Friday, August 18, 2017

The State of Maryland Willfully Commits an Act of Objective Symbolic Violence on Southern Conservatives

Is this an Act of Attempting to Perform *Divine Violence (alter myths of sovereignty/Drive a nail into the coffin of a principle that States have rights?)?

A Democrat who "get's it"
*Divine Violence looks at the question of political theology and its connection to sovereignty. It argues that the practice of sovereignty reflects a Christian eschatology, one that proves very hard to overcome even by left thinkers, such as Arendt and Derrida, who are very critical of it. These authors fall into a trap described by Carl Schmitt whereby one is given a (false) choice between anarchy and sovereignty, both of which are bound within―and return us to―the same eschatological envelope. In Divine Violence, the author argues that Benjamin supplies the correct political theology to help these thinkers. He shows how to avoid trying to get rid of sovereignty (the "anarchist move" that Schmitt tells us forces us to "decide against the decision") and instead to seek to de-center and dislocate sovereignty so that it’s mythological function is disturbed. He does this with the aid of divine violence, a messianic force that comes into the world to undo its own mythology, leaving nothing in its wake. Such a move clears the myths of sovereignty away, turning us to our own responsibility in the process. In that way, the author argues,Benjamin succeeds in producing an anarchism that is not bound by Schmitt’s trap but which is sustained even while we remain dazzled by the myths of sovereignty that structure our world.

Divine Violence will be of interest to students of political theory, to those with an interest in political theology, philosophy and deconstruction, and to those who are interested in thinking about some of the dilemmas that the ‘left’ finds itself in today.
- James R. Martel, "Divine Violence"

For how much longer will we be able to sing the State Song?
Maryland, My Maryland

I
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland! My Maryland!

II
Hark to an exiled son's appeal,
Maryland!
My mother State! to thee I kneel,
Maryland!
For life and death, for woe and weal,
Thy peerless chivalry reveal,
And gird thy beauteous limbs with steel,
Maryland! My Maryland!

III
Thou wilt not cower in the dust,
Maryland!
Thy beaming sword shall never rust,
Maryland!
Remember Carroll's sacred trust,
Remember Howard's warlike thrust,-
And all thy slumberers with the just,
Maryland! My Maryland!

IV
Come! 'tis the red dawn of the day,
Maryland!
Come with thy panoplied array,
Maryland!
With Ringgold's spirit for the fray,
With Watson's blood at Monterey,
With fearless Lowe and dashing May,
Maryland! My Maryland!

V
Come! for thy shield is bright and strong,
Maryland!
Come! for thy dalliance does thee wrong,
Maryland!
Come to thine own anointed throng,
Stalking with Liberty along,
And chaunt thy dauntless slogan song,
Maryland! My Maryland!

VI
Dear Mother! burst the tyrant's chain,
Maryland!
Virginia should not call in vain,
Maryland!
She meets her sisters on the plain-
"Sic semper!" 'tis the proud refrain
That baffles minions back again,
Maryland!
Arise in majesty again,
Maryland! My Maryland!

VII
I see the blush upon thy cheek,
Maryland!
For thou wast ever bravely meek,
Maryland!
But lo! there surges forth a shriek,
From hill to hill, from creek to creek-
Potomac calls to Chesapeake,
Maryland! My Maryland!

VIII
Thou wilt not yield the Vandal toll,
Maryland!
Thou wilt not crook to his control,
Maryland!
Better the fire upon thee roll, Better the blade, the shot, the bowl,
Than crucifixion of the soul,
Maryland! My Maryland!

IX
I hear the distant thunder-hum,
Maryland!
The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
Maryland! My Maryland!
The Angel of History (flies looking backwards)

15 comments:

Always On Watch said...

I suppose that taking down these statues is a statement of black supremacy.

Always On Watch said...

The Blacks won the American Civil War. Right?

Speedy G said...

I guess that by taking down the statues, they're punishing the now dead actual racists... as if they'd know they were being punished somehow? I can't follow the logic.

Always On Watch said...

Speedy,
I'm sick and tired of all the craziness.

No matter what the words of reason, these destroyers will continue to take down statues. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they started digging up the bodies.

Have any of the read The Iliad and the condemnation of the desecration of a dead body? I guess that doesn't matter anymore. White guys and all that.

Red Herring said...

Honour will forever elude them until they adopt its' practices... which include forgiving all who surrender and "pass under the yoke".

Red Herring said...

I wouldn't mind it so much if the monument destroyers had some higher purpose for the land... but they don't. It's pure "spite".

Always On Watch said...

Spite? Sure.

Also deliberate provocation so as to trigger violence, then claim the high road.

Damn.

Always On Watch said...

I haven't yet decided whether or not this is the hill I'll die on.

Red Herring said...

Today they'll march on Boston Common. I wish I could be there with my Kekistani brothers!

---

(reprised) What ever became of honouring those who fought for their country, right or wrong? Is it honour to try them a hundred and fifty years later and tear down their monuments out of pure spite? Union soldiers are spinning in their graves. "Duty, honour, country," has become a motto for suckers and dupes. An ungrateful nation commends your name to oblivion. The immortality you fought for was a mere illusion. When your country calls, go back to work and ignore it. Stuff wax in your ears and tie yourself to the mast. Ignore the syren calls. They only lead to destruction and worse. Ignominity.

Red Herring said...

Honour is dying today in America. Many might say, "It's already dead!"

Red Herring said...

All traces of "timocracy" are now dead. "Capital" and "oiligarchy" are all that remain.

Always On Watch said...

Shall we also raze these monuments?

Red Herring said...

...or this one!

Red Herring said...

...and for the record, there's a mistake in the PP's post. The statue is in the West Virginia State House, not the US Capitol.

Red Herring said...

erratum - "Capitol" not "State House".