innie or outtie?

Nick, yes. You've not only stuck your pinky firmly into the stinky, but maybe a ring finger too.  The outer goes inner. Political scatology! Hot and steamy.  For anyone reading, you would do yourself a favor by reading Nick's comment on the last post.  He answered some rhetoricals that really get into why someone would write a blog to begin with.

Letting the inner and outer gain some unity...  Walking the talk.  Here's my fear: that the only thing that creates shared experiences or communities is indivisible with what makes an individual to begin with. This "thing" would be antagonism, opposition, isolationism.  Now, contrary to popular hippie belief, these are not the sole properties of W. or libertarians. In fact, I think the only successful hippie would have to pull up his boot straps and do more than say "dreadlocks or not, we're all the same."  To admit that we're all the same removes our ability to improve. When you don't allow gaps to appear between form and content, "statements just seem vain at last!" Yeah, Terrapin Station. To further your Wittgenstein comments, I think meaning is never found, but always given.  The lesson of poststructuralism brings us to an impasse with political language, not to mention social language(s). We don't huddle up around shared inner or particular beliefs, we huddle up around traditions and recast new beliefs in terms of political motivation.  Language's slippery slope precludes inner community, it forces politics. And as Martha Stewart once said, that's a good thing.  I like Robert Smithson's take on Abstract Expressionism: there's nothing abstract about it; it's biological realism.  Well, yes and no.  Autonomy and political discourse still abound in seemingly contentless aesthetics.  Even if our subject matter (or inner individualist content) seems divorced from social reality, the dialectic, through behavior, comes very close to social reality... Any action in this way becomes a radical criticism of itself, spiralling into the Marxist utpoia of perpetual revolution, but an anti-nihilistic one. Michael Fried gets into some stuff there. Style is content, and as you said, the outer people treat turds like gold, so they begin to gain Market Value! Yeah!  However, the market is taken for granted as reality.  Heiddeger commented on the use-value of things quite well, and we continued along to find ourselves in a one-to-one corresponding skin of simulacra. Now we have technology masquerading as freedom once again, and on and on... I still maintain the biggest lesson that drums ever taught me: the only truth is action!  Thank you Nick for getting into the stinky with me... you are the pro.

Comments

[Nick]

I agree with all the above comments, especially those concerning traditions and political motivations and their impact upon language and community. You're right that the foundation of community isn't shared conceptions of language/meaning and my saying that wasn't meant to be an absolute, it was meant to put some sort of alternative out there besides the assumption one might make claiming all language is either an aquiescence to or a reaction to some sort of political discourse. It is more than that because there is potential for change in peoples opinions and flip flopping.

In general in my experiances within the public process, success in helping people achieve their destiny (which is well informed by particular political contexts) is to get them to accept the validity of other points of view (I think one of the main (positive) outgrowths of marxist/post-structuralist doctrine). Success is achieved when one recognizes difference accepts it for what it is and recognizes the internal validity of the opposing viewpoint. The hard part is keeping the other in their focus. It is most easilly accomplished as a threat to their internal consistancy, but framed not in a political context but a community context. The trick is shifting from the political context to one based on daily life (forms of life), something that is shared (but often not thought about) within communities.

[Ben]

Hello! My name are Trefz Minx. I rock big tunes with Warrant in '88 and then convert grunge to play Ned's Atomic Dustbin. I am preferring these debates. You both very smart.

(really)

[Kyle]

More blog!

[Kyle]

More blog! More blog!

[Ben]

More blog. Rob, more blog.

[Ben]

Rob, please continue your blog.

Signed,
perry

[Barry]

Bloggy bloggy? Bloggy bare hands. Blog HO!

[Barry]

Rob, I think you'd appreciate this small and inconsequential piece of my business (re: our recent trip to the Madison Great escape where they gave you $0.75 for three records). I recently traded Jethro Tull Aqualung, a live Elton John, and a Cream double album into the local record store and got 17 fucking dollars of store credit! I couldn't believe it. I just went back into the store and if I wanted to buy them all back, I cold for $12. Don't ask questions, I guess... Hope things are good for you. Trying to come back for Halloween.

[Barry]

Okay Bob-town. I'm coming for Halloween. I bought the ticket today. So plan your party with me in mind (i.e.: lots of group games, good decorations, big tits).