[MD] Navajo White

[John Carl]

dave,

dmb says:
>
> You're suggesting that you might be a messiah? Really? Don't you think
> that's just a bit grandiose?


How can I be grandiose and poor white trash at the same time?  Wait a
minute.  Never mind. It's as common as dirt.  Seen it all over the place,
now that I think about it.  Another david, one that used to live in a
schoolbus on my property was sure that he was a shoo-in to replace Jerry
when he died and left the  Dead grateful. Now that I think about it.





> Don't you think it's a bit over the top in the self-flattery department?



I have no idea.  How can I tell?  Can a man be objective about himself?



> I call it "renter's beige", by the way. It's the worst color in the world
> and almost always badly applied, full of paint-boogers, roller marks and
> unclean lines.



It sounds like you have some experience.



> John said:
> You can't transcend static social patterns as long as you're striving to
> uphold social standards.  You have to be willing to pursue your dreams
> independent of worrying about how others may judge you by outward
> appearance.
>
>
> dmb says:
>
> I think it's more like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. The most basic
> biological needs have to be met even if you're Einstein. Every human
> creature needs stuff like air, food, water, shelter, sleep and an iPod.
> Related to that, but more socially oriented, you next need physical safety,
> security from theft, health and a steady means of getting your basic
> resources. If all that is pretty well in place, the need for family bonds,
> friendship and sexual intimacy can be attended to and when those needs are
> met you can start to think about the need for self-esteem, achievement,
> respect among your peers and the like. This is the social level stuff. Only
> when all of that have been secured, a person can work on the need for
> self-actualization. As the label implies, this is thee goal in a person's
> development because that's when you really do become your own person. The
> social and biological level needs can't be skipped over or left behind, but
> a self-actualized person, Maslow, says, is sp
>  ontaneous, moral, creative, lacks prejudice and accepts the facts. In
> short, they can think critically, independently and outside the lines. This
> maps onto Pirsig's hierarchy so well that I don't even have to spell it out,
> right?
>
>
"thee" goal in in a persons development dave?  I'd say "thy" goal,
evidently.  But it sounds self-defeating to me.  Methinks you oughta consult
your Schopenhauer on making "your" goal, "self" actualization.  I thinks
you've painted yourself into a metaphysical corner on that one.  Hope you
like the color of your paint.  A nice pastel, no doubt.




> John said:
> Protestants who .. got along well with the pragmatic Cherokee and
> intermarried and had a lot to do with the American Character formation.
>  Those ties run deep and strong.  Those are my people.  We don't kiss ass
> and we don't forget insults to our honor.  We can keep a feud going a long
> time.
>
>
> dmb says:
>
> "Celebrity is to social patterns as sex is to biological patterns."
>
>
That I agree with completely.



> "The Pyramids were celebrity devices.


That I'm not so sure about.  There seems to be mysterious purposes
interwoven with the pyramids.  And if celebrity was the goal, I think it
failed cuz I never heard the name of the guy they were supposed to
celebrate.  It's been forgotten for a long, long time by everybody.

I could see the pyramids as described by many as a sort of repository of
knowledge.  A library of knowing, unshakable and eternal.  A seed of
intellectual understanding bequeathed to future generations, perhaps.




> All the statues, the palaces, the robes, and jewels of social authority:
> those are just celebrity devices. The feathers of the Indian headdress.
>  ..all the compliments and flattery of tea parties and cocktail parties are
> celebrity enhancements. All the feuding and battling for prestige among
> academics and scientists. All the offense at 'insults'. All the 'face' of
> the Orient. Celebrity. Celebrity.  High school. School was REALLY the place
> for celebrity." (Jocks and Cheerleaders Magazine, page 257)
>
>

High School never ends, in other words.  I do agree that social patterns are
ubiquitous and probably the main point of intellectual analysis.  Its what
we need intellect for - to create social patterns which foster intellectual
and individual growth.

I've been dinking around with the next Copleston Anotation.  It's right
along these lines.  Time to send it out the door I guess,

 If I'm not just going over the top in the self flattery, that is.  Or even
if I am?  What difference does it make?

John