Moral High Ground

Our conversation over supper tonight (or last night) was quite stimulating. To say the least. 3 Words: Moral High Ground.

There is a stark difference between saying something and being something. Language is already a first degree deference from the subject. The more we talk about something, the further we are from the reality of it. That is po-mo mumbo jumbo I know, but its true. This is why we talk isn't it? To vent out emotions which cannot be healthy if left unchecked. If we want less decadence, we must talk about decadence a great deal more, to internalise it into the social system and to innoculate ourselves by exposure to the subject. Victorian society is proof of that.

The biggest misunderstanding of GMH is underestimating our ability to codeswitch. We are (or most of us are, at any rate) able to switch our behaviour between differing circumstances because of our (again, most of our) inherently mutli-faceted personalities. Want to di siao? No problem. Want to talk sense? Why not? Intellectual conversation? Bring it on.

Remember, culture has a tendency to permeate society from high (brow) to low (brow). Ideologies arise from the lower masses, only to gain traction with the middle and upper classes at a later date. Not to forget, change is frequently a result of the dialectic. So, we must be aware of both below and above, by straddling the middle. I, for one, am trying not to allow myself to be enclosed within one mind-frame at a time. Its not an easy thing to do, but effort (not condemnation) is good enough.

Empathy (and verstehen) is the one thing that makes us human.

Ang Heng