But he says it also produced decisions with consequences that are still being debated.

Controversies around torture or enhanced interrogation techniques, the controversies around the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the dis- uh, the claims of, uh, that the Iraqis had possession of weapons of mass destruction, um, the ongoing existence of Guantanamo Bay.

There is a litany of controversies that can be considered failures in the aftermath, aftermath of 2001.

West believes another significant shift came after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October the 7th of 2023 and the war in Gaza that followed.

I think regrettably it's been eclipsed and there is probably now a before October 7 and after October 7.

Um, 9/11 was incredibly significant and had global ramifications.

I, I, I think it's pretty comfortable and pretty reasonable to put October 7 and the attacks on Israel by Hamas on the same kind of footing.

Um, we- we're all watching the geopolitical, uh, consequences of that play out.

But more about how, um, how the painting came to be and why it's important.

Talking about the painting, right, we gotta, of course, talk about, uh, the man himself, right? So we gotta talk about David.

So Jacques-Louis David, for the French fellas, was someone that was influential in the revolution, not just for his depiction in his art, but also what he advocated.

Um, I have some fun facts about him that I wanted to share with you guys, right? So for instance, like, him and Marat, um, of course, they had, like, a close friendship, but they actually met, like, a couple times, uh, during the time they were, like, in, um, the gathering.

How could I say? The assembly, the first national assembly it was, in which, well, they f- met each other and they actually preach about the things in the revolution.

And talking about the revolution, the thing about David with his art is that he used to, like, use it as a way to, uh, show the ideals of the revolution, push the ideas of it.

Even in the d- days of, like, the Reign of Terror with Robespierre, he still, like, was, like, a kind of friend or ally in his cause, until, of course, he got dethroned.

Like, us, as viewers, we're, like, immediately, like, like, we just see that, his death, and we just sympathize with him, and we don't, like, really question, like, "Oh, why did someone want him, like, dead like that?"