Utterance and Context -- JD Kruger -- GLP4

Sean Brennan -- Symbiotic Exoterica -- Rally for Sammy Yatim -- JDK, GLP4

 

It is true that, by the end of the day, many things remain unspoken. However,

what is transmitted in discourse has value only in the context of which it is spoken. Some

may claim that we live in a global context, the global village, and therefore, all thoughts

and all utterances stand a chance at being encoded on a universal scale. Yet, in actuality,

it is only fair to say that the utterance is given life only in the sphere of discourse in

which it is spoken. Suppose a co-worker, or a superior in the office, said something that

seemed outlandish, perhaps racist, or with a gender bias, just to name a few possibilities

of the passing on of ill karma. It is only the uttered logos that can be judged in the

theatrum mundi, or the world stage, or by the code of the law. There are many things at

play, on the streets, in the subways, on the bus, etc. that go ostensibly unnoticed because

they appear as ghosts, immaterial, and without corporeal effect. A hard degree of

reticence in an individual may bring these things out to the surface, and force conflict, if

not just debate, on the world stage. Some say it is courage hold them in; I say it takes

courage to bring them out. Playfully, we use words like Nigger, Kike, Caker, Cracker,

Nip, Monkey and Frog, to name a few racial slurs. Fighting them from being used

within, also means fighting from using them out, if we want to live in a society free from

racial prejudice. But it takes a great deal of courage to overcome the hidden words that

corrupt the mind. The global village is a large place, and nurturing care in our thoughts,

forces us to attend to the problematized interconnectivity of existence. The Buddha goes

to the temple to annihilate negative karma that has been brought forth from below the

shades of the living. Some repent inward, and others only struggle for outward

repentance. But the Buddha knows that karma cannot be static, it fluctuates on a daily

basis, and no true karma is ever totally absolved or destroyed, and even passes forth from

one generation to another. What remains unspoken, like a dream, may continually

corrupt; however, when brought forth from the shadow, true healing can be attained.

Secret societies are much like this; they bind themselves with their own karma, utter their

values in their own context, and struggle not to reveal their samadhi in the mundane

world. It is actually the author who, by transgressing, brings out the undercurrents of the

day, by breaking secrets and contextual agreements, and that’s a deadly kiss. Like the

sentry of Freud’s consciousness, selecting thoughts to be left in and thoughts to be

thrown out, the poet, the judge, and the teacher, comments on the underground, and the

uberwelt, as a way of digesting society.

Some say that it is the underground which can be ignored; others qualify this by a

Jungian admission that we are all tied to the collective mind, the collective unconscious,

and therefore, we cannot ignore the thoughts that float through our consciousness. But,

who’s to pin the tail upon the donkey? He who carries the word, carries the load, and

transmission of this collective thought can only be attained through self-actualisation, and

discursive utterance. This utterance takes place in a context, whether a text, a film, the

streets of the city, or other mundane realms. Only when the utterance is transmitted

through discourse can the speech-act be valued as true admission. But, even still, it is the

auditor that knows, and only the auditor within a specific context can know that the

speech act has value and meaning. Jokes and ironical gestures can betray a more sincere

internal look. Friends may have communal experience, but even the witness is witnessed.

And so, the big brother complex recognizes that we are always being watched, and we

should be judicious with out spoken words, at least, and at least a little concerned with

our thought. No mind, emptiness, is a good way to guard ones thoughts, for at this point,

there are no thoughts to guard. Only through discourse can we reward and punish. But,

even at that, we must maintain a high degree of objectivity, for the polyperspectival artist

and his audience remained barred from casting judgement. No, ultimately, we are not

one as an individual voice, and the shattered ego must unify itself to gain power in the

spiritual and physical worlds. Like Picasso, we see the war from all sides, and only

through darkness can we perceive light. The utterance, like a drama, is conflict received

by conflict, and the spectator absorbs all contradictions in play, those spoken and those

hidden. Regardless, it is always best to respect the utterance within the context in which

it is engaged.

JD Kruger – GLP4.