Newspaper Page Text
February 1, 1979 Page 6
The Maroon Tiger
Beyond Civilization
A Challenge To Love:
Homophiles
The tension between instrumental
and essential values reconciled? the
polarity of values and his own
ambivalent nature has pursued
man down the ages. The reconcilia
tion, to put the matter simply, is
above and within. No superficial
manipulation can achieve this aim.
In mundane terms, the opposition
between democracy and commu
nism calls for a synthesis at a
higher level. The complimentarity
of values — a subtler notion than
toleration — remains one of our
tasks or unachieved ideals.
Today we are called upon to
move beyond the limiting cultural
traditions of the past to a universal,
transcendental community or
communities 'of the future. The
choice is both unavoidable and
imminent. As Buchman put it, is it
to be the light of a new day or the
fading light of a doomed civiliza
tion? The imperative of choice is
pressing. Not a little tinkering here
and a little tinkering there, but in a
radical change in the very basis of
our live and consciousness motive
and method, g yet untried balance
between the past and the present,
between science and spirituality,
between biosphere and neosphere.
Here is history as the future, the
sense of transformation which is
perhaps the inner drive of history
and evolution.
This will mean an open society
of world civilization that will speak
for all men. This alone can be our
model or goal on the road ahead,
beyond civilization (as we have
know it).
Theatres of “Absurd"
The universal breakdown of civ
ilizations reveals nearly identical
symptoms. Briefly, its qhief mark is
a loss of creativity. On top of it is
the reign of false gods, divers et
ondoyante. This only confirms the
crisis, the waning of the light
After a certain point most societies
get “beyond themselves”, commit
enormities and pull down the very
structure that had protected them
In our own days the signs are not
wanting. In the biological, social,
intellectual and spiritual spheres
the mark of anomie is undeniable.
The dysgenic trend goes hand in
hand with militarism and pollu
tion, the waste of natural resources
and the rape of the earth, no better
index of an all-around lowering of
the standard or quality of life.
Archaic habits inheritances, the
gap between the affluent and the
deprived, vulgarization inherent in
a consumer society create prob
lems of their own. Without any
sense of the “final end” or meta
physical discipline, the man-value-
cosmos syndrome has collapsed
and “nothingness” has become the
everything of the theatres of the
“absurd.” Altogether we are ready
to jump into the dark ages without
our noticing it, without being
aware that too much of reason may
be as bad as too little. The human
reason has achieved much but its
errors and limitations are no less
significant. The admission of a
more rational dimension cannot
but alter the destiny of civilization.
It will, however, not be a return to
religion, a mistake often made.
Religion no doubt knew the
truth of man’s becoming. But in
almost every case it has grown
parochial and opted for a false and
premature socialization of the
ideal. And so while, on the one
hand, its idea of salvation was indi
vidual and Post mortem, the
organization of freedom, on the
other, denied freedom itself. Such
as otherwordly, sacerdotal,
authoritarian system will not do
now. We have to find a new body
for the old insights. The greatest
feats of human engineering are still
ahead of us, along the razor’s edge.
To get back the lost telos and
elan, lost in the course of the Euro
pean renaissance and enlightment.
we may have to move one step for
ward. This will mean a rehabilita
tion of the “self’ and an energising
of motives and institutions long
fallen into desuetude.
The problem may be stated
briefly: can mahcineand mysticism
go together? Here is a riddle ordis-
cordia concors that the ancients
did not have to bother about, but
we must. It adds up to an entirely
new challenge, the last twist or
irony of dialectics. Let no one
reject the challenge as incapable of
being met or solved. Striking
boldly for a phased and polorised
harmony of body and soul, tech
nique and transcendence, it may be
that we are stepping towards
another renaissance that would
throw the earlier prototypes into
shade.
Trans- Humanism
The realignment of a new dimen
sion of “self’ and the passion for
emergent values will not be worth
much. The pioneers of the new life
will not be spared. The hostility
and suspicion of the less sensitive,
always the majority. But, paradox
ically, in all such high endeavours,
no matter how strong the opposi
tion, suffering becomes part of a
joyful clairvoyance, martyrdom
acquires new meaning and civiliza
tion takes its long-awaited leap for
ward, beyond the thoughts of
Marx, Mao, and Marcuse,
towards what we have called trans
humanism may be “Buddhas ye
shall all become.” Maybe “Mo-
hammeds ye shall become.” The
hope of a risen Christ (“it is sown a
natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body”) point to the same mes-
siamic or numinous dream, and
evangelical urge towards a changed
earth and heaven. The dream
cannot be deferred without man
kind missing the mark, proving to
be an evolutionary failure.
