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A Peaceful Solution Steve Nolin
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Steve Nolin presents the first flash video for Willie Nelson’s A Peaceful Solution Video Contest. Using Willie Nelson’s A Peaceful Solution soundtrack recorded with Gypsy Pacific, Steve creates an animated Willie Nelson with his band singing and playing music on a sunny day.
The sun blinks while a single cloud moves across the blue sky. This bucolic setting becomes a platform for peace quotes from notable thinkers and opinion leaders throughout history. We read messages of peace from Franklin, Gandhi, Hendrix, Dayan, Emerson, Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr., Kennedy, Lowell, Shaw and Willie Nelson.
A favorite quote I keep next to the computer by Jimi Hendrix says, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Steve includes this quote in his video. When I saw the video for the first time I immediately felt a connection with Steve’s various suggestions for a peaceful solution.
The video creates multiple layers of meaning. The visuals present a light playful mood while the strong intelligent peace messages in text balance the presentation. Steve gives us much to think about at the same time we hear Willie Nelson remind us to choose A Peaceful Solution.
This video offers us a chance for multiple viewings that will help create a deeper understanding of the direction Steve wants us to consider as an alternative to current policies dictated from our leaders.
Steve has other videos on YouTube, which you might find informative and resonate with your sensibilities.
* * * * * Artist’s Statement * * * * *
Why are you passionate about creating peace?
Mainly my focus is how the drug war has divided families and broken them apart. I think it may be more anger than passion that our government ignores any suggestion that marijuana may have any medical or other benefit but have no problem taking away our liberty and thus our peace to prevent us from using it except for hemp that has to be imported from other countries.
Also, I have seen the destruction war has caused on people who get caught in the cross fire in armed conflicts. Being a Texan I don’t mind a good fight but if you are wanting to prove who can take the most punishment, do it so that people who may not want to be involved not be.
How long have you been working for peace?
I have spent the last almost 20 years working for a drug peace in the drug war mainly through the Houston chapter of NORML and Drug Policy Forum of Texas. In the years in between, I have helped out with community radio and TV projects that have exposed me to other issues including death penalty, economic and civil rights issues that show that we still have a ways to go in the creating of a civilized/peaceful society.
What motivates you to work for peace and the environment?
After seeing through the romanticism of war projected through the media I have looked past it to follow the money or power that a few get in return for the pain and suffering of the underclass for the most part.
As for the environment, seeing the travesty of our hemp laws. I put “Hemp For Victory” as one of the quotes in the video I did as a kind of ironic nod of how our government have no problem using something useful if they need it but demonize it afterwards.
Why have you chosen the path of Art for Peace?
I have been getting more into video shorts to help promote the issues that I am trying to get more exposure to. Especially with access to the Internet to level the playing field and provide a way to have subjects that may not make the headline news get a chance to be heard.
Art, whether visual, audio or other has been a way for people to express what they see around them for others to know that we are all one planet and respect things that are different, but to seek understanding as to why people do the things we do. It is not necessarily right or wrong but other ways that other people do things.
What are your ideas for peaceful solutions?
The first would be our drug policy with marijuana policy being the first. This would reduce our prison population, which has become a moneymaking opportunity in recent years.
The rest would be more transparency and debate in the decisions to go to war. In the case of the Iraq war there were hundreds of thousands of people protesting against it but our government ridiculed and attacked any other opinion except the ones they approved of.
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August 27th, 2007 at 6:41 am
Wow, Thats cool. Willy Nelson is Rockin!!! Good job Steve!
August 27th, 2007 at 11:33 am
[...] Steve Nolin [...]
August 31st, 2007 at 5:14 am
Steve, we are so proud of you!
You continue to fight this war and be the voice for all of us, while we fight our own wars, struggle with the demons and are left to pick up the pieces, which in may cases are our children of those who are caught up in the senseless and needless reprecussions caused by the very thing you speak of. Quote, ” our government have no problem using something useful if they need it but demonize it afterwards.”
While we who do care, are lovely and willingly, left to pick up the pieces, and the helpless and raise our children to do the same. To be kind to one another, fair and just. To be caring, sensitive and respectfull of others and their beliefs. To grow up and to be a model productive citizens of the future an to stand up for what is right and good in and for OUR WORLD for all of us with no discrimination against anyone or anything.
Keep up the good work!
We love you and thank you for EVERYTHING that you do.