----------empyre- soft-skinned space----------------------
Simon write "Not the monied-up Republican philanthropists--of which there is a 'healthy' tradition in the States; not the dressing-down, the down-dressing, of the Democratic preference for 'direct' social action: but the cutting-off of the arts as a cultural prosthesis--parasitism--the common white man can do without, having two white legs and two white thumbs-up."
I'm not sure that there is a "common white man," although the phrase is engaging; part of the problem of course is overlooking difference which is a basic issue. It has to do with listening. I was going to say that for many evangelicals, the arts have been replaced by community/religious arts - but even here, which community? what religion? what arts? I think of the U.S. not only as two countries, but as many countries, and each of them having an existential project of totality...
We're very near the end of the month's pereginations - maybe a day or two at most. I do want to greatly thank everyone who has participated, either actively or by following the posts. I do recognize there are problems with email lists, structural problems, and for those intereted in following through on this, I again recommend Jon Marshall's Living on Cybermind - a detailed anthropological/sociological study of the Cybermind list and the problems that accompanied (and still accompany) its community, commons, and governance. There are no easy solutions, but I do believe that email lists have the potential for mindfulness that isn't really screen-shaped, and that can lead to forms of deep reflection and activism. In Rhode Island, there are at least two political lists that function like this, which is increasingly important, especially since Facebook heads more and more towards an overt advertising model and user formation - the Trump rules ending the last modicum of Net privacy, will ensure that this trend will only increase. Email lists have some protection against this sort of thing.
If anyone has parting comments, suggestions for future approaches in relation to Trump and the general movement towards the right in so many countries, please send them in now, and thank you again, so very much.
And thanks to Renate, for giving us this opportunity as well. Alan _______________________________________________ empyre forum empyre@lists.artdesign.unsw.edu.au http://empyre.library.cornell.edu
