Dan Mills

Statement

USA Future States

Think of this ongoing series as analogous to a letter to the editor that embraces a position and, as a form of critique, pushes it even further. In USA Future States, I recognize the US’s sole superpower status and embrace the current leaders’ imperialist leanings. For example, think of recent US wars, occupations and open threats to other nations. Our government has acted or threatened action against nations for reasons such as they dislike the leaders, the form of government, a nation may possess weapons of mass destruction (note: only if not a US ally), an unstable government may put natural resources the US depends on at risk.

In this series, rationales such as these are employed as reasons for taking over various countries. But why stop there? Why not take over a nation for its location, natural resources (especially energy), proximity to our adversaries, because it is a good military or missile base site, etc. (and did I mention energy?). Using the "CIA World Factbook’ website as a primary source for all sorts of information on countries, I then make conclusions that support a grand empire-building scheme.

Each Future State includes several components: selected written background information, a rationale for takeover, and how it benefits the USA; colorful painted passages rendered as images of desire that fetishize the coveted future state; text that is part of a developing imperial, global narrative; images that reinforce future statehood by providing size comparisons between existing and new states; and finally, the new name, stamped on the artwork (Iraq will become USArabia, Albania will be New Albany, and so on).

The project has evolved into forty-eight future states, which will be known as US Global (USG). Combined with the USA they will form The United States Empire (USE). The matter-of-fact application of these ideas and actions seem disturbing but plausible at this moment in history. That they do not seem totally outrageous is a critique of where we have been led to today—and to me, that is frightening.

DAN MILLS