This is not a critique of the individuals pictured, or their character, but rather a critique of the institutions and the systems that created these belief systems, and essentially created the opportunity for a fan base like this to exist -- a fan base that equates Patriotism with blind faith under the condition of freedom. Our institutions and systems have successfully pit people against people so that we do not ask Walter Mignolo’s question of who, when, why?

Walter Mignolo, an Argentine semiotician and professor, poses the question: who, when, why is constructing knowledges? We must ask this question when considering the divide between citizens in their desires for policies that mandate beneficial interests for the people, such as a living wage or universal healthcare. Who is instilling the idea that this could hurt rather than help them, and why? At this point in time, there is not really a question of the corruption of our political powers by corporations and monetary influence -- corporations which Deep Green Resistance, written by Lierre Keith, Aric McBay, and Derrick Jenses, describes as massive functionally sociopathic social machines. Corporations and therefore the system of Capitalism influence politicians and government, who control knowledge-making in the organization of society.

Wild Beyond, written by professor Jack Halberstam, refers to Capitalism as a “history of taking” and a “naturalized economy predicated upon exploitation”. It discusses how the current structures in place harm everyone, even if in a more vague or concealed manner. So why do we not all collectively as citizens agree to fight against the policies and systems that hurt us, and for those that help us?

Mignolo discusses how the institutions created from this desire for controlled knowledge-making train new epistemic obedient members and controls what knowledge-making is allowed and disavowed. Accordingly, Deep Green Resistance demonstrates that a proper education and allowance of knowledge-making could encourage people to question the underlying reasons for the crises we are experiencing.

When Noam Chomsky discusses the manufacture of consent, he is referring to the consent of the governed. This implies that our institutions are creating consent within the people and society through system-supportive propaganda in the pursuit of freedom rather than the people willingly and knowingly giving consent to our government’s use of state power.

Our government and leaders have pushed this idea upon us in a way to make people believe the actions our country takes (however wrong or unjustified) are actions taken to fight for our freedom. But who’s freedom is that? When I say our freedom, that is certainly not a collective that everyone belongs to.

Patriotism is not accepting the actions of political leaders, and therefore corporations, but rather holding our government and political figures accountable and striving for more. Though the question must be posed: when the people are fed system-supportive propaganda in a system that expertly exploits those same people and our environment, can the people be blamed?

This body of work communicates the effects of the changing landscape of rural America as well as Southern values and prides through an exploration of Highway 80 running through Georgia. Abandoned houses, businesses, agriculture, as well as American and religious iconography are depicted in order to express the nature and effects of declining rural areas -- but also in appreciation of the history of industrial and agricultural America.

These images were printed on cotton rag paper as a testament to the agricultural crop that played a large role in shaping the history of the South. Cotton became the first mass consumed commodity, and with that people became commodities too. The prolonged role of black slavery in America can be attributed to this one crop, and this recent, almost palpable, history of slavery and segregation has certainly shaped the culture of the South.

Though not necessarily a tangible one, one of the most valuable assets of these rural areas are their tight-knit communities, both from an economic standpoint and as an indication of their value system. The South is unique in that it fosters an identity separate from the rest of the country. They hold values of community, family, faith, and patriotism near -- apparent through the prolific amount of religious and American iconography displayed whether by household or roadside.

Through an exploration of the South’s unique culture and landscape shaped by agriculture and industry, I have portrayed the past meeting the present. Homes and businesses lie vacant, objects and infrastructure no longer relevant or useful remain in place, and the people of this region hold the history of their land and their Southern prides above all.

In the city of Savannah, the line of economic inequality is clearly drawn. More than a quarter of the population live in poverty, with that rate coming in at 50% or higher in some neighborhoods. This line is clear, apparent on each corner you turn -- the lower income neighborhoods and the “up and coming” gentrified neighborhoods. These poverty rates have not improved over the past thirty years.

Step Up Savannah is a non-profit organization that aims to promote economic opportunity and financial security. It was formed from a task force established in 2005, by community leaders who were aware of Savannah’s concentrated poverty impairing the economic development of the community as a whole.

The Chatham Apprentice Program helps those who are unemployed or underemployed find opportunities for advancement and careers that provide “family-sustaining” wages. I documented this program, the night class lead by Monica Daughtry, over the course of its month long meetings. The students in this program were given the knowledge and the resources to overcome barriers. They were taught how to present themselves to employers, resume building, personal budgeting, conflict resolution, and other tools for success.

Empowerment is a vital tool. When you give someone the instruments to overcome barriers, they can make a change within their life but also within those around them. This is the difference between charity and social justice. This is not to say that either is right or wrong, but that by addressing the root of the problem, you are allowing the person or a community to want to achieve for themselves, and to know they are not stuck in a system or cycle of poverty. Step Up Savannah empowers the residents of Savannah to want to make this change.