I do not, as a rule, consume (so called) news; and thus, I did not know about the cultural war raging around us until my good friend text me that our state was on a mandated curfew.
My family lived through the 60's burning of Detroit. Very vivid in my mind is my mother, close to hysteria, telling the four of us to get on our knees and start praying, as we watched people being trucked in while smoke and flames approached closer to our suburban home. Yesterday I experienced a little bad deja vu.
I have friends from across all spectrums with disparate points of view: religious, political, social, economic, conspiratorial. From the depths of my heart I cry out for all of us- -and as simplistic as it sounds - Love is the answer. "Love Will Keep Us Together."
A Little Alert: I'm about to pontificate and you will most likely want to move on with your life.
People who are aware of and study cultural dynamics prayed we could maintain our humanity and not devlove.
I have a rather unique perspective. I started a PhD program (in marriage and family therapy), about twenty years ago when I turned 50 (and had been out of academia for 20 years).
Social Constructionism (post-modernism) was the overwhelming flavor of the epoch. First, let me say, the beauty of this philosophical position is in acknowledging that we all use words without common meaning. Thus, a major goal is to help people come to a shared understanding through "talk therapy."
However, as with all philosophical orientations taken to extremes.... well you are seeing the results. I seriously delved into post modernism, instinctively knowing this would lead to violence & I asked, "What is post post-modernism?" and was greeted with blank stares.
I remember asking, "What about abuse?" And of course there is no good answer because abuse is always wrong. When we give credence to tolerating whatever anybody says as morally acceptable, we lose respect and tolerance for the individual.
Left with no way to say abuse is always wrong, we see that social constructionism has swallowed itself in post-modern thought. Throughout the course of history, change comes with destruction. May our future quickly evolve into dialogue and communication with deep respect for each individual member of humanity.
[And now for my dose of gelato. Please join me in your favorite comfort food.]
