It is rare in this generation to avoid the reductio ad absurdum method of criticism.
The discourse tends towards the assumption that – “Never is a thing ‘not meant’ where a thing other than what we thought is meant could ‘be’ meant!”. That’s impossible! No alternative meanings to words and idioms exist!
But the speakers of words and their context are their own custodians even if they may be clumsy or downright innane in how they carefully or uncarefully craft their speech in interaction with culture. The punishments for these indiscretions are rarely inadequate.. they always seem to get the job done!
In our society it could be likened to the experience of one who has lost faith in the true order of numbers. When I say 1+2 some think I’m saying 1+3.
This they do because they think that 2 is actually “2” come after 3 like 1-3-2 rather then the proper order of 1-2-3. Of course we know this isn’t the case as it is indeed 1-2-3 and yet somewhere down the line communication has been similarly vacuously disconnected from reality and left to serve individual fears.
This too is soundbite inequality. But what is soundbite inequality?! Soundbite inequality is the tyranny of the hashtag, the cloudiness of group pressured group think, the relativism of right and wrong not averted to but rather the cultural might vs right.
Soundbite inequality is the fear baiting social darwinism that gives no room to understand the other or even to understand at all.
It knows no political preference. It dines with right wingers and leftists.
Soundbite inequality does not visit the offending party in secret like Christ with Nicodemus. It is opposed to new beginnings and forgiveness. It eschews the sacralism of allowing redemption. “You mustn’t be born again!” says soundbite inequality Christ! It’s bad for business! Soundbite inequality doesn’t believe in a gospel of forgiveness because it doesn’t believe anyone can repent.
Soundbite inequality Christ is a clamoring, noisy businessman after all and he is very busy making sure ‘that’ never happens. Soundbite inequality always assumes our opponent is very deeply below us and like a classic country western demands a public quick draw. Sadly this is Americanism at its finest. Forsaking a culture of transcendence we have become individual czars and yet our kingdoms are deeply atomized and even more deeply limited. We say everyone has human dignity and is our equal. Our own actions typed or trod condemn us.
We describe soundbite inequalities as critiques but we are not present at an art show. We describe soundbite inequalities as an admonishment but we are remote and safe behind our desk not even before our opponents human eyes. We describe our admonishment as righteousness but we forsake all opportunities for true peace for even the remotest risk of false peace. We do this as an excuse. We don’t want true peace after all. We don’t want ‘peace’ at all!
In this we sin and we lose. It is not because we know we knowingly sin! But our sin is that we don’t know we sin and in this context it is worse of all!
Soundbite inequality as a principle is NOT the acknowledgment of a feigned moral equality between the variable issues of left and right politics in their individual cases and case by case particularities nor is it a critique of politics by it’s sole variabilities alone… though it may have many examples of its play in political theater.
Soundbite inequality is the anti-zen plain and simple of refusing to listen to another human being from their individual core. It is the refusal to answer another’s fears or to acknowledge that positions may be taken from family indoctrination or from mistaken and patently false but sincere platitudes. It is the race of Cain fallacy applied to those whose personal philosophy we do not know. It is the destructing not instructing of the ignorant. It is to ignore sound interpersonal principles of human nature and psychology. Soundbite inequality is taxation by misrepresentation.
And yet the worst part of soundbite inequality is that it bespeaks unbending positional rigidities so stark and so cocksure that it admits in broad daylight that its goal is not the revolution found on the surface of it’s words..or its hashtags.
Soundbite inequality is a rose of another name to the status quo but its just as sweet to those who savor it.
In the last analysis soundbite inequality ‘is’ simply the status quo.
Musings of a Picture Frame Conversationalist. 