I was writing about a certain idea of nation during XIX century Mexico, hasta que me aburrí… Today I walked under the cold rain and that action reminded me of certain Portland days. Sometimes I used to wonder how come Portlanders were so reluctant to carry an umbrella, despite the never ending rain. And today I was walking like a Portlander under a cold rain, feeling good inside of my own misery, enjoying the rain and thinking that a sunny warm day was undesirable. I got home cold and wet, but I still spent time outside perusing the mailbox, because I got something today, a book by Alain Badiou, “In Praise of Love.” Según Badiou el amor enfrenta dos riesgos trascendentales: 1) Amor libre de riesgo: “Clearly, inasmuch as love is a pleasure almost everyone is looking for, the thing that gives meaning and intensity to almost everyone’s life, I am convinced that love cannot be a gift given on the basis of a complete lack of risk 2) Banalización del amor: “The second threat love faces is to deny that it is at all important. The counterpoint to the safety threat is the idea that love is only a variant of rampant hedonism and the wide range of possible enjoyment. The aim is to avoid any immediate challenge, any deep and genuine experience of the otherness from which love is woven”. Si un día termino la tesis doctoral, el título será “Amor y nación: vida banal y libre de riesgos en el México decimonónico”. Furthermore, writing about a certain idea of nation in Mexico lacks the intensity that emerges from a loving meditation… Let’s move to Chet Baker instead and the diaries of Roland Barthes, p. 173: “Paris, July 31, 1978 I live in my suffering and that makes me happy. Anything that keeps me from living in my suffering is unbearable to me. Cómo me hubiera gustado presenciar el sufrimiento de Barthes y, quizás, adivinar en su silencio los contornos de una felicidad astringente.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 01:06:39 +0000