aesthetic change

the first sign of a changing aesthetic is a wide-spread self-consciousness (a political identity) of societal norms and convention. the "beauty" of (the aesthetic of) 諦め in japan is threatened by the pragmatist values of economically dominating America, which devalues the sheer acceptance of a difficult or antagonistic situation as cowardice -- precisely because it can now be identified. take the unspoken (now too often spoken) understanding between members of a japanese baseball game, that in the case of a batter up and one man on first base that a person is expected to bunt (even position themselves up for the bunt); were this spectacle observed in the States, the beauty of self-sacrifice would not even be an occurring thought, but would be returned with pure (very well expressed) hostility against the player. hence why the notion is up for review in this country, to the point that it becomes an object of obsessive intercultural critique, or one to be justified by (or to itself justify) identity. ("because it's japanese" -- not to be confused with a statement like "because WE'RE japanese," which would limit the extent to which the identified aesthetic could be given distance to allow for change.)

history lesson

the history of our lives does not distantly resemble the history of the species. moments of dire importance are edited out of the narratives, at most times in an entirely habitual manner. the majority of us, for example, disregard our dreams, giving them merely the passing significance of their probably having occurred but leaving it be that we don't remember them; despite how extremely beneficial our lives could be if we each possessed the ability to analyze them, examine them for their symptoms of our innermost unconcious world. we ignore the fact that they even temper us for the following day, can hold us chained to subliminal influences throughout our waking moments.

the narratives of human history are so very similar -- so many dreams have been lost, unrealized, only acknowledged to having probably existed, as we 'progress' to future series of narratives.

reawakening alternatives for moral paradigms

China's thriving Confucian schools

By Jill McGivering BBC News

Parents believe studying Confucius benefits the whole of society

As soon as they walk into the tiny school, a converted apartment in a tower block, the children are bundled into grey cotton wraparound robes, fastened at the back with modern Velcro.

Flowing sleeves flap round their wrists, square black hats wedged on to their heads - some, too big, slip down over the eyes.

The children, from three to six years old, have come to special weekend classes to learn the teachings of China's ancient sage, Confucius.

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marginalized by bifurcation and simulacre