"The Great Correction"
So, have you heard about the Last Sunday gathering? No, not the Austin MUFON meeting (which is also held on the last sunday of each month)! Although, deep in my developmental history, there is a connection between that fantastic "Unidentified" realm & what I did end up doing last sunday night: back when I was fourteen, I was working as a roadie for Eliza Gilkyson @ a house party out in the middle of nowhere... and the aliens I was contemplating were more likely to be found in a novel by Philip K. Dick or H.P. Lovecraft, rather than Whitley Strieber or the X-Files. I had just reached that point in my life where I was questioning what was real, and hadn't yet found Robert Anton Wilson, or Terence McKenna to help me figure out that in this relativistic cosmos, it's okay for there to be conflicting accounts of "reality." And although I had my suspicions about the nature of multiple co-existing paradigms, I was still enraptured with fantasies, waiting to meet the Lost Girls of my dreams. I would happily have served as an alien experiment, in the meantime. But, since no extraterrestrial abduction was forthcoming, I decided that it was probably one of those things like "petitioning the Lord with prayer" ::: Alien or supernatural forces can possibly be used to refer to otherwise unexplained means utilized by those who are already engaged in helping themselves; but it's probably a bad idea to depend on some intangible aid, if you aren't willing to do anything to accomplish your goal in the first place :::
And my studies in Anthropology have supported this perception: when human culture moves from the familiar patterns of fishing in a lake or river, out towards the vast unknown realms of the ocean, ritualistic behaviour transforms from carrying simple fetishes to utilizing complex liturgies. Through this paradigm shift, we seem to be attempting to harness whatever forces we may have access to in our a-rational/unconscious psyche (spirit?) in order to secure our survival, or at least help ourselves feel better while we are struggling!
Ahem...
The Last Sunday gathering I was actually referring to having attended this past weekend is being described as a place for people to come together to explore the intersections of artistic, secular, & spiritual perspectives on the economic, political, cultural and ecological crises that we face today, domestically & internationally.
The Austin Chronicle (our local weekly liberal rag, which is *FREE to the consumer* but makes a significant amount of money from ads) published a decent write-up in advance of the event, but the (local conservative daily newspaper) Austin-American Statesman declined to run any notice. The hosts for the evening were Robert Jensen (Associate Professor of Journalism @ UT), Reverend Jim Rigby (Pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church), and Eliza Gilkyson (Grammy-nominated Singer-Songwriter-Musician).
Professor Robert Jensen has posted his remarks online, from the first Last Sunday gathering. Here is one of the many statements he made early in the evening, that really resonated with me:
"I started to understand that the problems of the world were not simply the product of an inherently evil and stupid human nature, though we can all be evil and stupid at times. Instead, I started to think about how systems and structures of power shape us and channel our behavior. I came to realize that the authority structures that so bend our lives are powerful and deeply entrenched. I also realized that most of the channels that the dominant culture offers us for working to make the world a better place are themselves deeply embedded in those authority structures, so that often the solutions become part of the problem."
The other two hosts traded their presentations in between Prof. Jensen's words, and kept lightheartedly ribbing him for being such a downer; but I personally feel that he has the more realistic approach to the local & global situation (even if he isn't the most upbeat of the three hosts, I tend to agree with his perspective more, overall). Reverend Rigby says some things that I'm sure most of you will be glad to hear come out of a religious figure's mouth, like: "I don't care if you belive in 'God' ...the word 'God' is just a symbol!" He was encouraging people to look at the important things, such as compassion for our fellow humans & focussing on this world, now (instead of promises for the afterlife). I even went up to him afterwards to tell him that although am quite critical of passionate speeches in general (I think mass psychology is too easily manipulated by emotional appeal), I did appreciate the way he grounded his emotionally charged statements in a pragmatic foundation. However, I was much more curious as to why he had made a remark which encouraged people to engage in "property destruction" right at the end of a statement which people were already beginning to applaud. I told him that I thought that was much too serious a call to arms to make without context, like that... and asked him to explain to me in more depth, exactly what he meant by that reference. He said that he wanted people to realize that human life is more important than property. I told him that I agreed with that general statement in theory, but that I thought the issue was much too complex to slip into a speech without explaining the broader context, right as the fanfare is igniting. I also told him that I would be happy to continue the dialogue with him in a setting that was more appropriate, some other time, as there were many other people waiting to speak with him. He seemed happy to do so, and asked me to call him, so I will follow-up on that, soon. I also thought that his general condemnation of "capitalism" & encouragement of "anarchy" was not nearly specific enough. But sure, I can agree that we shouldn't be running a corporate welfare state and I would also be happy for people to be more self-sufficient. Maybe, if folks didn't rely upon the gov't for so much, then they would keep their invasive laws out of what we consent to do with our own bodies, for instance? I just think that in our current state of affairs, calling for the abolishment of capitalism is like so much throwing pebbles at a monolith. When I look around for the alternatives, I see that there are too many ignorant people in this country & this world for a real Marxist revolution, for instance. That was one of the biggest problems with the Soviet model: they had a completely uneducated proletariat, who couldn't possibly participate in collective gov't (which pleased Lenin & Stalin, just fine). So, rather than continuing to crticize an obviously broken system, why don't we focus on people learning how to fix the problem? If you want to redistribute the wealth, how about educating people about how to use the resources... don't give 'em a fish, teach 'em how to fish!
