Separating the view of life as basically a moral discourse and as politically dynamic is a huge experiential chasm. My cultural affiliations -- the ones I feel immediately in my gut -- are with those who see the world in terms of power dynamics rather than in terms of competing moral discourses.
Maybe this relates to the violence in my blood, that violent sensibility that comes from being born African. If you speak a close enough strain to my own language -- that being the language which takes into account that issues of life are related to issues of power -- then you will be culturally closer to me, even as an enemy, than anybody who espouses that life is basically a matter of making correct moral choices for oneself.
So there it is: the fundamental human schism. And those who speak about morality are often really speaking about power, whereas those who speak superficially about power are often really moral crusaders. You have to know the differences.
Writer Marechera's critical discourse is about power, and only lightly is it about morality. And his Western critics (although not those of the dark continent) speak fundamentally in terms of a moral discourse. They perceive a deeper discourse about power to be "mad". Although perhaps this is a slip of the tongue --What they are really meaning to say is that is is "maddening".
STAY SANE AND SAVAGE Gender activism, intellectual shamanism
Maybe this relates to the violence in my blood, that violent sensibility that comes from being born African. If you speak a close enough strain to my own language -- that being the language which takes into account that issues of life are related to issues of power -- then you will be culturally closer to me, even as an enemy, than anybody who espouses that life is basically a matter of making correct moral choices for oneself.
So there it is: the fundamental human schism. And those who speak about morality are often really speaking about power, whereas those who speak superficially about power are often really moral crusaders. You have to know the differences.
Writer Marechera's critical discourse is about power, and only lightly is it about morality. And his Western critics (although not those of the dark continent) speak fundamentally in terms of a moral discourse. They perceive a deeper discourse about power to be "mad". Although perhaps this is a slip of the tongue --What they are really meaning to say is that is is "maddening".
STAY SANE AND SAVAGE Gender activism, intellectual shamanism
2 comments:
If we acknowledge that everything is about power, life seems less confusing and more fulfilling somehow, than if we try to imagine its about moon dust or romance. This does not discount the possibility of either, but it does put things into proper perspective, so that one can both enjoy the world and relax a lot more.
In other words, I don't think the forced schism between aesthetics and power is at all helpful -- its a very Western dichotomy (pretty much like all dichotomies).
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