MANIFESTO

I would like to define a set of principles we can all agree on. I would like to reflect on the obstacles that keep us apart.

To begin, here is the story of "Love Crusaders":

had an idyllic childhood, living in the country, studying nature, attending church, living with parents who never argued and who started a successful business in our home. We were surrounded by loving friends and family. When I left for college I was exposed to politics, crime, cheating, arguing, bullies, arrogance. I protested the Vietnam War and painted a political picture with Nixon in it that was used on the cover of our college magazine. I began painting dark, moralistic paintings expressing my belief that mankind was hopelessly irrational and violent. Having righteous indignation is not a bad thing. But I eventually sought relief from these hopeless feelings. I introduced humor into my artwork, beginning with Proverbidioms, a painting which became very popular worldwide. After getting married and having children my paintings became all the more colorful and fanciful. I settled into a nice life again. When the cold war with Russia ended in the 1980's I really thought there would be peace in the world.
      But in recent times, things have certainly deteriorated. There is so much mindless violence, terrorism, war, hatred, arrogance, lies, political feuds and so on, among family, friends, neighbors, countries. America, in trying to help, often tends to make things worse, in my view because so much of this is done militarily. And what isn't done militarily is done so inefficiently and impersonally that little gets accomplished and most of our tax dollars are wasted. A study found that only 1 out of 9 dollars of social spending in New York State (where I live) went to the people who actually needed it. It is a cop out anyway, to rely on the government, or to expect others to do what is needed to make the world a better place. We all need to take a personal role in this. No matter how small, it all adds up.
      A few years ago I began to convince myself that a new religion needed to be started, one without any frills, and whose sole commandment was to spread love and to truly live it, every day, every minute. When I told my best friend, he moaned and said we really don't need another religion. I eventually decided that a movement would serve, a crusade with the same goal, to spread love, to our fellow human beings, near and far. It's not as simple as that of course. I will at some point write a proper manifesto on the topic. But I need to start somewhere and my method of accomplishing large tasks has always been to envision them already finished, and then simply walking toward that vision, doing the necessary work and learning along the way. Creating a name for the movement, along with logos, and a website accomplishes that.
       I began wearing love pins every day to promote the cause, and stated that my goal was to not stop until every person in America was wearing one. It proved difficult switching pins with tiny clasps between shirts and coats, so I briefly toyed with the idea of getting a small tattoo on my hand (something I'm normally opposed to). My wife rolled her eyes. I'm sure a better button can be designed. Not a cute one. One that says LOVE! in bold letters like a commandment.
      In many ways I am not the best person to lead this crusade. I feel my main purpose in this world is already set. I like to bring joy through art; my paintings and theatre pieces (which focus on the theme of love) in particular. I have wracked my brain trying to think if there was some sort of painting I could make, something constructed with archetypal symbols which when viewed would instantly effect the onlooker and fill them with loving thoughts and the realization of it's importance. I am still working on that.
      In the meantime, I have planted a little seed in calling for this crusade. With your help, something larger will grow from it. Please let me know if you would like to become involved and be a Love Crusader! Send in your stories, thoughts, photos, videos, and links for publication on this website. But even if you don't, I hope you receive a little inspiration from this site and that you become more conscious of how you interact with everyone you come into contact with. Please, spread the love!!!

~ Thom Breitenbach