I have to admit, out of the probably more than 300 people there, I think a significant number of them just wanted to see Eliza Gilkyson for free. She is a radiant performer, and her back-up guitarist is phenomenal, too. The poet who was scheduled to appear that evening (Naomi Shihab Nye) had been caught in traffic, returning from Dallas; so we were treated to a few extra sing along songs to make up for lost time in the program... Ms. Gilkyson led us in a Woody Guthrie tune ("Peace Call"), and two of her father, Terry Gilkyson's songs: "Green Fields," and "Bare Necessities" (yes, the song from Disney's Jungle Book)! Apparently, it's easier for me to enjoy emotional appeal when it's framed in art?!!! Well, to be honest, I certainly have my criticisms of the naïveté of folk singers (as I am literally the child of two); but I can still appreciate the musical side of the presentation. Some of Ms. Gilkyson's lyrics are extremely critical of the socio-political situation of today, and she often makes a plea for change; so I will credit her for offering empathy, as does Prof. Jensen, in this gritty review of her most recent album. Throughout the evening, she played a few of her own tunes, as well, including "The Great Correction," & "Tender Mercies," which were obviously played from her own heart, and I believe such feelings helped create a human context to carry everyone's attention through the rest of the evening's discussion of world-wide suffering & terror.
The organizers had not expected nearly that many people to attend, and although the hosts seemed to keep everyone's focus for the entire evening; most people bolted when the show was over. A few of us stayed around to help clean-up & I saw old friends & made new ones; so I do feel like real community building can happen through this event, one way or another.
--
On Guy Fawkes' Day, earlier this month, I had posted some of my feelings about some issues that relate directly to the subjects of this evening's discussion, and my explorations of evolving cooperation through game theory may offer some insight, as well.
--
Prof. Jensen's final words included a few more quotes from Camus (by whom I have also been inspired):
"In a 1948 talk at a monastery, Camus urged people to 'give up empty quarrels' and 'pay attention to what unites rather that to what separates us' in the struggle to recover from the horrors of Europe's barbarism. I take from Camus a sense of how to live the tension between facing honestly the horror and yet remaining engaged. In that same talk, he spoke of 'the forces of terror' (forces which exist on 'our' side as much as on 'theirs') and the 'forces of dialogue' (which also exist everywhere in the world). Where do we place our hopes?
'Between the forces of terror and the forces of dialogue, a great unequal battle has begun,' he wrote. "I have nothing but reasonable illusions as to the outcome of that battle. But I believe it must be fought.'
So, back to tonight's original question: Just what exactly is Last Sunday? Maybe just an expression of faith in the forces of dialogue, a plea for reasonable illusions, a reminder that -- no matter what our chances -- the battle must be fought."
--
In response to this idea, I am reminded of my attendance at the appearance of Camille Paglia @ Book People, during which she advised political poets to address their opinions towards their adversaries: no more preaching to the choir! What I mean to say is that although I, too, wish to emphasize all of our similarities as fellow humans, I also want us to be able to celebrate our differences through building a continuous dialogue with one another. I believe that this is basically a matter of remembering to take turns listening to one another. And this seems to me to be a matter rooted in the idea of communicating to one another how we may share time & space, which leads me to my next post...
--
ADDENDUM: THE LAST LAST SUNDAY?
