Water: Part II

We must resist, in no small measure, the temptation to ignore or prescribe to the future the responsibility that rests solely within ourselves. Where a cheap plane ticket is bought when a train would do, an active choice has been made. When fast fashion and disposable income become the resource for personal and artistic expression, ego outstrips reason. If excessive consumerism in food, material, and energy is justified by illogical and selfish entitlement, we exhibit the precise viral symptoms that allow this great tragedy to persist. Ignorance and cruel indifference result in the same outcome. Before the altar of survival lies a reckoning and a path forward in practical and moral sustainability within the social groups we influence and the planet we exert our influence upon. Only by displaying such backbone will we begin to wash our hands and absolve ourselves of the delusion of attainment at no cost, a cost capitalism has placed upon us. We must all of us choose today or tomorrow whether we will reconcile our time on this planet by accepting our role as passive participants in madness or, in an act of great restitution, attempt to demand more of ourselves and others.

“For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster. The era of global warming has ended: the era of global boiling has arrived.” - António Guterres, United Nations Secretary General. Financial Times, July 27, 2023

Mustafah Abdulaziz is part of »Guest Room: Boaz Levin & Sophia Greiff«.

Check out his Artist Feature Water.