Co-Authored by Sean Starr, Colin Nasseri, and Matthew Thomas

There are three basic elements that define what a true Idealist is, and these elements exist in everyone, and have since the first person drew first breath.

These elements are:  
 
1. The desire to improve one’s environment. 
2. To allow the pursuit of such beautification to not be hampered by the negativity and doldrums of 
day to day life.
3. The ability to take action against this negativity and overcome it, creating the envisioned 
beauty within the mind; not just thinking or talking about what could be, but physically creating these ideas for all to see and in turn inspiring those who witness this creative process to create something beautiful themselves. 

This idealism is what makes humanity beautiful, and every person can find these elements from within. 
When the world explores these elements, mankind will have no choice but to redefine its priorities.
The Idealist is the person that at their inner core puts forth the effort to reject selfish and shallow 
“needs” that conflict with the pursuit of:
 
   1. Freedom
   2. Truth
   3. Beauty
   4. Love
 
   
When one allows these four things to triumph over negativity and selfishness, then the creative barriers 
are torn down.

The original Idealist was the first to paint a beast on a cave wall.
The original Idealist was the first to sing about love lost, and love found.
The original Idealist was the first to write down in a poem the words that still chill and haunt the 
reader long after its writer has expired.

Who are the Idealists of today?
Economist Richard Florida defines this Creative Class of idealists as including:
“…scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers, and architects, as well as the "thought leadership" of modern society: nonfiction writers, editors, cultural figures, think-tank researchers, analysts, and other opinion-makers.”
 
   
With this new scope of thinking in mind, the title of "artist" has lost its meaning today. The term 
“artist” must be replaced by the word "Idealist". To create something beautiful every day, is to truly be an Idealist, a belief and approach to living that can no longer be contained within the boundaries of a limited title such as "artist".
 
To truly be an Idealist, it is essential to reject the "Suburban Myth". Large homes all over America sit 
barely occupied as the owners toil endless hours to pay for the excess they will never use.
 
The purpose of the home should be to nurture the soul, and to house a family safe from the wolves 
outside. If the home is not such a place, then one toils in vain. There are two paths facing American 
culture at present, one following self-centered materialism as a means to pursue the cultivation of freedom, truth, beauty and love, the other steeped in overindulgent decadence and waste, with no substance anywhere in sight.
 
The mentality of “keeping up with the Joneses”--the American Dream—the bigger house, the largest 
environment-destroying car, the outlandishly priced television, the newest, the best, the priciest, is bankrupting the potential of our inherent creative abilities. 

The shallow worship of the rich---The mass materialism of America---must end today.
 
The Revolution of Substance must  begin now. 

The commitment must be made to:
 
Create something beautiful every day.
Change the world around you with these creations of beauty.
Take the hand of those not practiced in sharing their beauty, and encourage them to pursue it.
 
Please join us.
   
This manifesto was co-authored by: 
    
Sean Starr 
San Francisco, CA 
Painter/Writer 
 
    
Matthew Thomas 
Big Bear City, CA
Painter
 
   
Colin Nasseri 
San Francisco, CA
Songwriter/Writer

Join the Idealists Listed Below by Signing Here and listing your creative works:

Sean Starr
San Francisco,
Painter/Writer

Matthew Thomas
Big Bear City, CA
Painter

Colin Nasseri
San Francisco, CA
Writer

Jeremy Silas
Tacoma, WA
Painter/Songwriter
 
Klaus Werner Lange
Emeryville, CA
Photo Artist

Richard H. Moran Jr.
Tacoma, WA
Director: Eye Improv Improvisational Theater Troupe

Houston S. Wimberly III
Tacoma, WA
Painting, Film, Photography, Writing and Modeling. Active member of The Tacoma Art Committee and the Tacoma Incubator Committee

