid of dying, along with the millions of Salvadoreans that also fled the country. I'm not so profound on religion but I do believe it is important for humans to have moral values. The basis of religion is morals in my opinion. Therefore, in the eyes of god, killing is the greatest sin. Monseñor Romero knew this and saw killings frequently during the civil war. In the beginning Romero did not speak about the war in his mass yet through so much violence that occurred, he began to speak up against it. He was on shaky grounds. Priests are not supposed to talk about the war during those times. As a priest, I believe it was his moral duty to speak up against the war. He got attention, people in El Salvador listened to him. He preached about peace and love above all he spoke about how he did not want to see brothers killing each other. His words and masses were recorded and broad casted on the radio. Speaking to my parents, they informed me everyone listened to Monseñor Romero. He also spoke out against the government. Obviously, people did not agree with his views. There are always those out there that believe in violence and wars. Romero wanted peace. The people of El Salvador believed in him, he brought out hope in people. Hope that the war would end.
Romero died in a tragic way. He was giving mass one day in 1980. He was breaking bread... then before you know it... he held up his hands high breaking the bread and body of Christ in half when all of a sudden...a bullet entered his heart. A sharp shooter was hidden on the second story of the church and killed Monseñor Romero during mass. The question I ask myself is Why?? Who? I can only guess it was the government, who would rather have Romero killed than to hear him speak. His words of peace frightened the government. He was a threat. Romero will go down in history as a martyr of peace!

For more info on the School of the Americas check this website out. Believe it or not the School of the Americas still exist today and this org is trying to stop it. http://soaw.org/