Edition #9
Rio de Janeiro, 2006
“DKANDLE weaves swirling multi-colored vibrant unearthly soundscapes, blending fuzzy and reverberating Shoegaze textures, mesmerizing Dream Pop meditations, sludgy Grungey tones and moody Post-punk strains, heightened with soul-stirring lyricism and pensive emotive vocalizations”
Lana Hosser
A source of occupation for many philosophers, if any of them had come to a conclusion, we probably wouldn't have so many conflicts about what the truth is. But is it possible to arrive at a single truth? If the truth could never be spoken nor defined by one man, we conclude that the truth can have many faces. Conduct a test: a situation witnessed by many can have many versions, but this does not alter the fact, which continues to exist. It is no surprise that history is written by the victors; if this is the case, we are giving credit to the declarations of the victor as truth. Where is the version of the vanquished?
What would give us a clear view of a particular situation would be to hear all the versions, but what usually happens is that this second version remains hidden. Thus, we are at the mercy of the supposed truth told by the hero. Living in a society that believes itself to be independent but is manipulated at every moment, a society that believes it is playing its role to form the great mass of society's cogs, a society that "clones" people every day. It is "true": We are all happy clones! Happy to belong to a society that homogenizes everyone. The worst part is that if we observe the matrices, we are in trouble! The media, a major scientist participating in this mass cloning, shows us daily who the top-line models are. Observe yourself, the "perfect" clone of the famous! Imagine: your daughter, series 993451. We are very close to walking around with a serial number complete with a barcode!
Given this scenario, it is likely that the "clones" of our generation do not want to know if there is another version. Why does the different bother us so much? Consider the true genocides carried out throughout our history, including those against our indigenous people. Not too long ago, I saw a documentary about an indigenous tribe. The detail is that everyone was wearing Havaianas flip-flops!!!
If we cannot tolerate a culture closer to ours, like that of our indigenous people, what can we say about more distant cultures? It is impossible for the Western citizen to understand the values of those living in the Middle East. Those clothes, the way of life, the faith—all this forming an unbearable whole. How can someone subject themselves to living that way? Isn’t that what we ask ourselves?
The pride of the mothers of suicide bombers is also incomprehensible to us. Just as for these mothers, there is no pride in a son who does not fulfill a noble mission. We have seen a lot about these people lately, and with so much contact with this culture, what will we do with this knowledge? Will we further repudiate what is strange and incomprehensible to us, or will we start to rethink our attitude towards what is different?
How are we constructing our truth? Are we getting another version? Or do we simply buy what our heroes tell us? Who constructs our truth: the media or us?
These questions are particularly difficult to deal with in our society due to the immediacy culture that, instead of reflecting as individuals, seeks solutions that are more practical and quick. Examples? I can choose between a therapist to review my compulsive eating behavior, buying Xenical, or buying a new dress!
Xenical will give me a solution for my excessive weight problem (it's a quick solution), the new dress will give me a sense of pleasure for being fashionable and feeling beautiful (at the same moment). Quick solutions, addressing the symptom but not the cause. Isn't this our behavior?
We have other options for dealing with this issue of other cultures; instead of cultivating tolerance, we can exterminate them from the planet! Just find an acceptable reason. After all, it's easier. We won't have to rethink our way of thinking and maybe discover that we were wrong! How sad it would be if only after many, many years we asked for forgiveness for our crimes! After millions were executed merely because of their way of life!
"If you don't know history, you are doomed to repeat it," they say, but what we are doing is exactly: knowing history well to repeat it better, with more technology and precision. This is the result of a long time of human "training." After much training, we no longer need to use our capacity for reflection. After all, few are aware that they have it.
Reflection, questioning, and change of attitude are scarce commodities in our present time. It's a pity.
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by Oscar Wilde