Paula Tutmarc-Johnson
Tacoma, WA
Songwriter/Owner of Two Vaults Gallery

Suzanne Johnson
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Mixed Media

Ryan Notch
San Francisco, CA
Photographer

Judith Amanda
Montgomery, AL
Painter

Sue Pivetta
Tacoma, WA
100th Monkey Organizer

Jessica Whiteside
San Francisco, CA
Painter/Illustrator

Ray Misra
Tacoma, WA
Urban Exchange

Abdoul-Ganiou Dermani
Remshalden, Germany
Painter

Maya Jewell
Fairfield, CA
Publisher: Bakery of the Poets

Oryan Korrigan
New York, NY
Tradesman

Ray Lawson
San Francisco, CA
Photographer

Dennis Elliot
Big Bear City, CA
Carpenter

Pilgrim Speakeasy
Finland
Musician, Word-Smith, Stone Worker, Thought Provoker

Virginia Madsen
Ventura County, CA
Actress

Vanessa Finney
Big Bear Lake, CA
Singer/Lyricist/Journalist

Anne Talbot
Big Bear Lake, CA
Drawing, Painting, Writing, Photography

Jessica Sandek
Big Bear City, CA
Making

Kayleigh Magdiel
Big Bear City, CA
Writing

Jessica Jensen
Big Bear City, CA
Esthetician/Painter

Cindy Chundak
Big Bear City, CA
Graphic Artist

Susan Lenti
Sugarloaf, CA
Film, Photography,Food, Cocktails

Joan Cline
Fawnskin, CA
Novelist

Rhonda Bridges
Panama City, FL
Counselor/Therapist/Pseudo Artist

Tina Paul
Vista, CA
Smiling, Child-Rearing, Cooking, Story-Telling, Sex

Celeste Barbier
Oceanside, CA
Singer, Voice Over Artist, Visual Artist, Poet, Author

Ren'e Cosby
Oceanside, CA
Visual Artist, Photographer, Painter, Author, Poet

Oz Angst
Vacaville, CA
In order of importance: father, husband, son, friend, everything else...

Rochelle Luer
Kirkland, WA
Painter

Judy Uebelacker
Denton, TX
Abstract Painter

Lily Sanchez
Scottsdale, AZ
Idealist, Poet

Misha
Fay, NC
Artist, Good Human

Frank Dammers
Zwolle, The Netherlands
Freedom Painter

Neil St. John
Beverly Hills, Ca
Writer/Photographer/Filmmaker

Jarek Creason
Big Bear, Ca
Illustrator

Helen Cunningham
Devon, United Kingdom
Drawing, Writing

Robin Cowpertwait
Devon, United Kingdom
Musician, Singer, Songwriter

Orlani Cavalcanti
Los Angeles, Ca
Poetry, Screenwriting, Manifestos, Journalism

Amy Mahlum
New Orleans, La
Writer

Colin Burke
Planet Earth
Artist

Laura Fay Lewis
New York, NY
Film, Music, Poetry

Stacy Guedel
Renton, WA
Interior Designer

Matt
California
Conservationist, Naturalist, Wanderer, Thinker

Todd Cummings
Reading, PA
Creator, Thinker

Dan Matthews Jr.
Watkinsville, GA
Matthew Matters Radio Host- Hot 100.7 FM WPPP

Adam Lawrence
Joliet, Il
Writer, Musician

Angela Jossy
Lakewood, WA
Writer, Graphic Designer, Songwriter, Singer, Guitar/Piano Player

Barbara K. McLeroy
Poland, OH
Researcher, Mother, Artist, Friend

Øystein Sundland
Bergen, Norway
Musician, Writer

Az Mousas
Athens, Greece
My mind and soul

Martyn Clayton
York, England
Writer

Linda Richichi
Newburgh, New York
Artwork- Paintings, Drawings

Zannol Georges
Morlaix, France
Painter/Writer

Bogdan Tiganov
London, UK
The Wooden Tongue Speaks

Alfred Tirella
Orlando, FL
anthropologist, poet, musician