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This person would likely agree when I say the Golden Rule --"Love your neighbor as yourself," or "Do unto your neighbor as you would have done unto you" -- is highly compatible with the sentiment of "namaste": the divine in me bows to the divine in you. Would you?
Sure, one is Hebrew and Christian, and the other Hindu from Sanskrit. And sure, there are folks who feel it's sacrilege to utter these different paths in one breath. But is it not true that all people have had to find their own, albeit different, words to reach for and communicate the same things? Throwing the baby out with the bathwater -- a bad human tendency...it's a wonder we have any kids -- finds us disregarding fundamental truths while we faint in the aisles over subordinate details that, if unfamiliar to us, may seem unnecessarily threatening.
Would you agree that recognizing the divinity in a person, is conferring basic respect to them, dignity upon them? Whether seeing the Divine Maker or yourself in another person, either vantage point calls you to regard them with the respect you would want for yourself. People, even people of faith, often need to be reminded that scripture teaches that loving neighbor as self is on the same level as loving God. Another way to put it, it is that loving neighbor as self is an extension of loving God. I guess the trouble is that we often disagree about what that would or should look like.
Likewise, you could say the good of the whole means responsiveness to the needs and good of its individuals, and the vice versa. Meeting the needs and the tending to the good of the individual supports the good of the whole. The common good.
Golden Rule. Namaste. The common good. No individual left behind. What has all this to do with the art above?
When you know who the person in the print is, you come face to face with someone whose life was all about these things. In the spirit of teaching and learning [historical] truth, they're a Detroit figure worth getting to know. If you're not familiar with who they are, stay tuned.
In the meantime, to see the art of Eno Laget in person, check out the re-opening exhibit at the Swords Into Plowshares Peace Center and Gallery that will be on display through December 17. Titled: Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club The Pandemic and Beyond, the exhibit features the work of 98 members of the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, of which Eno is a member. Beautiful work. It's a strong show.
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