Mort Noire, an original woodblock print
14" X 32" , unframed
( artist's proof -- unfinished )
There is a long-standing myth, that says lemmings have a tendency to
commit mass suicide. Modern studies have proven that myth to be false,
despite the on-going efforts at reinforcing that myth, by such distorted
film making as the old Disney studio's, wild-life movie about the Arctic.
In that supposedly true-life, animal film, the production crew gathered
lemmings and tossed them over a cliff, in order to film them falling, as if
the rodents had herded there en-mass, and were then busily hurling
themselves to their deaths in the ocean.
The human species does not easily give up its mythological beliefs.
The primary examples are the creation myths, invented by tribal elders,
to help explain our existence on this planet, before we had the revelations
of science. Those myths are the foundations of the worlds religions, and
a majority of people on this earth will continue to hold them to be true,
to their dying breaths, despite the irrefutable, scientific proof to the contrary.
We humans are all masters of denial.
What I've been getting around to saying is, that it is the human species
which most often displays behavior resembling the myth about the mass, suicidal
habits of lemmings. As our exploding pandemic continues, every night on our
news broadcasts, we are treated to scenes of people, herding together, and
partying in bars and restaurants, and at pools and beaches, without a sign of
masks or social distancing. When these fools are asked about their irresponsible
behavior, they say that they are making a political statement, in line with the
president, about expressing their personal freedom of choice. In the meantime,
they remain in total denial about the rising numbers of infections and deaths,
from this highly contagious virus.
Their behavior reminds me of the final scenes from an old movie. I believe
the title of the film was The Day The Fish Came Out. The plot concerned an
accidentally disastrous release of highly radioactive materials on a small, Greek
island, which was becoming a tourist destination. The tourists are experiencing
something like a nuclear meltdown, while being totally unaware of the intense
radiation which will soon be fatal for all. At the end, the dead and dying fish
are floating to the surface of the bay, while the clueless tourists are dancing the
night away. They are the dancing dead.
Is that too dark a comparison, with the fools who go partying in the bars and
resort areas of our cities, during this lethal pandemic? The movie was fiction,
but this lemming-like, stupidity and denial on the part of these party animals is
a very alarming reality.
Eugene P. McNerney
