*My title is lifted from the Green Day song American Idiot.
So we have prominent European politicians (Merkel, Cameron) rushing to point out the 'failure' of multiculturalism. For the first time I have been aware of, anti-gay crowds have attacked peaceful protestors for same-sex marriage in Adelaide and Brisbane. Progress for equality for women seems to have stalled in many ways. I've had two people tell me recently that my postmodern views are 'not of the zeitgeist'. Ever since the Bush declared 'you are with us or you are with the enemy', a new age of insistent certainty spread over the globe, undermining those of us drawn towards the unknown, or perhaps merely tolerant of it.
It seems, in today's world, if you don't speak with absolute conviction, you are marginalised.
But I am not going to get onboard with the 'post-postmodern' movement. An attempt to reclaim part of the progress made by postmodernism into a neo-modernist movement doesn't interest me. I continue to question people's assumptions: delicately and/or firmly.
For many years now, I have been drifting about with too many directions in mind, but a fear of commitment to any sustained project. Other than my writing, that is. While reluctance has always been an emblem I've adopted as a shield against what I've perceived as the world rushing to bestow upon me meaning and belonging against my will, I believe the time has come to take a year or so and volunteer or work overseas. Asia & Europe beckon me to explore them in as much depth as possible. I only wonder if I will be able to meet the demands of the people I work with and for.
So we have prominent European politicians (Merkel, Cameron) rushing to point out the 'failure' of multiculturalism. For the first time I have been aware of, anti-gay crowds have attacked peaceful protestors for same-sex marriage in Adelaide and Brisbane. Progress for equality for women seems to have stalled in many ways. I've had two people tell me recently that my postmodern views are 'not of the zeitgeist'. Ever since the Bush declared 'you are with us or you are with the enemy', a new age of insistent certainty spread over the globe, undermining those of us drawn towards the unknown, or perhaps merely tolerant of it.
It seems, in today's world, if you don't speak with absolute conviction, you are marginalised.
But I am not going to get onboard with the 'post-postmodern' movement. An attempt to reclaim part of the progress made by postmodernism into a neo-modernist movement doesn't interest me. I continue to question people's assumptions: delicately and/or firmly.
For many years now, I have been drifting about with too many directions in mind, but a fear of commitment to any sustained project. Other than my writing, that is. While reluctance has always been an emblem I've adopted as a shield against what I've perceived as the world rushing to bestow upon me meaning and belonging against my will, I believe the time has come to take a year or so and volunteer or work overseas. Asia & Europe beckon me to explore them in as much depth as possible. I only wonder if I will be able to meet the demands of the people I work with and for.
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