Rashida Tlaib’s censure, Rep. Jared Golden, and My Arrest

Artist Robert Shetterly reflects on why he joined a sit-in at Representative Jared Golden’s office that resulted in his arrest.

Some Notes In a Time of Genocide

I call it cruel and maybe the root of all crueltyTo know what occurs but not recognize the fact.                                                — William Stafford This beautiful, somber painting, as much meditation as painting, was sent to me by the artist Tilly Woodward who lives in Iowa. It’s a small bird’s abandoned nest – a ground nester, I guess, […]

Mitch McConnell, the Military Industrial Complex, and Being Appalled

I use the word “appall” too much. I’ve been appalled at government and corporate corruption; I’ve been appalled at cavalier war making and its awful consequences. Exhaustingly appalled at the depth of U.S. racism. Appalled at environmental degradation and the failure of governments to base policy on the reality of  climate change. I’ve been appalled […]

On War & Palestine

“People who treat other people as less than human should not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”        –James Baldwin Most of the world’s stockpiles of chemical, biological and nerve agent weapons have been destroyed in the past 30 years. This is a good thing. […]

Lessons from the Inside

AWTT Education Director Connie Carter reflects on her conversation with Maine State Prison inmates.

Moral Beauty and Reframing AWTT

It’s interesting how a simple well-put phrase can open our understanding,  become a key to unlock a room of thoughts and feelings we didn’t even know we had. I hadn’t thought of Americans Who Tell the Truth as being in the awe business. Definitely inspiration, but not awe. Then Betty Burkes sent me a link […]

Eating an Apple on Earth Day, April 22, 2023

Before taking my border collie Chummi for a walk in the woods here in Maine in the waning, gentle afternoon light on Earth Day, I decided to have a small snack – having not eaten since breakfast. Gail had filled the fridge’s crisper with a whole bough’s profligacy of Granny Smith apples. What a gorgeous […]

Reflections on the Life of Rob McCall

Rob McCall died this morning – not unexpectedly. He had been failing for some time. His passing is a great loss to his community in Blue Hill, Maine. Also to the world. I painted his portrait five years ago, and at the unveiling of it in the Blue Hill library, with Rob there, I said,  […]

Sacrifice Zones, Kids & Money

Not too many years ago, if I heard the term “sacrifice zone,” I thought it might refer to an area where rebellious people were executed, a place where a totalitarian state or group of fanatical fundamentalists lined its victims up against a wall. Or I envisioned an altar where a goat or a girl was killed […]

20th Anniversary of the Attack on Iraq

Artist Robert Shetterly reflects on why we choose to ignore our country’s war crimes, including the 2003 attack on Iraq.