Sunday with Foucault

Lately I've been getting a lot of comments about how much I've changed.  When I inquire as to what the speaker means, he will inevitably refer to how my Facebook posts or blog topics have changed in the last year.  Which is fine and dandy and observant to notice -- but the comments seem to be made from the perspective that this is some sort of grand change in my philosophy.  I was a bit perplexed at first, because in my world a change in Facebook posting pattern doesn't really mean much.  Then I realized that the people who remarked on the change were folks who'd only known me a year or so.  To them, the me they saw when we met was an Immutable Me that had always been;  therefore, a change, to them, would indeed reflect something deeper. 

Well let me tell you folks, it doesn't. 

I'm still stark raving angry about Tea Baggers, still pissed off at the Dems for not having any balls, still sick of the likes of Sarah Palin.  It's just time to stop making that my number one focus -- for now.  Seriously, if that's all I posted about, this blog would be a pretty boring read, don't you think?

Here's the secret: life is not a spectrum, wherein you occupy a single point at a single time.  For some of us, it's a pendulum, and we can swing from feeling extroverted and intense to introspective and pensive.  (Oo, I just had a great image of a pendulum intersecting a point on a spectrum.....but it's too complex to explain here).  I am simply feeling more thoughtful these days and prefer to indulge my inner philosophizing than outer ranting about the obvious sins of the Baggers. 

I suspect that if you bother to read this blog, you experience the same thing from time to time.  No one is unidimensional;  it's just a matter of how much we express our various facets.  Most people, I suspect, keep much of it under wraps for one reason or another.  A vast ocean of people aren't even self aware enough to recognize this in themselves.  Many people know exactly what I'm talking about, but keep it private.  Me, I've learned to put it all out there.  I'm tired of facades and trying to fit in. 

What continually surprises me, though, is the notion that people are, in fact, unidimensional.  Now, I realize that I may be more multifaceted than the average bear, but I refuse to believe that I am unique.  I know for a fact that I am not (again, you dear reader!).  I suppose the penchant for single-categorization harkens back to some primal "us and them" mentality -- but come on people.  We are capable of more subtlety than that.  Some of us can, in fact, hold opposing ideas in our minds simultaneously.  Categorization and lableing is fine and handy when it comes to politics and other discussions -- but we should not extend it to labeling ourselves as a whole.  Each of us deserves better than that, to have all our various aspects recognized and valued. 

So, for those of you who miss the fiery, revolutionary, anti-Tea Bagger GeekChick, fear not -- she is still here.  She is just resting while Philosophizing GeekChick takes over.  Besides, I'm sick of hearing about the elections anyway -- aren't you?  ; )

A Walk with Freddy

What men call passion is the friction of the soul with the Universe.

Herman Hesse wrote these words (roughly paraphrased) in The Glass Bead Game.  Of the many words in that long, dull book (I couldn't bring myself to finish it), these were instantly seared onto my brain.  Why?  Because I understand them.

I suspect this is one of those "if you have to ask" situations.  If you have to ask, you can't afford it.  If you have to ask, you won't understand.  But let's try, shall we?

Truly great art -- whether visual, written, or philosphized -- can only stem from great torment.  Think about it.  What does calm, peaceful, serenity give you?  Beautiful but vapid Monets.  Socially poignant but emotionally flat Jane Austen.  Saccharine Emily Dickenson.  But what does the tormented soul produce?  Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, Nietzsche!  Stormy seas, these people have sailed -- and their art is so much more meaningful and profound because of it.

Monet painted beautiful pictures, Jane Austen wrote fine novels, and I suppose someone out there likes Dickenson.  But one's enjoyment of them does not plow the depths of one's soul.  On the other hand, even the most placid of Van Gogh's paintings evokes an emotional energy so raw that it is palpable.  Plath -- who can read her poems and not feel a sense of self-recognition in their darkness?  And Nietzsche -- he went so far off into the universe that he ended up in the nuthouse.