In retrospect, this article briefly discusses the following observations about this series of discussions...
1) There Is No Choir
2) Looking Beyond 'Fun'
3) The Problem With Solutions
4) Individuals in Systems
5) A Direction, Not a Destination
--
"We may be decent people, acting compassionately in our daily lives, but when we live in unjust hierarchical systems, being decent day to day isn't enough. No matter what the specific topic of any Last Sunday, we tried to keep this in the foreground: We live in an imperial society structured by a predatory corporate capitalism, with identities shaped by white supremacy and patriarchy, in a technological fundamentalist society dominated by the faith that we can invent our way out of an ecological crisis."
And my studies in Anthropology have supported this perception: when human culture moves from the familiar patterns of fishing in a lake or river, out towards the vast unknown realms of the ocean, ritualistic behaviour transforms from carrying simple fetishes to utilizing complex liturgies. Through this paradigm shift, we seem to be attempting to harness whatever forces we may have access to in our a-rational/unconscious psyche (spirit?) in order to secure our survival, or at least help ourselves feel better while we are struggling!
Ahem...
The Last Sunday gathering I was actually referring to having attended this past weekend is being described as a place for people to come together to explore the intersections of artistic, secular, & spiritual perspectives on the economic, political, cultural and ecological crises that we face today, domestically & internationally.
The Austin Chronicle (our local weekly liberal rag, which is *FREE to the consumer* but makes a significant amount of money from ads) published a decent write-up in advance of the event, but the (local conservative daily newspaper) Austin-American Statesman declined to run any notice. The hosts for the evening were Robert Jensen (Associate Professor of Journalism @ UT), Reverend Jim Rigby (Pastor of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church), and Eliza Gilkyson (Grammy-nominated Singer-Songwriter-Musician).
Professor Robert Jensen has posted his remarks online, from the first Last Sunday gathering. Here is one of the many statements he made early in the evening, that really resonated with me:
"I started to understand that the problems of the world were not simply the product of an inherently evil and stupid human nature, though we can all be evil and stupid at times. Instead, I started to think about how systems and structures of power shape us and channel our behavior. I came to realize that the authority structures that so bend our lives are powerful and deeply entrenched. I also realized that most of the channels that the dominant culture offers us for working to make the world a better place are themselves deeply embedded in those authority structures, so that often the solutions become part of the problem."
The other two hosts traded their presentations in between Prof. Jensen's words, and kept lightheartedly ribbing him for being such a downer; but I personally feel that he has the more realistic approach to the local & global situation (even if he isn't the most upbeat of the three hosts, I tend to agree with his perspective more, overall). Reverend Rigby says some things that I'm sure most of you will be glad to hear come out of a religious figure's mouth, like: "I don't care if you belive in 'God' ...the word 'God' is just a symbol!" He was encouraging people to look at the important things, such as compassion for our fellow humans & focussing on this world, now (instead of promises for the afterlife). I even went up to him afterwards to tell him that although am quite critical of passionate speeches in general (I think mass psychology is too easily manipulated by emotional appeal), I did appreciate the way he grounded his emotionally charged statements in a pragmatic foundation. However, I was much more curious as to why he had made a remark which encouraged people to engage in "property destruction" right at the end of a statement which people were already beginning to applaud. I told him that I thought that was much too serious a call to arms to make without context, like that... and asked him to explain to me in more depth, exactly what he meant by that reference. He said that he wanted people to realize that human life is more important than property. I told him that I agreed with that general statement in theory, but that I thought the issue was much too complex to slip into a speech without explaining the broader context, right as the fanfare is igniting. I also told him that I would be happy to continue the dialogue with him in a setting that was more appropriate, some other time, as there were many other people waiting to speak with him. He seemed happy to do so, and asked me to call him, so I will follow-up on that, soon. I also thought that his general condemnation of "capitalism" & encouragement of "anarchy" was not nearly specific enough. But sure, I can agree that we shouldn't be running a corporate welfare state and I would also be happy for people to be more self-sufficient. Maybe, if folks didn't rely upon the gov't for so much, then they would keep their invasive laws out of what we consent to do with our own bodies, for instance? I just think that in our current state of affairs, calling for the abolishment of capitalism is like so much throwing pebbles at a monolith. When I look around for the alternatives, I see that there are too many ignorant people in this country & this world for a real Marxist revolution, for instance. That was one of the biggest problems with the Soviet model: they had a completely uneducated proletariat, who couldn't possibly participate in collective gov't (which pleased Lenin & Stalin, just fine). So, rather than continuing to crticize an obviously broken system, why don't we focus on people learning how to fix the problem? If you want to redistribute the wealth, how about educating people about how to use the resources... don't give 'em a fish, teach 'em how to fish!
