Ultimately, as January 2004 arrived, I believed this should not matter. I was filled with seemingly useless information on daily attacks on our governmental structure, economy, judicial system, culture and secular society by reactionary zealots masquerading as moderate and concerned Americans. These folks were on record wanting to destroy these institutions, created by some of the most brilliant and compassionate people in American history, and were now succeeding, and NO ONE seemed to care! Many people continue to rail against these American fundamentalists, ideologues and extremists, including many of the contributors to Talk2Action, each using their unique interests and talents to focus on specific individuals and movements. They were and are Patriots in the truest sense of the word. By pulling all of these sources together visually and attempting to expose the ultimate destructiveness of the religious, political and economic Right's combined actions and mythologies, I believed I too had something unique to contribute to the discussion. Art has a way of getting into the brain in ways words alone cannot, and I have no problem appealing to Aesthetic sensibilities, as long as there is more to it than just aesthetics (otherwise, for me, it's not art, it's just design).

And I was ANGRY every day that I painted, angry because their actions could result in the death of our pluralistic, compassionate and culturally strong America, and ultimately of all people, animals and life here on our planet, including the best of what Humanity has created. But I believe that art is not about what you WANT to do, but what you NEED to do. So I did it.

However, it was also not enough to complete the painting, then roll it up and put it in my garage. Once completed, the problem had become how to get it seen and where I can find people not only willing to see but to discuss. There is a myth that Americans are respectful of all faiths and religions, based on the actual intent of the founding fathers (especially Franklin and Jefferson). In fact, from the founding of Plymouth, American history is full of religious and political intolerance, along with brutal class wars, some resulting in thousands of deaths. In the last few years, publicly expressed religious intolerance (mostly by self-appointed spokesman for our persecuted 80% Christian minority) has become acceptable. To some it is the duty of "true Christians" to let everyone know how they feel about all aspects of American culture based o  their religious beliefs, on a minute-by-minute basis. They have been successful in intimidating anyone who felt that their public evangelizing was less than polite, and most political or culturally progressive organizations have been afraid to be associated with my painting (including major Washington-based groups who have had their tax-exempt status challenged in the courts, costing tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees).

This painting is NOT anti-religious. Like Ensor in his original, I am not attacking Jesus or Christianity (I joke that I may have OTHER paintings that do this, but not this one...). But to many Americans ANY comment or criticism of religion is considered an attack on religion. Because of this, the only organizations wanting or willing to display the painting have been humanist, Freethought and Atheist groups, of which there are many here in the US. In my experiences touring with the painting for over a year and a half, they are the nicest, most inviting and compassionate people I have ever met. They are truly concerned about the state of civic America and individual human beings NOW, not before they are born or after they are dead, and are not immediately insulted about discussions critical of religious attitudes or practices. I hope that more mainstream groups and organizations, including faith organizations, may be willing to invite me to show the piece and speak about these issues, and invite them to contacting me directly.

I don't believe for a second that by creating and touring with this painting I will single-handedly change the course of politics and culture in the United States. On the contrary, I KNOW that ON MY OWN nothing will change. But there was a spirit in the Arts community in 2004 that if ENOUGH artists, musicians, performers and cultural critics cried out in anguish over the direction this culture and country was (and is still) heading, each working on their own in their own way, that perhaps a "critical mass" would be achieved, and enough voters would understand how seriously real freedom in this country is being threatened and move to change the course. It was not enough in 2004 (potential voter tampering aside), but as a number of people commented to me while touring the work then, my painting was NOT about George W. Bush, but about a much larger movement, which would not go away regardless of the outcome of the 2004 election.

These folks have shown that they are mean winners - image how much meaner losers they will make. Let's HOPE we get the chance to deal with that. Nothing is sure, and we may not be able to stop it, but we can't affect anything if we don't try

Joel Pelletier's "American Fundamentalists (Christ's Entry into Washington in 2008)" is available for live display/discussions across the US, and can be seen at http://www.amercianfundamentalists.com