{"id":2127,"date":"2013-10-07T13:17:03","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T20:17:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=2127"},"modified":"2013-10-12T17:53:16","modified_gmt":"2013-10-13T00:53:16","slug":"the-water-we-swim-in-brief-notes-and-comments-about-western-civilization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/?p=2127","title":{"rendered":"The Water We Swim In: From Jesus to Miley and Back Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week I went to see the KOLT production of “My Own Stranger<\/a>.” \u00a0Among other comments <\/a>I wrote that love and redemption were the two great themes of Western Civilization. \u00a0 These two themes have emerged in the last two thousand years as part of the greater Christian heritage.<\/p>\n

Now “Christian heritage” may seem a bit much for those who claim no religion, or for those who happen to be dedicated to a different faith. \u00a0As a response I would say that we are all swimming in the same water. \u00a0Like or not.<\/p>\n

There’s a great line in the move “The Devil Wears Prada<\/a>” delivered by Meryl Streep. She tells her protege (Anne Hathaway) that the color of any given sweater isn’t an individual choice — there are thousands of hours of research, decisions, marketing and campaigning that drive the process of what gets produced. We are, she says, to a very large extent, programmed to accept certain ideas about fashion — or anything else. So we think we make “individual” decisions, but really we’re responding to a sea of stimulus that influences our sense of decision. \u00a0We are all subject to various shades of seduction.\u00a0Like or or not.<\/p>\n

One of the things that I found interesting in Sexton’s dilemma — which is to say her struggle to find a definition of sanity she could live with — \u00a0was that it seemed to be totally devoid of sexuality. \u00a0Well in reality that isn’t so at all: she was “wife” and “mother.” \u00a0But the sterility of the language in that one regard is rather striking. \u00a0Of course the play was 80 minutes of solid dialog, so I may have missed it. \u00a0But I doubt it. \u00a0My glands are still in good working order.<\/p>\n

The idea of “repression” seems so archaic these days; everything has been so sexualized it’s rather startling to think anyone lacks the opportunity for expression or satisfaction. \u00a0But there is that nagging “Love” theme again — how does that relate to sexuality?<\/p>\n

In Sexton’s case maybe nothing. \u00a0She may have been so preoccupied with her struggle that sexuality didn’t mean much. \u00a0But that element of repression is there.<\/p>\n

But how, exactly, did we get from Jesus<\/a> to Miley<\/a>? \u00a0I doubt we were ever far from it. \u00a0Because, in spite of the preponderance of patriarchal determination, Jesus represents a rather startling amalgamation of spiritual and sexual. \u00a0 His approach to life had a strong sensual quality. \u00a0He seemed to have no dilemma regarding sex — he forgave the adulteress. \u00a0He had a reputation for associating with whores. \u00a0He was vital, not at all “sterile.”<\/p>\n

And furthermore I would assert that Jesus is the most feminine of heroes. \u00a0His manliness was tempered by a feminine reverence for women and children, widows, lepers, and those subject to injustice. \u00a0He wasn’t less of a man for being womanly, he was stronger for it. Not the kind of person who is repressed.<\/p>\n

A tacit acknowledgement that we are all swim in the water of of creation and pro-creation.<\/p>\n

Sexton seems to me to represent the last remnants of that social order that needed to repress women — and therefore sexuality (which is to say “choice”.) \u00a0 Of course in the greater scheme of things what was happening was that women were being denied power. \u00a0What we call “Feminism” provided some antidote. \u00a0I think the argument against feminism is that it is really libertine<\/a> by another name. \u00a0I don’t buy that argument, not one bit of it. \u00a0In any case that was the water Sexton was swimming in.<\/p>\n

We are seduced by a sea of ideas — or not. \u00a0“Seduction” is another way of saying “delusion.” Theater is seduction, insofar as we chose to suspend our disbelief. \u00a0Sexton’s lack of sexuality may have been part of the greater seduction she was subject too. \u00a0Or perhaps she simply rejected the idea that she was “wife” and “mother” and nothing else. \u00a0An identity crisis so troubling to her that she took her own life.<\/p>\n

The people around her might have been sterile as well, insofar as they did not (apparently) offer the love she needed. \u00a0In any case she found no redemption. \u00a0Which is another way of saying she could not find any way to forgive herself for being human — imperfect.<\/p>\n

We are indoctrinated with “Love” and “Redemption” and then terrorized, seduced and thwarted by various images of physical perfection, sexuality, and definitions of who has power and who doesn’t.<\/p>\n

I suppose fear of women is a natural phenomenon. \u00a0I confess I feel that way myself on occasion. Too often I suppose. Perhaps it will subside. In the meantime, finally, in a moment of capitulation, in what I hope is a surrender of small proportion but probably isn’t, I “googled” the word “twerk.” \u00a0Of course this means I am totally not “cool.” \u00a0 Ah well. \u00a0Pity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week I went to see the KOLT production of “My Own Stranger.” \u00a0Among other comments I wrote that love and redemption were the two great themes of Western Civilization. \u00a0 These two themes have emerged in the last two … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-plays"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2127"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2165,"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2127\/revisions\/2165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/libernetics.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}