I have to admit, out of the probably more than 300 people there, I think a significant number of them just wanted to see Eliza Gilkyson for free. She is a radiant performer, and her back-up guitarist is phenomenal, too. The poet who was scheduled to appear that evening (Naomi Shihab Nye) had been caught in traffic, returning from Dallas; so we were treated to a few extra sing along songs to make up for lost time in the program... Ms. Gilkyson led us in a Woody Guthrie tune ("Peace Call"), and two of her father, Terry Gilkyson's songs: "Green Fields," and "Bare Necessities" (yes, the song from Disney's Jungle Book)! Apparently, it's easier for me to enjoy emotional appeal when it's framed in art?!!! Well, to be honest, I certainly have my criticisms of the naïveté of folk singers (as I am literally the child of two); but I can still appreciate the musical side of the presentation. Some of Ms. Gilkyson's lyrics are extremely critical of the socio-political situation of today, and she often makes a plea for change; so I will credit her for offering empathy, as does Prof. Jensen, in this gritty review of her most recent album. Throughout the evening, she played a few of her own tunes, as well, including "The Great Correction," & "Tender Mercies," which were obviously played from her own heart, and I believe such feelings helped create a human context to carry everyone's attention through the rest of the evening's discussion of world-wide suffering & terror.
The organizers had not expected nearly that many people to attend, and although the hosts seemed to keep everyone's focus for the entire evening; most people bolted when the show was over. A few of us stayed around to help clean-up & I saw old friends & made new ones; so I do feel like real community building can happen through this event, one way or another.
--
On Guy Fawkes' Day, earlier this month, I had posted some of my feelings about some issues that relate directly to the subjects of this evening's discussion, and my explorations of evolving cooperation through game theory may offer some insight, as well.
--
Prof. Jensen's final words included a few more quotes from Camus (by whom I have also been inspired):
"In a 1948 talk at a monastery, Camus urged people to 'give up empty quarrels' and 'pay attention to what unites rather that to what separates us' in the struggle to recover from the horrors of Europe's barbarism. I take from Camus a sense of how to live the tension between facing honestly the horror and yet remaining engaged. In that same talk, he spoke of 'the forces of terror' (forces which exist on 'our' side as much as on 'theirs') and the 'forces of dialogue' (which also exist everywhere in the world). Where do we place our hopes?
'Between the forces of terror and the forces of dialogue, a great unequal battle has begun,' he wrote. "I have nothing but reasonable illusions as to the outcome of that battle. But I believe it must be fought.'
So, back to tonight's original question: Just what exactly is Last Sunday? Maybe just an expression of faith in the forces of dialogue, a plea for reasonable illusions, a reminder that -- no matter what our chances -- the battle must be fought."
--
In response to this idea, I am reminded of my attendance at the appearance of Camille Paglia @ Book People, during which she advised political poets to address their opinions towards their adversaries: no more preaching to the choir! What I mean to say is that although I, too, wish to emphasize all of our similarities as fellow humans, I also want us to be able to celebrate our differences through building a continuous dialogue with one another. I believe that this is basically a matter of remembering to take turns listening to one another. And this seems to me to be a matter rooted in the idea of communicating to one another how we may share time & space, which leads me to my next post...
--
ADDENDUM: THE LAST LAST SUNDAY?
In retrospect, this article briefly discusses the following observations about this series of discussions...
1) There Is No Choir
2) Looking Beyond 'Fun'
3) The Problem With Solutions
4) Individuals in Systems
5) A Direction, Not a Destination
--
"We may be decent people, acting compassionately in our daily lives, but when we live in unjust hierarchical systems, being decent day to day isn't enough. No matter what the specific topic of any Last Sunday, we tried to keep this in the foreground: We live in an imperial society structured by a predatory corporate capitalism, with identities shaped by white supremacy and patriarchy, in a technological fundamentalist society dominated by the faith that we can invent our way out of an ecological crisis."