Dimensionally Barrett

Photo by Julio Cortez/Associated Press Given the events of the past few months, the past few days, and ultimately, yesterday (Friday, 29 May), it is safe to say that the country is on fire. This isn’t hyperbole; we’re seeing conflict bred of racial oppression of a virulent and systemic kind. I’m purposefully using virulent here to emphasize that racism isn’t merely a social act; it is very much a part of the DNA that led to the founding of this country and remains very much a part of our identity. It stems from deep rooted ignorance that goes back to (at the very least) our European ancestors and their sense of exceptionalism that led to the conquest of much of the world, their empire building, and the concomitant subjugation of the peoples they invaded/slaughtered/enslaved. NOTE: I’m not going to go off into a discussion about racism and imperialism in non-European nations’ histories. I’ll acknowledge that it is just as virulent and just as ugly, but what concerns m...

Just a thought experiment. What would happen if instead of a two-party system or a three or four or more party system, we had a no-party system? Seriously, consider this. Disclaimer: I'm not going to introduce or work with class, race, or capital in this post. This is a utopian thought experiment, not a deep issue engagement. These are vital, contemporary forces in our world and deserve attention that falls outside the scope of this very interior exercise. What I have in mind is the idea that candidates would have to stand before the electorate, free of party doctrine, dogma or stance, and (relatively) unfettered, lay out their visions. As I mull this over, I can’t help but feel that it might prove inspiring in a few different ways. One way is that people would have to confront ideas without a preset ideology dictating them what to feel, what to think, and whether they should support those ideas or the people proffering them. In theory, people would have to think mor...

At this moment: 14:57 2020/05/15 Lately, I’ve been considering the longer term ramifications of the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on various dimensions of our polities, where “our” connotes' humanity’s". Being a self-interested unit, I start with this place where “I” am. I put I in quotation marks to denote the “I” as a process, to underscore the dynamic aspect of being-as-a-self, let alone the personality to which “I” is appended out of habit and convention. That understood, I’ll return to using I sans “” enclosures. This I is not really inconvenienced currently by the restriction in movement. In fact, this is almost a blessing in terms of exploration and examination of the inner and the world it/I inhabit(s). Virtual socializing works well, too, in keeping in touch with loved ones. However, it’s near-solipsistic to think that this is optimal in the long run. We are formed by and grow from relationship. To borrow from Sartre, being-for-others is tant...

In memorium: Francesca Amendo, 12 January 1925-7 May 2020 and for those who have survived or are currently battling Covid-19 Before I launch into the main point, I want to acknowledge the phenomenal work of Heather Cox Richardson, Professor of History at Boston College. Her work “How the South Won the Civil War”, her Facebook Live videos, and her Letters from an American, have proven invaluable and thought provoking. I recommend getting her book and following her on Facebook and even subscribing to her email; it’s a subscription that’s worth signing up for. To be clear, most of what I write is spit-balling and ruminating on our current collective moments. I’m not interested in making definitive statements, but I also think it’s healthy to interrogate the moment (as well as blow off a little steam) and see where the riffs lead. This started out as a rumination on two different news stories that stem from a distinct ideology; that the individual’s rights are being trampled on ...