hijacking language to suit your own purposes. I get-cha. ineffectual nothings, I agree. effete motards, even.
I suppose it is one of the tragedies of post-modernism. language as our reality. my life is far from a narrative. if only I could romanticize my bowel movements to form a new whirledview.
like wrestling for the remote.
I guess reality is what smacks you right in the head. and I guess what could be worse than hijacking language is hijacking actual reality. or say an entire country. maybe that's a stretch. I'm open.
when will enough be enough already? when will the parents step in and take the toy away from the children? I'm not beckoning for some ideological Renaissance, some sweeping movement towards a better world. whatever. learn to love what you got, even if it's a big old bag of shit. what I'm saying is, we need to put the hand on the shoulder, even the wheel, pull over slowly, and say "enough, you're done. this is not what government is for."
not "this is what the world wants. this is what the world thinks of us. think of the children. give peace a chance. mmmmprogress." that's just utter bullshit. we need to peaceably say: no, this didn't work. this was a bad idea. here's why.
if you consider what the official language is now, how success is being iterated and re-iterated, it very much has had the reality stripped from it. they wouldn't know success if it slapped them in the face. and this from someone who fails so often as to know what success might be like.
but maybe I just hijacked the post for my own uses. beh.
and I really haven't the slightest idea what I'm talking about.
this post is funny.
Posted by: mr.fun | 27 July 2006 at 07:19 AM
not knowing what you're talking about would be a lot more dangerous were you in the positition (and mindset) to enforce your random thoughts on the rest of it. then, when questioned, tell us that's it's all for our own safety..err...SECURITY. the manipulation of language is as common as it is comforting and irritating.
is it possible that it's the UBIQUITY of our communication that's at the root of our problems? manipulation is not new, the scale and immediacy are. let's bomb the 24 hour news channels and shut down the internet. i hate the freaking internet.
Posted by: the serrach | 27 July 2006 at 09:06 AM
ps i too know not of what i speak
Posted by: the serrach | 27 July 2006 at 09:07 AM
The political debate about whether to leave or stay in Iraq--and the entire Middle East crisis in general--has centered around empty slogans. It’s the “blame America first crowd” vs. “freedom-loving patridiots” or something like that.
You’re right about reality. We’re never satisfied with what we have, so we spin and spin and spin new webs in hopes of achieving something else. And language is the tool we use to mold, shape, control and meddle with the universe.
I also have no clue what I am saying.
I was tempted by postmodernism for awhile there in college, but then realized its suicidal. Life might not have any meaning (and language might be a a method of generating false meaning, and perception is reality bla bla bla) but at some point we need to realize that reality is right in front of us and act simply and rationally.
Posted by: Comandante Agi | 27 July 2006 at 09:17 AM
America's heroic Commander-in-Chief™ is fighting valiantly against the nattering nabobs of negativism in the press, glowing like a beacon of freedom in the shining city on the hill. Meanwhile, those who attacked us on September 11th receive aid and comfort from the liberal media, activist judges, and hippie pinkos like The Defeatists.
Posted by: e_five | 27 July 2006 at 10:57 AM
i could call a red-hot ice-pick an eye-drop, but you'd have to be reaaally stoned, or a Republican, to fall for it...it's what the Serrach said- scale & immediacy...it's a good thing our educational system is the best in the world, & the American culture of critical-thinking is second-to-none, &........aw, hell...
Posted by: tassawwuf | 27 July 2006 at 01:48 PM
I find the retreat from meaning tiring and a hobbitry most impressive. Hobbits are very tiring. So is this "cut and run" nonsense; I'd go along with "culture of corruption" but that'll get old too...very old. They are all corrupt, evil bastards...I just agree with a few different agendas.
As for our wonderful education system, right. Critical thinking -- got it. I have access to a systems analyst whom I've given the mission to keep occupied by trying to turn our contract with the union into process maps. Guess what -- the first piece I gave her to do had a lengthy "if" statement with no "then." The union had its lawyer and negotiators, the company had its lawyers and negotiators, and I have no idea what the hell that part of the contract actually means. If they don't come to work, we can...give 'em a cookie? Disembowel them? At times, both would work for me.
Tiffany may be moonlighting writing speeches for these guys, but I suspect not. Rather, both left and right, as well as the hovering verticals have no clue. Just rhetoric...
Posted by: Crusader AXE of the Lost Causes | 27 July 2006 at 07:20 PM