And sadly, that is a common fate for such friction-filled souls.  Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear, Friedrich get carted away to the asylum, and poor Sylvia off herself in her early 30s?  Why do such brilliant minds, with such insight into reality end up mentally unstable?

Because such souls are few and far between, and at the end of the day humans are social creatures.  If one doesn't have another like mind, someone who understands, it takes its toll.  Even the accepted-but-social-oddity of the absent minded scientist or out of touch and solitary philosopher eventually cannot resist the innate need for companionship.  And so these souls spend their lives alone, adrift, trying to find their way in a world that does not understand them. 

Some, like Plath, give in to despair and the desire for release.  But those who lack emotional stability to begin with or who simply refuse to assimilate end up in asylums --or today, find themselves in a lifelong relationship with Xanax.  I suppose it is to be expected -- what else would a society do with its "crazies"? 

I wonder how this phenomenon will change in the modern world.  The internet and social networking make it so much easier to meet people far and wide.  Will this lessen the solitude of such souls?  Will feeling less alone reduce their friction enough to make life bearable? 

I've outlived both Sylvia and Vincent, so I guess I'll have to let you know when I get to my padded cell.

The Disenlightenment

Let's step back into the far, musty reaches of our minds and pull out some high school history lessons.  I want to talk about the Age of Enlightenment, or more simply, just The Enlightenment.  This period was marked by a flourishing of thought and philosophy that centered on rigorous rational analysis, the scientific method, and reason.  It saw increased questioning of religious orthodoxy and dogma.  Immanuel Kant described it as "the freedom to use one's own intelligence."

Sadly, it seems a new age is upon us.  Because it's ideology is diametrically opposed to that described above, I'm calling it the Age of DisEnlightenment.  This movement is primarily evidenced by the increasing prominence of fascist ideas all over the world. 

(note: by fascist I refer to the common, if incorrect, definition of ultra-authoritarian policital and religious regimes.  I do not refer to the original definition which also includes a corporate economic structure).

We saw a frightening rise in fascist ideology in the US during the last Administration.  A President who is a "Decider" (just do what I say cuz I said so).  Removal of civil rights (warrantless wire tapping).  Politicizing of the justice system (firing of US attorneys who didn't arbitrarily target Democrats).  And so on.  And lest you say, but Obama is here now, might I remind you that he did not overturn any of the civil rights reductions instituted by the Bush.  And, we are still "at war" (or something) in Afghanistan, fighting exactly whom or what at this point?  And yea though he walked through the valley of the shadow of Iraq, he has not gotten us out of that unholy mess either.

But it's not just here, and it's not just politics.  All over the world, religous fascism is rearing it's ugly head.  So-called Islamofascists perpetrated 9/11.  Religious fundamentalists are doing their best to subvert health care reform, women's reproductive rights, science education, and global warming.  The French have banned the wearing of Muslim headscarves by girls in school.  Unbelievably, the Swiss have recently banned minarets.  And in what is possibly the most heinous move yet, Uganda is proposing a death penalty for being gay.

Such ideologies can flourish only in an age of non-thinking.  Where people do not think critically;  where in fact, they are discouraged from or penalized for doing so.  (Remember: science in the classroom is under attack. No science, no understanding of scientific method.....)  Find a dogma, chant the mantra, wave your flag and stay the course.  And don't you dare say a word out of lockstep.  Dissent will not be tolerated. 

Maybe it's always been there and I just never noticed it.  Maybe it's just getting more news coverage these days.  Or maybe it really is an increasing trend.  What, then, would cause a global disenlightenment? 

I won't pretend to have any clue as to the answer.  But I sure would like to see Fareed Zakaria or Reza Aslan take this one on.  Maybe it's just the political/philophical pendulum swinging back.  In any case, the rise in zealous fundamentalism is frightening.  How does it bode for our future, if we become reduced to a species of bigots?  If we are so busy focusing on our differences that we no longer see the similarities?