a momentary interlude of politics and soul

I. INTRODUCTION  By way of 115 years of red-and-green(ish) design

• Above, poster and typeface design by Anthony Mercer
• Below, a detail of Louis Sullivan's stenciled design (1893-94) for the walls of the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room, now held at the Art Institute of Chicago
• and a 1966 poster for three nights of Otis Redding live in San Francisco.

II. A LAMENT

. . . Americans affluent and struggling, young and old, Democrat and Republican look at the struggle over the debt ceiling with a sickened feeling, like gawking at a crash on the highway.  

      They're appalled by politicians who seem to view compromise as defeat, amazed that the people they elected to lead do not seem to be up to the task and frustrated that the powers in Washington don't understand that Americans want one thing above all else from their government: security.¹

III.  INDEED & APROPOS

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                                            ¹  Marc Fisher, 2011, "In Rockville: Anger at the government tinged with angst about the future," 
                                           The Washington Post (Sunday, July 31), page A1.

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