Misanthropy Cont. (That Damned Moral Sense)

Borders Without Courses Series
 
“That Damned Moral Sense!”
                     Samuel Clemens.
 
“This country does not love the poor.”
a former student observes—one who
must, himself, love the poor , they
are always  with us. .
 
What is it LIKE: to love the poor?.
Or hate? What does it mean—
either way?
 
I believe John Edwards loved
the poor. And Robin Hood.
 
There is much to disapprove of;
I, myself, do--& the disapproving
tells you much  about me, not
necessarily much  about my direct
objects: poor, wealthy, war in
Afghanistan, tea parties, Jesse
James & that coward  Mr. Howard
— unless you take my word for it. .
 
With seemingly each of us competing
to be seen as right if  not righteous
well then indignant— shocked &
dismayed,  savvy & sophisticated,
politically correct on either side of
the aisle, groan-up with  groan-up
concerns. it  leaves open more than
a niche for the immature, careless,
genuinely stupid & stunned attention
deficient to put their perspective in
play.
 
What? What the? What the hell?
(School Mode, not to be collapsed,
    conflated or confused with
    Church Mode--or State) 

The stunningly stupid has this
advantage at  least among the
outraged. Bring IT on, they
urge, suspending belief and
disbelief. So  we can turn IT
up & entertain  and of course
Loving the Enemy is crucial
so that a GOOD time is had
by all.  Other wise  it’s just
barkkedy bark bark  among
the moralists on both sides
of the house
 
     

 
and turtle wax all the
way down.

      *****


 
Human-Humanism likeChimp-
Chimpanzisim will accentuate
the positive and dis-own the
bad stuff as  inhumane  —not
monkey-like
 
Human-Humanists are appalled
at the bone-head  self-serving
ignorance across the aisle: power
political manipulation, domain
control and domestic violence—
bad monkey! bad  monkey!
from the chimp point of
view. .
 
Mere monkeyshines  all around.
all around as far as I’m concerned. 
                    xxxooo, Jane Goodall.
 
   The Insufficiency of our Rigorous
    and Innovative Academic Honoring
     of the Liberal Arts Tradition.
 
Doctor Kahl  reminds us how-it-is our
explanations,
interpretations,  
because & affects,
reasons why,
blamations,
escape-goating re-presentations
& representational systems are
necessary  but always insufficient
accounts of what actually happened
let alone what actually is happening
both of which are always impoverished:
the unaccountable poor & un-
represented we have always
with us.  
 
Sufficient for the moment  & the day,
sure: convenient, conventional,  useful
& applicable: a fix for the causality
addicted: they’ll take us to the moon
but never SUFFICIENT nor sustainable.
 
Inadequate.
 
IN class the other day we  momentarily
conflated  “inadequacy” & “violence”
not logically but analogically: my  walk
through a field,  say, stroll through  a
mall: a partial  reduction and sampling
of the whole. Descriptively: a violation,
yes? Rip-off  artistry & guilty pleasure.
Need we argue?
  
“Which adjective do you prefer?” 
I asked the student who was in-play
at the time:“Will you own your
inadequacy ? Or your violence?”   
 
“Violence, I guess,” he said
—pushed to respond
(a violence in itself)

“I’m going to own my violence.
“Inadequacy seems lame. ”