March 25, 2009

“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.” –Socrates 469 BC – 399 BC

Dear President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama:

If one ember can displace a forest, could one thought displace humanity? Could one single thought, caught in a dream, be the scheme that could uproot the nation from the ravages of economic hardship, and surrender the world’s population into the arms of another renaissance? It is the intent of this writer to communicate one thought that could change the course of America’s current economic climate, and the spiraling decline of our world’s view on divinity. My American Cinema Bill concept will be fully expressed in the body of this communication.

It was in one of the darkest periods of world history that Europe emerged from the economic stagnation of the Middle Ages, and experienced a wave of great thinking. The 14th – 16th centuries were an age of artistic, social, scientific, and political thinking that turned the world in a new direction.

The Renaissance was a rebirth of the human spirit. Humanists of this period studied the ancient writers of Greece and Rome. The writings of ancient philosophers influenced the Renaissance thinker to examine man, his intellect, and his life on Earth.

The Renaissance gave birth to some of the most magnificent art and academia the world has ever known. Renaissance thinking is enlightened; it delivers a kind of instinct or inspiration that moved man to ponder the divinity of his purpose and his being.

Many great Renaissance thinkers believed there was an order to the universe and that order was reflected in art, science, mathematics, and a divine being. Renaissance architecture was done in a circle to reflect the divine order of an infinite God. The Renaissance delivered one spark to fuel the fires of passion in men’s minds and souls.

In the spirit of the Renaissance, I would like to offer an idea that grew from one of my recent daydreams. In a mere moment, an idea swept through my mind that could be an answer, an answer to a very profound financial crisis in my home, in my city, in my county, in my state, in my nation, and in my world.

The idea is so simple, and yet it swelled in me like a rocket that was preparing to explore a new frontier. This idea has history and now will make history. With no credentials in economics or marketing, I will take you to the thought that sprung up in me like a wellspring in a desert:

During the Depression era, audiences fell in love with the determination and optimism of its youngest talent, a curly haired child named Shirley Temple. Movies became the venue for American culture. Movies helped us digress from the pain of war and moved us into a medium that could stir the minds of humanity in a just a few hours.

As television found its place in each home, the American culture thrived on living life on the other side of the screen. There can be no doubts; technology has changed the way we think.

There are two sides to the advancement in technology; this writer is suggesting that technology be a medium that is a trailblazer for a new frontier.

America is connected to technology. Our most recent presidential election is a testimony to the power of communication. In the spirit of democracy, you empowered the citizens of this great nation, to not only be informed, but be a voice in a new frontier.

I would like to propose a new venue for American economics, The American Cinema Bill. The American Cinema Bill could offer an opportunity for wealthy citizens and poor citizens to converge on the same ideals. Americans love the movies; this is a gathering place and a communication medium that has not tested its full potential.

Every time a new movie hits the scene, we are given the monetary statistics of its success. Citizens are more willing to stand in movie theatre lines than lines to vote. In these economic hard times, people still attend the movies.

We could create an American Cinema Bill that releases classics or makes new movies for the sole purpose of replenishing our broken state and federal government finances. There are wealthy Americans that would invest in this renaissance of American dreams. I believe if we build an American Cinema Bill, they will come. Americans will invest in the movies and the proceeds from these special movies could go into our state and federal budgets.

Is art a reflection of life, or is life a reflection of art? The arts are, and always will be, the timeless treasures of history. Let us step back and examine what an American Cinema Bill would have. The American Cinema Bill would be a model for a new kind of thinking.

Movies are lessons. Let us find the rights and the objectives to release great moments of cinema history to ignite great thinking. Children across America could pay for field trips to select American Cinema Bill presentations. Great lesson plans could be written on these timeless themes, and our President or the First Lady could have fireside chats, for the first time in history, with tomorrow.

I think this is such an exciting prospect. This idea takes us where we are, and has the potential to lead us to where we need to go. We will do this together, as a nation, united as one.

The state lottery system could create movie tickets with numbers and bring a new dynamic to the state lottery. The lottery could be more than winning money; it could be a home that has been foreclosed on, it could be a visit to the White House, etc.

Countless homes sitting vacant could be delivered to a lottery winner. Let us take the lemons and make lemonade.

The White House is the people’s house; a lottery winner could win a trip to have dinner at the White House. Life has more promise than money, it has the promise of relationships and freedom of expression in a great land.

Education could be turned upside down with the President, First Lady, and the nation taking the American Cinema Bill to the highest level, an exercise in compassion, learning, and the power of one single thought.

I am vested in hope for the future. I would be honored to represent this cause to promote the American Cinema Bill in the United States of America. It is such a simple thought, and yet I believe it is a light in our wilderness.

The arts will show us the way, they are timeless treasures. The American Cinema Bill is our ticket to tomorrow.

Respectfully yours,

Ms. Kathy Paysen

©Kathy Paysen
kpaysen@sbcglobal.net
kpaysen@cnicollege.edu

NOTE: America we need to do something! If you think this idea has any merit...pass it on...and feel free to dialogue with me.
The time has come for unity in purpose. We need to lift our voices high...and let the world know we intend to march into tomorrow with a vision of hope, not hopelessness! There is nothing we can't do...if we just try.