The mythopoeic overcoming of
By Gerard Marable
To raise and answer questions,
shatter myths and foster under
standing which can lead to truth
and love; that is the purpose of
knowledge. It is with this idea in
mind that I undertake to discuss
the oppression of those people in
our society known as
homosexuals.
No authority has yet come up
with a precise definition of a homo
sexual. Perhaps there is a message
in this fact. Is it for us to put
boundries on humanities capabili
ties to express love? Love is like
God, infinite and all involving.
However, for purposes of discus
sion I shall borrow the statement
used by the Institute for Sex
Research, in their book
Homosexualties.
Homosexuality encom
passes far more than peo
ple’s sexual proclivities.
Usually the social context
and psychological correlates
of homosexual experience
are largely ignored, making
for a highly constricted
image of the persons
involved.
Having sex with members of the
same gender is not, in and of itself a
sign of homosexuality. Conversely,
intercourse with members of the
opposite sex is not necessarily
proof of heterosexuality. The sex
ual act can be performed alone or
with anyone. It is one’s preference,
and by this I mean—it is with
history is the beginning of a
dialogue between man and deity.
Then civilization become not only
the theme of a dialogue or
conversation but of a conversion.
This is the hope of paradise
regained, the city of God that has
haunted the mind of man down the
ages.
This, then, is the challenge of the
crisis, the breakdown of civiliza
tions. It is not distorting history to
say that, coming from entirely
different backerounds, yet united
in aim and effort, there is in our
midst a growing, invisible brother
hood, a fellowship of the future.
Man grows when inspired by a
high vision. Can there be anything
more dangerous, beautiful and
necessary than the remaking of
modern man and society? It is our
date with destiny, to be civilized
beyond civilization.
This article is dedicated to two
great men Gandi and Martin
Luther King, Jr.
The oldest existing town
of the thirteen original
American colonies is Albany,
New York, first reached
by the French in 1540.
which gender a person is most sat
isfied, most of the time, in and out
of bed—that determines (if it can
be determined), what a person is.
So saying, let us suppose that
Mr. White is gay. Believe it or not,
it is possible for Mr. White to be
married, have'children, and, like
Allen Spear, be a state senator
(Minnesota) or Elaine Noble, a
state legislator, or David Kopay, a
professional football player. Des
pite what some would like to
believe, most homophils (gays) are
indistinguishable from heterosexu
als. The reason for this is simple:
TO be known as a homophile is to
be subject to ridicule, loss of
respect, loss of jobs, in short, dis
crimination; which we as blacks
are too familiar with. Those gays
who are “out of the closet” must be
capable of holding their heads up
as it is being pressed down.
For the lay person who could
care less about all of this, there is
but one thing to consider: homo
sexuals are human. As such, they
differ from you only in how they
seek to live and love and with
whom they prefer to be with. They,
like you, sin and excret, cry and
laugh, go to church or don’t,
believe in God or don’t. As an
uncaring person you need do
nothing except protect your right
to be human by protecting legally,
socially and privately—the God
given right of others to be human.
Many folks point to the Bible to
prove the sinfullness of homosexu
ality. Well, what is sin? What is the
authority of the Bible? Does eve
ryone interpret it the same? Why is
your interpretation correct and
mine wrong? The Bible’s interpre
tation is left to each denomination
and ultimately to the individual.
Some Christian religions contend
that drinking, dancing, and pre
marital sex are sins; others do not.
Which is correct? Women should
stay in the home and be subservient
to men, says St. Paul. Are all our
women teachers living in sin? And
who are you to say that they are or
are not? The Bible says, concern
yourself with the beam in your eye.
How many people do that? Under
stand, the Bible and its interpreta
tions are personal. What you
believe is for you and not to be
imposed on others. As blacks we
are all products of beliefs forced on
us and we are still suffering from
inferiority complexes and self-
hate. What ever the Bible says
about homosexuality, it is for the
homophile to interpret its rele
vance in his or her life.
One point cannot be overlooked
and is not contested, Jesus said,
love your neighbor as yourself.
How many interpretations can one
get from that?
The next chapter in this series
will deal with the possibilities for
homophiles to live in this world.
Ulysses S. Grant's favorite breakfast was a cucumber
drenched in vinegar.