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How can we capture maturation within society (bildung) when so much of society is bent on polarizing everyone?
One option is to focus only on the process of harmonizing with those more cultivated aspects.
This however... https://twitter.com/thomasjbevan1/status/1320059520433950720
One option is to focus only on the process of harmonizing with those more cultivated aspects.
This however... https://twitter.com/thomasjbevan1/status/1320059520433950720
a. ignores what reality is for most
b. may actually involve entering into a polarized group (without the awareness of such)
Better to take it head-on.
But Thomas J Bevans is correct. Who needs another polarizer? Who even needs another "above it all" type?
b. may actually involve entering into a polarized group (without the awareness of such)
Better to take it head-on.
But Thomas J Bevans is correct. Who needs another polarizer? Who even needs another "above it all" type?
What does writing these stitches look like in literature?
This is something I struggled mightily with.
I still knowingly propogandize myself with my media choices. It is (low-quality) cathartic. I have a "side."
Thankfully I'm self-aware enough to know that the self...
This is something I struggled mightily with.
I still knowingly propogandize myself with my media choices. It is (low-quality) cathartic. I have a "side."
Thankfully I'm self-aware enough to know that the self...
is of far greater import than any partisan "battles" played out on the news/feeds.
And yet, the propaganda works. When I sit down to write, I find myself pulling out its same tropes and aiming them at the other side.
This is a failure!
And yet, the propaganda works. When I sit down to write, I find myself pulling out its same tropes and aiming them at the other side.
This is a failure!
My worldview informs who I am and what I value (and what hardened extremes I'm prone to). If I did not have this I would not be who I am, whom I greatly enjoy being.
In the most mythical sense, it decides my enemies too. In the practical sense, it doesn't have to.
In the most mythical sense, it decides my enemies too. In the practical sense, it doesn't have to.
Indeed, wouldn't it be wiser to be neighborly to everyone (save the most aggressively vile -- a very small % of people!)? https://twitter.com/sonyasupposedly/status/1321697874040647683
How to translate this to writing? Specifically writing about the struggles of coming to terms with yourself within a polarized society?
How can we name those polarizing patches without falling prey to their games?
How can we name those polarizing patches without falling prey to their games?
I have tried to do this in "The sophists." https://roamresearch.com/#/app/Heterotopic_Content/page/Q61XPfmo4
The key to discuss polarization in literature playing its game is to be more a cynic and less a sophist
To hold the mirror up rather than exaggerate.
Practically this means to focus on the effects of a polarized mind rather than the causes
To hold the mirror up rather than exaggerate.
Practically this means to focus on the effects of a polarized mind rather than the causes
"This is what we are doing. This is what we look like now."
Obviously perception will always be subjective. There's nothing we can do about that. But we can be charitable. Less witty, more neighbor. Writers can aim for enlightenment rather than entertainment via "dunks"
Obviously perception will always be subjective. There's nothing we can do about that. But we can be charitable. Less witty, more neighbor. Writers can aim for enlightenment rather than entertainment via "dunks"
"Cynics" are long overdue for rehabilitation. (cf @jmrphy)
