Givens Versus Givens

Keeping in the spirit that no one's gonna read this, I'mma say whatever it is I want to say. Whatever will keep my mind buoyant. This is an affirmation, I affirm that I will keep my head afloat.

1) The biggest problem with communication is the underlying givens that kick in prior to a conversation. Over the past few months the band has done photoshoots, filmed a video, done some interviews. All of them have filled me with anxiety. I abdicate leadership to people who's givens may be different from mine and so the end result isn't what it could be, even though it was. The danger of lesser results was there.

You know what I like? Spending the first 30 minutes of a meeting of the minds laying down the foundations. Mostly I'd like to just go on about my own givens, see where the common ground is. Something like this:

"Given that the Velvet Underground were trying to reach the heavens and under the assumption that The Strokes are just a good time, I now see why people don't like The Strokes. They see what could be."

"I believe in 'A' while you believe the opposite, '-A." Therefore who leads here and who follows?"

"If it is the current government's goal to win the war in Iraq, then they are failing. If their goal is to create havoc so as to reach a larger, unannounced purpose, then they are succeeding and you must judge them in a different light."

A misunderstanding of assumed givens could be problematic. You assume the person you are speaking with shares a common language with you and you filter everything they are saying through that. Here are common assumptions of today:

-Rock'n'roll is fun, recreation, a good time, a chance for bar owners to make money off you.
-Rock'n'roll is past it's prime.
-There are three dimensions.
-Don't be so serious. Music is there to create a party atmosphere.
-There is no more original art, nor will there be anytime soon. Don't try.
-People are not unique and will be judged accordingly.

Those givens are a tough burden to face. In relation to that it's not really worth gettiing up in the morning, except the tread the path already cut by other, older, dustier people. Perhaps that explains the lack of spring in people's steps. I'd feel like crap too if I felt that way.

Well, to help speed along the communication process, these are my givens, this is my preface. Subject to human error of course:

-Truth is absolute. That's why it's called "Truth."
-There is a 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th dimension.
-I believe that new art is possible. "New Art" is inherently redundant. I'm open hearted to the idea that assumptions can be smashed and the cheap suit of assumptions can be unstitched.
-I believe in being difficult, in being intellectually rigorous, in skeptical. Not cynical, but skeptical. In an effort to avoid cliche, codification, and expectations, it's important to be oppositional. Being difficult should be rewarded, not discouraged.

In our current world where everybody is more and more lock-stepped with each other, a strange thing occurs. We're all so up to date on conventional wisdom that when someone comes in with a fresh idea, it sounds REALLY dissonant. There's this word "Noosphere" and it describes human thought as collective and as a sort of environment. But I believe it is a pejorative term, or at least it should be. It leads to cliche and conventional wisdom and what some dude calls "stinkin' thinkin'." I know I suffer from it and I'm doing all I can to get away from it.

So now I've prefaced myself. When you talk to me you now know some of my starting point, some of my foundation. It feels a little like a game of King Of The Jungle and I guess what I'm doing here is making my Givens heard and therefore dominant. Prominent and thereby dominant. It sure beats the opposite where other assumptions may be lesser and take precedence. Maybe that's another Given of mine I'm realizing. I guess I assume other Frameworks to be more limited and finite. I will say that I hope I'm wrong. It's better when I'm wrong...