Discord Aggregate Bulletin # Numberless
Since the inception of Discord Aggregate, our resolution has been to concentrate on art exclusively and to avoid any kind of political statements. For the first time in 7 years, we are now compelled to break this taboo.
We encourage constructive feedback and debate. We can be reached at:
Pamela Zero: alemap@discord-aggregate.com
S.B. Reda: nonsbreda@discord-aggregate.com
A. Molotkov: AMolotkov@discord-aggregate.com
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Pamela Zero
attention
I am afraid. Military jets split the sky over our house, followed by lumbering bumble bee bombers comical in their deadly intent. My son is 4. Do I write about his face upturned in fear at the sound of the heavens being torn? Do I write of my relief that the planes are “ours” – and my shame at my relief?
I read the Progressive – Ashcroft “has forced roughly 130,000 Muslim male immigrants to register with the federal government. Of those, he has found only 11 suspected terrorists, according to The New York Times.” . Should I write about that? Or perhaps a tongue in cheek ditty about the extinction of consensual sex in the US (thousands flee to Mexico... Canada closes its borders and then re-opens them at the urging of a SARS wracked tourist board... lots of possibilities here.)
I listen to a scratch vocal of “Holy” – do I go further along that path? A dirge for all the Afghani women killed, maimed, beaten, abused, since the “fall” of the Taliban? Or a Western style cowboy rant – the sheriff searching for Black Bart, Osama and that pesky Sadaam? What exactly is my job here, as an artist, woman, mother, partner, person? And how can I possibly keep up with this insane pace of worldwide trauma?
Self employed, self produced, with my personal liberties only slightly impacted by the charming and oh so caring homeland security folks, what are my obligations? Do I rant and rave – protest - write my congresspersons – organize protest CD’s – take out ads – sport “honk for peace” tattoos? All of the above? And what of my own art – the work started long before the wars, before the death of the NEA, before Nike became a four letter word? How do I finish the next piece in the Botanical series when people are dying, starving, tortured, abandoned, and in my name?
I find myself frozen, with too many voices calling for time in my head. Middle of the night tears of frustration and futility. I watch other artists as they weave their way through these troubled times and find myself still unsure as to what I can do that will make a difference. Because I do want to make a difference – I do want to use my art and my mind to inform, educate, shake up and wake up whoever comes into contact with my work.
But I mourn the loss of my non-political art. Fond sadness for the Botanicals, fear for the information I will need to digest in order to define clearly and creatively the monstrous events of our time. Perhaps this is what war means – the loss of time for creating truth and beauty and the lack of truth and beauty in our daily thoughts.
Another plane tears overhead. My eyes fill with tears when my son does not notice.
S.B. Reda
I Am Over It
I think I am over it. In fact, I think I am over a lot of things now.
It took a long time, but I finally realize that there is nothing I can do about the horrible events that go on in the world, events that are perpetrated by people that I don’t support. Nothing! There is freedom in this - the pressure is off now that I understand the impact of this new concept. With liberation, I can focus on the things that are essential to me – art, love, progress, intellect. Does this cynical approach mean that I no longer care about and have lost connection with my fellow space traveler on the great ship Earth? Of course not. I know we are all in it together, desperately trying to keep to our paths, battling on a daily basis to maintain individuality in a world that despises individuals.
So why then do I arrive at such a blunt, hopeless conclusion? Well, first it took this “war”, which of course is just another excuse for expanding global business and influence. But by merely being a casual observer of history, one is afforded an unfettered view of the gross panorama that has marked our time on Earth. Based on such perspective, one is left with little confidence that construction of the new landscape will be any different. And so far, it hasn’t. Allow me to elaborate …
It is true that the United States has been the world’s superpower for the last century or so, but what of the world before the U.S. achieved its status? Was there no concept of a nation being a world superpower? Was the world a peaceful utopia (which, ironically, means “no place”) where individuals of different colors, religions, and nationalities were free to lead lives of their own choosing? Of course not. In fact, if one could fully rely upon recorded history as a true and accurate account of events, then it was never the case – perhaps not even once.
Once I thought there was a way around it, a way out of this doomed repetition. I used to think that a catastrophic event would be a catalyst, something so galvanizing from a global perspective that it levels the playing field and sets everything back to zero - a moment in time when all come together and uniformly move forward in pursuit of mutual goals. I thought that September 11th, for all the horror and universal grief it caused, was such an event. I was wrong. There was an opportunity for change, but it was missed. Or better put, it was never even considered.
So maybe I am not over this after all, but instead, have merely have tossed in the towel and given up. What reason have I been offered to do otherwise? When comparing the structure of societies in the animal kingdom with those of our own, I realize that there is essentially no difference in how they are formed and maintained. It is through violence, fierce loyalty, and continuous threat of aggression. Transition of power is never peaceful, perpetuation of it less so. Does any of this sound familiar? How does this differ from what we are seeing today, or what we have seen in the past? It doesn’t.
