working out salvation in fear & trembling

OPPOSITION

But look:

Don't romanticize us fine arts folk.
At least in theatre the temptation is
always strong to sentimentalize, to
equate, to equivocate, to blend and
smooth and play it safe,

rather than to confront, to juxtapose,
to take to extremes, to push the
contradictions as far as they can go,
to REALLY make fools of
ourselves. G.P____

While there is much desire to learn
there of necessity will be much
arguing, much writing, many
opinions; for opinion in
good men is but
knowledge in
the making.

Under these fantastic terrors of sect
and schism—fear of dissent, differences
in viewpoint—we wrong the earnest
and zealous thirst after knowledge
and understanding which God hath
stirred up in this city. Milton, Areopagitica

Dear Graham,

I’m juxtaposing you and Milton and turning
up the hostile, genuine & legitimate opposition
between the need for much arguing, much writing,
many opinions on the one hand and on the other
hand: terrors of sect and schism: fear of dissent,
differences in view point—& subsequent necessity
for polite if not policed political correctness.

I play to argue with myself, too—constant game of
scissors, rock, & paper. I’m wining & losing like
anything.

Representation

You guys in Fine Arts stand-for the Makers.

Us Humanities people: we stand-for the
Givers and Takers.

Folks in Hamill: guess we could call them
the Shakers.

You can improve my terms.v It’s the distinctions I
would turn way up. Once characterized, we can see
all 3 aspects as integral to each discipline.

This is cerebral modeling, not political. Every major
has it’s Mohammed-to-Howard ratios, say. Or every
disciple & practitioner. More or less Mohammed;
more or less Howard: that would be an assessment
worth assessing. Pie Charts across the Curriculum.

The Regulator

The Stream of a Common Language called COURSE
eclipses the diversity of our dialect differences & it’s
this pervasive permeate Structure of Hire Education
that collapses schola into assembly-line-study so it
feels like All The Same: syllabic agenda-driven textual
harassing quiz & exam regulating grade-gun corralling:
forcing the issue with make-it-up research & well-
documented paper-writing whether down South with the
Hamillians or up North with Graham and the Fine Artists.
It’s all One & the Same Old Same Old.

(Graham, what I just said is nonsense if no senseat all to
you swimmers swimming in the medium of industrialized
education all your so-called lives, you got no comparison,
might as well ask a fish to define wet let alone dry: it’d take
something like immaculate conception or else get hooked
and hauled into the canoe to flip-flop in air for five minutes
for my kind of foolishness to register. I don’t blame
you none at all. Ludicrous.)

.

xxxooo