All art is local or time/space specific. It is expressive of that time and place i.e. that culture or ethnicity. I was not talking about superstition but Beethoven. Mutilation is a part of fundamentalism where what once made since no longer does but is done because people are afraid to lose their connection with their ancestors.i.e. who they are. Americans tend to forget that, until they visit Florence, and then they understand that "economics is to live" not "to live is economics." That's ethnicity or more accurately a people's tradition. All cultures do what your African Elders did in fact if you read "Shakespeare in the Bush" by Laura Bohanin available on the Internet you will get a greater understanding of such. Like Bill, I have been to the bush (not the Shrub) and found that it is in many ways better than civilization but I love orchestras, operas and music. My ethnicity "grandfathers" those things into existance on this plain. That is my ethnicity.
REH ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "futurework" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, May 31, 2003 5:51 PM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Beneath and above and elewhere.... > Ray Evans Harrell wrote: > > Brad, > [snip] > > To decry ethnicites is popular with scientists and just shows that they > > didn't think much about it or they are bad scientists. "One species over > > all!" Right! (Irony) That is just plain old bunk or more accurately, > > ugly. > [snip] > > I find few who criticize ethnicities from the perspective > I take (Husserl's notion of mankind's becoming > ever more self-accountable). A while ago, I cited > (with high approval) the NYT report of a certain > tribe in Africa where the elders decided to > inventory all the customs of their culture, and > to keep the ones that seemed still constructive but > to throw out the ones that no longer seemed > well advised. *That's* a kind of thing > I would be cheered to see more of! > > I do not argue that ethnicities are "all bad". The > little Somali (etc.) girl who has her external > genitalia ripped out to perfect what God left not > quite finished gets something good in return: > she becomes a menber of her society instead of > being cast out to be eaten by the wild animals. > > And, yes, I know, there are ethnic phenomena which > are straightforwardly good. (I can't think of > any off hand....) > > I simply am not part of the world of the > Bureau of Indian Affairs, either myself or > through the persons in my daily life, > so what they have done > and or are continuing to do is not something > that is part of my thoughts. I certainly > do not see the "conquistadores" as culture heroes. > > And I think one of the reasons we should control our > population is so that we don't need to exploit > other peoples to have decent lives for ourselves. > > But maybe you are talking about something else with > denigrating "One species over > > all!" Here again, I have argued that, even for > reasons of enlightened selfishness, we should be > good conservators of other species (but: including > nurturing smallpox bacilli and oncogenes to > actualize their essences and achieve their > species goals?). > > Maybe Western neo-Kantian (to grab a quick label...) > philosophers are the only beings > that don't have a "right to life"? > > \brad mccormick > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > <![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
