Housing Benefit Mythologies

Sat 16 Aug 2008, 23:58

Sorry Igor, trying to cram far too many bleeding edge third culture points into a series of telegraphed staccato sentences when in quite a lot of pain which clouds the mind ... when each point needs about a page just to touch upon... particularly when approaching sociological and political issues from the perspective of the "new" neuro-cognitive evolutionary "proto-paradigm ..." (I have no idea what to name it for a snappy ideological title and not yet seen an attempt I find convincing!) finding its way amongst the handful of "Third Culturists" of which I suppose I am one: some of us also happen to be experienced social change "experts" through grassroots work but found the old ways progressively didn't work no more over a generations worth of decline. And, sigh, yes, yet again a series of telegraphed bullet points each needing a screenful to just brush unless one is familiar with the "discourse" where each word or sentence encapsulates many, many words of definition and scope and subtleties of meaning and ideology known to the initiates - the jargon trap. The good journalist has the rare skill of imparting the ideas and the explanation without resorting to the easy shorthand of jargon ... its so tiring to write everything out longhand otherwise for those of us not so blessed ... that is why the good serious press journalist has such a gift, that ability to convey complex meanings in easy words. I am indeed envious.

So ultimately, I suppose, the point I was making is a cynical one: that trying to have a rational evidence based debate on such "ur" issues as strangers move in amongst us and they are different, is pointless without some normative parameters and rational thought processes of the enlightenment era, which I have come to believe you ain't gonna get around a local bulletin board! So why bother?

Unless you feel that the Enlightenment now needs trenchant defence against the forces of darkness gathering in our midst, the worms that survived within our world view, and are willing to take up that fight. But alas, I feel too tired -- and dystopic about the fate of the Enlightenment given what I see around me, locally and globally, that stench of fear and greed and suppressed guilt and denial. A most obnoxious mix.

But I suppose it was a fun couple of centuries especially for those of us who love playing with technology and science and the mental stimulation of the acquisition of understanding and information. Pity about our kids and grandkids but then our comfort needs are immediate for us, and they can sort themselves out with whatever is left over in the Cotswold Islands archipelago. It's not gonna be our problem innit?