The Role of Poetry

[AshvinP]

the key factual paradigm shift is that AG will write and read a poem at the upcoming Super Bowl.

Perhaps, insofar as it's not Madonna singing the poetry of "You know we're living in a material world, and I am a material girl". Mind you, Madonna actually did sing the poetry of 'Like a Prayer' at the Superbowl, which seems an ode to the Divine "___" (fill in the blank with a name for That which defies all names), and so I suppose metaphysically inspired poetry performed at the Superbowl is not all that new.

What may be new with Amanda is that she is walking a high wire bridging wonder and wokeness in her poetic effort:

*the following is not intended to be political or specific to any political faction, rather it is a metaphysical critique of "wokeness" and could easily be applied to its counterparts in any other political faction.

Bridges to "wokeness" need to be dismantled, rather than built or walked, if there is to be any metaphysical progress. At the core of "wokeness" is a denial of free speech. By that, I don't mean the right of people to speak freely (although that is also denied), rather the metaphysical concept that speech can, in principle, be free as opposed to being completely conditioned by top-down hierarchical structures of power in any given community. In the woke paradigm, Amanda is not freely creating poetry to express her individual experience and thoughts, but rather she is conditioned to create poetry which will support the ascendance of identity groups she happens to 'belong' to, whether real or perceived.

Individuality always takes a back seat to tribal group identities in the woke paradigm. Society is reduced to a collection of groups divided by race, gender, sexual preference, etc., and culture is reduced to the competition between those groups to control the narrative and myths that the culture adopts. Every individual is reduced to a mouthpiece for their respective groups. A natural maxim of the woke narrative is that individuals should not be allowed to express their perspective on the world if it threatens whatever group happens to be in favor at any given time. That principle can be applied to non-woke individuals or to individuals within factions of the woke community. Communities cannot progress metaphysically until they allow all individual perspectives to be expressed and tested in the 'marketplace of ideas'.

[Lou Gold]

Perhaps, insofar as it's not Madonna singing the poetry of "You know we're living in a material world, and I am a material girl". Mind you, Madonna actually did sing the poetry of 'Like a Prayer' at the Superbowl, which seems an ode to the Divine "___" (fill in the blank with a name for That which defies all names), and so I suppose metaphysically inspired poetry performed at the Superbowl is not all that new.

What may be new with Amanda is that she is walking a high wire bridging wonder and wokeness in her poetic effort:

*the following is not intended to be political or specific to any political faction, rather it is a metaphysical critique of "wokeness" and could easily be applied to its counterparts in any other political faction.

Bridges to "wokeness" need to be dismantled, rather than built or walked, if there is to be any metaphysical progress. At the core of "wokeness" is a denial of free speech. By that, I don't mean the right of people to speak freely (although that is also denied), rather the metaphysical concept that speech can, in principle, be free as opposed to being completely conditioned by top-down hierarchical structures of power in any given community. In the woke paradigm, Amanda is not freely creating poetry to express her individual experience and thoughts, but rather she is conditioned to create poetry which will support the ascendance of identity groups she happens to 'belong' to, whether real or perceived.

Individuality always takes a back seat to tribal group identities in the woke paradigm. Society is reduced to a collection of groups divided by race, gender, sexual preference, etc., and culture is reduced to the competition between those groups to control the narrative and myths that the culture adopts. Every individual is reduced to a mouthpiece for their respective groups. A natural maxim of the woke narrative is that individuals should not be allowed to express their perspective on the world if it threatens whatever group happens to be in favor at any given time. That principle can be applied to non-woke individuals or to individuals within factions of the woke community. Communities cannot progress metaphysically until they allow all individual perspectives to be expressed and tested in the 'marketplace of ideas'.

Some see bridges as a way to move in both directions and not get caught in the troubled waters between. I see a bridge as a path toward both/and integration, one in which everyone changes in the journey.

