"Beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field.
I'll meet you there..." (Rumi)

With that said, while "10,000 Angels dance on the head of a pin" (this being the glorious diversity that I celebrate here on O.S.), Padraig and others who continue to (in my opinion) appropriately challenge the editorial selections on the O.S. Front Page appear to be pointing out the reality that the main "public entryway" on O.S. (this being the Front Page, naturally) is indeed dominated by a few select posters. I could understand this if this were salon.com (versus OPEN salon.com); however, the editorial selections themselves are preventing the true celebration of diversity that I believe we all would relish in and happily cultivate and support in a collegial manner.

The front page is in fact "controlled" via the editorial selection process, and it is obviously dominated by a few writers (I could name names, but I will not do so - We all know who they are, if we are paying attention); therefore, the reality is, only certain voices will be selected (often repeatedly) and "heard" by more than just a few O.S. readers. This results in the appearance of "diversity" being cultivated and encouraged,  but this is merely an illusion, as anyone tracking the Front Page selections would know.

It does not matter to me if these writers featured on the Front Page are 'good' or 'bad' or consistently 'entertaining' (for we are going beyond such "splitting", as the Rumi quote invites); what matters to me as an O.S. contributor and supporter is that the O.S. editorial process does not allow many voices to have their turn to be heard on a "grander" level via inclusion on the Front Page. This is most unfortunate, in my opinion.

Next: There is something to be said regarding the great French sculptor Rodin's lament regarding the cultural cultivation of artistic mediocrity. The fact is, we all have special and unique gifts. Some people have the gift of being able to mirror their current culture and society with stunning clarity, and also, at times invite (via this ability) society to more closely examine itself and to change (think of Picasso's at-that-time scandalous painting "Guernica" - scandalous due to its unflinching reflection of political and human catastrophy - some even said it was not "art" but political "propoganda"). Said differently, if we do not, as a society, recognize such gifted individuals (which in America we most oft-times do not, having little to no "patrons" available, as was the case in Europe and other countries in days past), then we will eventually become "soul-less" as a culture. Yes, I truly believe this: Without our artists, we will lose a part of our humanity, a part of our collective "soul", for artists are the giver and interpretor of individual and collective archetypes and personal and cultural symbols. Therefore, I am saddened when I see a writer of substance express discouragement regarding the editorial selection process and then (often) eventually leave. These voices should be treasured and valued, and given at least occassional recognition by the Editors. It is a true shame when such a writer leaves O.S., feeling frustrated and discouraged that their work is continually ignored.

And so I do not support the cultivation of mediocrity when it comes to art. With that said, I of course realize that Open Salon is not, in general, where one would go to read a great masterwork, so we cannot fault it for that. But I, along with Padraig and others, can continue to challenge the front page editorial selections, which rarely contain anything written by a person of color, a person who is less educated, a person who may speak or write or think "differently," a person who hails from a different country (with English being their second language); voices that might challenge the status quo (including that being maintained at O.S. via organizational homeostasis); in short, I can continue to challenge the obvious lack of diversity that appears to be intentionally cultivated by the O.S. Editors for reasons that can only be related to profit and gain, for that is nearly always the case when it comes any group or forum that begins to include and imbed advertising in its every page.

 I welcome any comments in the spirit of sincere and lively debate.