Red Star States Communist Countries exhibition in CaliforniaLutheranUniversity's Kwan Fong Gallery, is on display now until September 22. Photographers Kees Sprengers and Brian Stethem along with fellow photographers Yannis Kontos, Morgan Alexander, Alex Linke, Xiang Chen, and Micah Hanson, have captured the essence of countries under communist dictatorship. The exhibition is compiled with photographs taken from countries under communist rule such as Laos, Cuba, China (Tibet), Vietnam, and North Korea.

Upon arriving to the Kwan Fong Gallery, you find yourself in an exhibit full of voice stress photographs compiled by these photographers. The photographs transcend images of culture and life, which is foreign to our society and to which you may find taboo.

In our society, our parents, friends, and mentors have instilled our beliefs upon us, where as in the communist countries it is the dictator or leader who will instill the countries citizens with beliefs and morals. Photographer, Xiang Chen, a CLU philosophy professor, Ph.D., stated, "We don't question our culture when taught how to act," and with this comment in mind you can find yourself questioning these countries morals and ethics.

Through this exhibition you are able to question your society and compare it to theirs. We all have history, culture, and old practices, but when paralleled with one another we are all one people of living, people of survival, and people of work.

I believe through the experience of this exhibition, you will find yourself appreciating your country and its rights more. We are lucky to have this eye opening experience brought to our front door to remind us of how lenient our country is, and how often we forget the price of freedom.

This is a show of importance for our culture and knowledge. It is a step into another world foreign, yet, not that far away from our own.