William Conger sent me an offline note that I told him was so good it should be posted. I'm sure William has access to the forum, but, just in case, we've agreed I'll post it for him:
I've been away and am overloaded now and am hoping that the lurkers will come forward. I was paranoid about being dropped from the list since I received no posts for a week or more. I was upset that Kirby was dropped since he articulates the predominate "values" orientation of the conservative right, thus depriving us (progressive liberals?) of interesting dialogue. We need to be reminded that social/moral conservatism is an imperialistic concept that imbues art, aesthetics and all cognitive issues with a particular set of values and standards. For instance, it reframes modernism, a synonym for progressive liberalism, as something worthless and decadant. For me this all-pervasive conservatism is a challenge, if not a distinct threat, to civil freedom, artistic expression, creative thinking and intellectual discourse. Kirby is a worthy challenger. Whatever we may say about aesthetics, language, and art is flavored by our emotional ties, perhaps unconscious, to underlying moral and ethical guides taught, picked up, faked, absorbed. If we are at all curious we are vexed by those deep guides and need to test them continuously. Vexation is a wonderful stimulus to sharper thinking and creativity. It is a tradition of this list. Smart troublemakers should be solicited. Serious contenders need real challengers. Shadow boxing is for pretenders WC --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > William -- We're all looking forward to seeing your > voice on the forum again. > It's one of the forum's magics -- allowing us to see > voices -- and we want > one of them to be yours. > > > ************** Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00 030000000001)
