TYG - 9/5 - Round and round and round she goes...

After an interesting tour of some of Orlando's eclectic newer buildings and a classroom attempt at explaining Jameson's take on postmodernism, my mind continues to struggle with the concepts involved in this new "language". The concrete examples of the mish-mashification of architecture help to explain something of the esoteric ideas needed to get behind/under/inside this long-standing "next step" of our culture. I awoke the day after class with the skeleton of these thoughts:

Postmodernism -- the state of our present culture -- seems to be simply chaos; the attempt to define it is the inevitable trap into which humanity has fallen since the dawn of time.

From the first caveman who decided to attempt to control the frightening world around him by bashing others over the head to force them to conform to his will, through the Genghis Khans, the Napoleans, the Hitlers of more recent times, man has been in a struggle to contain his uncontrollable environment. PoMo is another effort in this long-standing tradition of trying to grasp the apparent ambivalence of a faceless, unloving, natural world.

Actually, EVERY "next generation" has fashioned a "new improved" worldview, at least partly to break free of and be different from their parents, though the speed at which this process takes place does seem to be increasing with improved communications technologies -- the "neighborhood" (and perhaps the "family") is getting larger.

Some will go on to argue that all the world's religions stem from this same primal instinct, that since humanity cannot control the scary things around itself, someone chose to paint life with a prettier, or at least more comprehensible picture: put human-like gods behind the sea, the sun, the earth, and the wind, and then pray to these deities; maybe, if they're in a good mood, they will stay their hands and spare us pain.

Judaism, with its code of laws, seems to have quantified this process further; do the right things and you will stay in G-d's favor and be blessed (if, of course, you're a member of The Chosen).

Christianity, unlike other religions, has broken the mold of tit-for-tat, obedience for favor. Based on the model of an infinitly vast, yet personal and loving God, the only requirement needed to tame the fearful, chaotic world is the acceptance of a gift, freely given, no strings attached -- the sacrifice of Jesus, God's innocent Son for the forgiveness of all personal sin. Once accepted, the deal is done; permanent and binding because of the very nature and character of the One making the contract.

Seen in this light, postmodernism becomes just another latter-day imposter claiming to have a new "truth" or a better understanding of the confusion surrounding us.