Life imitates art

It is an age-old question that has pervaded our society since the beginning of human creativity itself. Does life conspire to create the breathtaking scenes regarded as the most moving form of self-expression? Or, in fact, are individuals prompted by the artistic endeavors of others? Sadly, I am recently convinced it is the latter.\nLike patrons at a twisted film, transfixed, mouths gaping, our nation witnessed the most horrifying acts of human fabrication unfold on television. Void of special effects or happy-endings, these events developed, shockingly, on the national news. We watched, praying for an immediate resolution, tragically aware of the frightening legitimacy, starkly conscious that there was seemingly no end in sight.\nAttempting to rectify the devastation of Sept. 11, I can only wonder whether our imaginations are worth exercising in the direction they so often are. If life does imitate art, aren't we then responsible for what is considered fiction? The distinction between reality and illusion is growing increasingly vague as we strive to top the latest, biggest, and most outrageous. To all intents and purposes, aren't we becoming the masters of our own demise?\nThe film industry is essentially designed to create a diversion, to direct focus away from the stresses of daily life. More often, film portrays the facets of life we should aspire to keep hidden. We should only hope it does not ensue to the extremes depicted in movies. In light of recent events, we must realize that it does. \nPerhaps it is time to take matters into our own hands. Art has persistently manipulated societies, from fashion and religion to architecture and politics, the whole world over. Instead of imposing catastrophic scenarios on the viewing public only to have them carried out against us in the end, can't we redirect humankind as films such as \"The Green Mile\" and \"Pay it Forward\" have already attempted to do? \nVast changes are in store for America indefinitely and our leisure industries are amongst those hardest hit. Eliminating images that may provoke radical actions on a nation willing to scoff at those very measures for entertainment's sake does not seem a tremendous sacrifice. With this tragedy, we have glimpsed the capacity of human greatness, but only after bearing in mind the epitome of human malevolence.\nI can no longer view a "disaster" film with the arrogance I once did. As Americans, we enjoy the freedom to walk away unscathed, confidant all problems were far-removed. At the very least, those days are gone, now merely evidence of our naivete. Unlike films, our situation cannot be neatly resolved, as the enemy is neither clear-cut nor easily apprehended.\nAmerica remains a land of opportunities, even for extremists and their ideals. "If you can dream it you can do it" has adopted chillingly sinister implications.\nLife, in a sense, is a sequence of harsh realities. Keeping us going are interspersed moments of joy, pleasure, and ignorance -- truly art's purest form, setting our minds at ease, not emphasizing infinite disquieting possibilities.\nWe can ponder hypothetical questions to no avail, whether the chicken came first or the egg. What we must understand is that like the familiar proverb, art and life are reflections of one another. As we are capable of constructing our means of entertainment, it is crucial to remember that what can be conceived by a desperate human mind can play out on two irreconcilable platforms, one of which with disastrous consequences in our reality.