amyC's Blog

Meeting Ron Kovic (Born on the Fourth of July)
- Posted on 12.06.08
In Santa Ana, CA, at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCA), their curator decided to do one of the best damn things in the world, have an exhibit that showed politically charged Art. They named the exhibit "Just how does a Patriot act?". Whether it be paintings, silk screens, or even avant-garde, these masterpieces all have one thing in common: They are moving! They are moving in such a way that you leave this exhibit and think about days after you've seen it. It's so moving that you want to go back as many times as you possibly can before they close it down and put up a new exhibit. I've been three times.

The first time I went was opening night. My boyfriend and I invited my parents to come with us. I let them know ahead of time what the exhibit was all about, so they knew what they were going to see. As soon as I entered this place, my jaw dropped and I knew right away that I would leave this place feeling moved. They have art pieces all around you representing the terrors here at home and the terrors abroad. They have anti-war art and 9-11 art. And they have, in my opinion, very loud pieces without using any words, just pictures, to show you the torture going on at Guantanamo Bay. One artist decided to go to Google.com, hit the "Images" tab, type in Peace/War, and put together a collage of all of the pictures that popped up on his screen.

I wanted to take every single piece home with me that night. The piece named "After Abu Ghraib" showing pictures of the torture going on at Guantanamo Bay, or the silk screen of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., sweating, or my all time favorite piece named "Fuselage". This piece moved me in a way that I never thought art could. It's an art piece done by Wayne Coe. It's a 2 image lenticular. Think of one of your old book marks you would get from your elementary school library where it had one image but when your moved it ever so slightly, a new image would pop up. In this piece Coe draws the first image of the inside of an office. He shows people at their desks working, a women speaking to her boss at his desk, cubicals in the background with people working in them, the man making small talk with his co-worker and secretary typing on her computer. But when you move ever so slightly you see the Awe inspiring second image: An American Airlines plane crashing into the office. Debris everywhere. People that you once saw but can't see anymore. And the people that you do see are tossed into the air like a rag doll being thrown by a little girl. The cubicals are gone, the lady and her boss taking, no longer there, the secretary is now on the floor, and the man who was making small talk to his co-worker is now trying to run from the plane. This piece will forever be tattooed my brain. I would have bought that piece but can't afford it. One day I will purchase it and hang it up in my dining room and it will be the best conversation piece and argumentatively, the best piece of art I will ever purchase.

The second time I went it was just my cousin Torie, who lives across the street from OCCCA, and myself. This time there was a band playing. They were singing about the government and the way. Unfortunately the acoustics in the building were awful, but one could still understand the meaning that they were trying to get across. All of the same art was being showed and the crowed was much younger this time. I, of course, ran to my piece "fuselage" to make sure that it was still there. It was.

The third time I went, Vince came along and we invited Torie again. She brought her boyfriend along as well. This was the most powerful, most inspirational, most moving time then the first two times I went. And I really didn't think that that was possible. This time there were performance artists there reading their poems. They had poets speaking about the struggles of everyday Americans trying to get by. They had poems about going to a KKK rally and the hatred that was witnessed. They had poems about how fragile the mind is and how we stopped thinking for ourselves. All of the poems were fantastic. After the first two artist performed, the next one came up. His name: Ron Kovic. Ron is a Vietnam war vet and is paralyzed. He wrote a small book named "Born on the Fourth of July", which was then made into a small film with the same title, which was directed by some no name guy Oliver Stone. I write sarcastically of course. He went up and read a small but moving poem that he wrote when he came home from Vietnam. And he also read an essay that he wrote named "The forgotten wounded of Iraq." This essay almost made me cry when he read it. It explains the pain that soldiers go through after being wounded. And not just the physical pain. He explains the emotional pain as well. I got a chance to meet and speak with Mr. Kovic and I must say that it was by far, one of the most moving and inspirational fifteen minuets of my life. This man is, you know, I can't seem to find a word to explain him. I've already overused the words "Awe", "Inspirational", and "Moving". He is the word Peace personified. And this is the only way to describe him.

He speaks only what he feels and he does not filter it. He tells you exactly what's on his mind whether you like it or not. And he doesn't care if anyone's feeling get hurt in the process because like the millions of men and women who have fought in wars to give us free speech, he will use it at any time and never apologize for doing so. And while he speaks truth about himself or the war or people in general, you see and feel the peace that exuberates off of him. You almost want to stay in a room with him and talk forever in hopes that his peace, love, and understanding might rub off onto you. I am so delighted and grateful for have met this Mr. Kovic. And his fame has nothing to do with it. I myself have never seen "Born on the Fourth of July". When I went to the OCCCA last night I knew that there was going to be a Vietnam vet turned activist there, but I didn't recognize the name when I read it on their website. So when the MC of the night introduced him as the man who wrote "Born…" and was the inspiration for the movie, it was a shock to me. I was put into the same room and the guy who, not only got to meet Oliver Stone (genius), but was also the inspiration for Tom Cruise to help play him. But fame aside, if he was just some joe schmoe who wasn't famous, he would still be Ron Kovic, the Vietman war vet turned war activist.

His poems are, once again, Moving. But the essay that he read to us that night was so, again I am at a loss for words. I guess the only way I can describe it is this way: When he was reading his essay, I had the biggest knot in my throat to keep me from crying. He puts you in his and many other Vietnam vets shoes of the shit the encountered, not during the war, but in the vet hospital. And, at the risk of sounding naïve, it sounds more horrifying then the war itself. There is no way to paraphrase or even quote this essay. You must read it. If you ever do anything ever again, please go online and google Ron Kovic. In his Wikipedia page, and the bottom it gives you a link to read "The forgotten wounded of Iraq". And If you don't end up liking it, then I am sorry for wasting your time. But if it did move the way it moved me, then please pass it on to everyone.

Right before my conversation with Ron ended that night, I was telling him that because the world was changing for the worst and because America was turning more into a police state then a democracy, that I myself was having doubts about anything. Including even starting a family of my own because I feared the worst was yet to come. His last words to me were "Don't let this stuff overwhelm you. There is still hope for all of us." CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!?! This man who has seen things that no man should ever see, this man who has experienced things that no man should ever experience, this man who has been arrest a dozen times because of this war protesting, and has been called names like "Traitor" and "communist" still has believe that America still has hope in it. That there is still enough youth to help change and shape the way we will live in the future. And if he can still find hope, then so can I.

Thank you.