So if it is true in nature, such that no matter what is done, this is how ordering amongst all living things will take place, then what does one do? What does one do? What do I do? Do I drop out of society; disappear into the wilderness, never to be heard from again? While that sounds tempting from time to time, it makes no sense – I do like a lot of what society has to offer. Do I write my congressman and plead that he (and it is almost definitely a “he”) change this and that and help these people and those people and stop doing this and that? After dusting myself from the fall caused by the hysterical laughter that such a thought inspires, I look back at the screen and know this will never be an option. Ever. At least not in my lifetime …
So I do what I hypothesize is the one true and honest (and only) thing that I really can do, and that is to be genuine and authentic to myself and others, to make sure that I contribute new and interesting things for the world to contemplate, and moreover to associate myself with like-minded individuals. Maybe if more people worked on themselves, policed themselves, and then banded together with other policed-selves, then soon we might be a society of understanding, compassionate, gentle people, generating new and much more fun patterns of positive behavior.
But that is a world that we can only dream about. In the meantime, if we continue to operate in a system that attracts and rewards malicious, narrow-minded, hyper-religious megalomaniacs (and a constituency that blindly votes for them), then justice and peace are concepts that will continue to exist as dreams. Bleak? Depressing? Unfortunately yes, but alas, not all stories have a happy ending.
A. Molotkov
A Free Prescription
Patriotism is defined as “love and loyal or zealous support of one's country”. A fairly laconic definition, without a clear positive or negative connotation. But in our lives, we have been taught to assign an exclusively positive quality to the notion of patriotism. Yet, what is a “country”? A territory? A language? A cultural tradition? A people? A government? What if one experiences love and loyal support for the language and the cultural tradition, but not the government? What actions of such an individual may be considered patriotic?
Clearly, patriotism is a subjective term.
In my life, I have had the need and the opportunity to depatriotize myself. When I left Russia after the first 22 years of my life, I had to make a first step in that direction. Actually, maybe not. My first step had happened years earlier, when I started reading all those books by all those authors from all those places. It didn't matter what country they were from. And when it came time for me to become a writer, I found myself an heir of an international, and not specifically a Russian, artistic tradition. I became a patriot of art. I was proud of what Hemingway had done, and of Cortazar’s work as well. Both Antonioni and Tarkovsky deeply affected me. Rumi and Kafka became my friends. Dali and Coltrane shared their wisdom with me. I can honestly say: all artists of the past and the present are my compatriots.
This is only one person’s path away from patriotism – I’m certain there are other paths. Which one is yours?
After some years of reviewing these topics, I find patriotism to be a segregationist trait. Indeed, loving one’s own country implies loving it more than other countries – otherwise there is nothing to talk of. By perceiving oneself as part of a people, part of a nationality – instead of merely a human being – one risks to enter into the heavily politicized arena of international jealousy, pride and competition. If one is from Zungbaladeg, one may begin to feel that a Zungbaladegian life is more precious than a foreigner’s life.
Who benefits from that?
What else comes with the territory? The answer is right on the tip of your tongue: religion! Most commonly, your religion is defined by the beliefs of your parents, and thus, in turn, predominantly by the place of your birth. This would seem suspicious, wouldn't it? The geographical distribution of religions subjects whole nations to eternal damnation in the eyes of other nations. Maybe there are a few gods who decided to split up this planet? Yes, you guessed right: religion is another segregationist institution. Well, maybe not every religion. But the two most common ones are certainly, by in large, not very tolerant to their respective non-believers. (There is always some kind of eternal damnation in store for those who doubt, isn't there?)
Who benefits from that?
I guess it’s clear what I am getting at. At times when many questions are asked, just like right now, one must decide what they will be. At times when those who have something to say are advised to keep their mouths shut in the name of patriotism, one must redefine their views. One must choose their own version of patriotism, or discard any patriotism at all. Should we be bully patriots? Should we love the government? Should we allow the government to redefine what is right and wrong in the name of our safety? Should we assume that it is okay to kill people from another place and another religion? Should transparent financial manipulations on a planetary level be supported in the name of patriotism? Should the rest of the world be alienated and outraged by these questionable pursuits? Should those who disagree be punished? Would you like to experience fascism first-hand?
Who would benefit from that?
Yes, we are Zungbaladeg citizens, and Zungbaladeg is a pretty tough empire with a pretty tough, albeit a slightly comical emperor. But does it give us the right to redefine the rest of the sandbox? Is this the kind of lesson you would teach your children? It seems that the collective maturity on this planet is at the 5-year-old average. Aren't we ready for kindergarten yet? Haven't we all learned through countless examples that aggressive arrogance or docile mindlessness do not take us very far? Have we forgotten that we are all descendants of those smart dark-skinned people who were the first to decide that they were no longer apes? I think I can hear them laughing at us.
All things considered, I am ready to make the following observations:
(Children should be given a chance to make up their own mind.)
And as any self-proclaimed doctor should, I also have a remedy. This one is a really fitting prescription for the 21st century:
Are you ready to clean up the future?