blame it on...

For the Dougal:

Growing up in an all-white community you didn't, naturally, realize how un-cool white people were. You had an inkling of course. I mean, the National Front were still about and some people still found it hard to overcome their 'race consciousness'. And you really couldn't take people who harped on about Empire too seriously, could you? Underlying it all was a terrible idea of superiority and arrogance. The way people looked down on black people, for instance. Just showed up how primitive their 'thinking' was, really.

Later on you realized-and how could you not realize given the way you were brought up by your parents-that not all white people were un-cool (no, not as dramatic as a Malcolm X moment, but still). After all, there were some white people who listened to the Jackson 5 and George Benson, B.B. King, Marley, and Otis. Not as a form of resistance to the mainstream but for the simple reason that they could see beauty and find beauty in something they weren't familiar with. That itself is a form of resistance. "Take you shoes off and,you know, relax," as Redding said in one of his songs.

Later still, you could see that people who liked classical or jazz, I mean really liked it, were actually open to other influences, could appreciate other stuff. You remain convinced by Sain Z's words: if you see beauty, you'll see it everywhere...which is why Peter Brown, AnneMarie Schimmel, Edward Said will always stand out for me: there can be no self-knowledge without an understanding of, a concern for, other people and traditions.

~~~

Came across a brilliant interview with Macintyre..on education: "The task of the educator is to stand against the current which in fact will probably overwhelm him."

Or as St. Paul said: "Be ye not conformed to the world"

The full text can be found here