[AshvinP]

What may be new with Amanda is that she is walking a high wire bridging wonder and wokeness in her poetic effort:

*the following is not intended to be political or specific to any political faction, rather it is a metaphysical critique of "wokeness" and could easily be applied to its counterparts in any other political faction.

Bridges to "wokeness" need to be dismantled, rather than built or walked, if there is to be any metaphysical progress. At the core of "wokeness" is a denial of free speech. By that, I don't mean the right of people to speak freely (although that is also denied), rather the metaphysical concept that speech can, in principle, be free as opposed to being completely conditioned by top-down hierarchical structures of power in any given community. In the woke paradigm, Amanda is not freely creating poetry to express her individual experience and thoughts, but rather she is conditioned to create poetry which will support the ascendance of identity groups she happens to 'belong' to, whether real or perceived.

Individuality always takes a back seat to tribal group identities in the woke paradigm. Society is reduced to a collection of groups divided by race, gender, sexual preference, etc., and culture is reduced to the competition between those groups to control the narrative and myths that the culture adopts. Every individual is reduced to a mouthpiece for their respective groups. A natural maxim of the woke narrative is that individuals should not be allowed to express their perspective on the world if it threatens whatever group happens to be in favor at any given time. That principle can be applied to non-woke individuals or to individuals within factions of the woke community. Communities cannot progress metaphysically until they allow all individual perspectives to be expressed and tested in the 'marketplace of ideas'.

Some see bridges as a way to move in both directions and not get caught in the troubled waters between. I see a bridge as a path toward both/and integration, one in which everyone changes in the journey.

Some destinations are so terrible no access points need to be created for them. I wouldn't want to create or traverse a bridge towards 'wokeness' any more than I would want to towards ethno-nationalism. Based on the metaphysical implications I mentioned before, it is an either/or situation for me. Either spiritual freedom or a reductionist Hellscape.

[Lou Gold]

Yup! An attachment battle of conquest, or either/or is your way. To me this seems tribal.

I rather like the archetype of Michael Archangel holding the demon at right distance (in balance), which is another way to understand the bridge of connectivity. A bridge is not a union.

[Soul_of_Shu]

Of course, you may disagree

I found AG's poem rather disappointing in this case, but not as disappointing as the The Weeknds music, which when one considers all the musical genius that is available, seemed all too safely derivative, as I tuned out after about 2 minutes. But hey, maybe I'm just turning into a jaded old fogey like my dad, when he dismissed my adolescent infatuation with the Rolling Stones.

[Lou Gold]

But hey, maybe I'm just turning into a jaded old fogey like my dad, when he dismissed my adolescent infatuation with the Rolling Stones.

I also found her poem very disappointing. Too boxed in by the set format, I guess.

But, hot off the press, here is the latest-greatest.

[AshvinP]

Yup! An attachment battle of conquest, or either/or is your way. To me this seems tribal.

I rather like the archetype of Michael Archangel holding the demon at right distance (in balance), which is another way to understand the bridge of connectivity. A bridge is not a union.

I am not sure what any of that means. Do you have a comment on the metaphysical implications re: speech that is free? Is the individual totally conditioned by hierarchies of power and group identities? Or can the individual express original ideas and perspectives apart from group identity?

I noticed in the interview you linked, almost all of AG's answers were framed in terms of her identity as a person of color and how her poetry can support the 'movement'. That seems to support my metaphysical critique of 'woke' culture.

[Soul_of_Shu]

Now here's a 'tribe' I can get into ...

[Lou Gold]

Is the individual totally conditioned by hierarchies of power and group identities?

Not totally but somewhere between partially and significantly.

Or can the individual express original ideas and perspectives apart from group identity?

Yes! Of course! Certainly! Praise and Glory Be!

I don't support the censure folks but there's a curious irony, indeed. Going after Jordan Peterson in the academy catapulted his career as a public intellectual and the Materialist censorship of Rupert Sheldrake's TED Talk resulted in it receiving 5 million views.

Spirit does work in curious metaphysical ways.

[Soul_of_Shu]

Keep on tribing, 'till you reach the higher ground ...