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vCity 1.0
Chapter 4
". . .every one is the best and sole judge of
his own private interest . . ."
--Alexis de Tocqueville--
In my e-mail there is a letter from "Lee Ward". S/he
writes:
[snip]
Thank you for your recent note about my new site at Sage
Advice.
Exon Inspiration is merely interactive art
applied to the free market.
If people do not wish to go there, they don't have to.
As for the body parts, I thought that was rather a neat
statement
summarizing the raw elemental nature of sex from the point
of
view of the id.
Thanks also for your offer of employment. I like the job I
have.
Lee
I groan inwardly. This is going to be a nasty one, no doubt
about it. There is nothing more intransigent than an artist defending art for
the sake of freedom of expression; nothing more dangerous, unless one gets
between a baby hippopotamus and its mother.
Yet there is no point hiding or even wasting time. I
learned long ago that crafting a response for e-mail is a waste of time. On the
Net one has to speak one's mind, speak one's heart, and let the truth prevail.
If truth can be found.
FROM: First Citizen / VCID:
000.000.000.000.001
TO: "Lee Ward" / VCID: 000.000.014.500.663
DATE: 20 JUN 02, 10:27 EDT
RE: Wherefore art?
Lee:
Art speaks to the human condition, and, more than
technology, is our
last and best hope for progress.
The hallmark of civilization is that while we recognize our
capacity
for evil, we nevertheless renounce it and work towards a
better future.
Your site graphically portrays sadism, rape, torture, and
murder. Okay,
others have done so in other media before you. Because your
site
is interactive, however, it enlists the participation of
others to engage,
even if only conceptually, in such cruelties. By charging
fees to
others for participating, you thereby assign value to
dehumanization.
And you make no attempt to renounce the evil you
display.
In the arena of the spirit, silence is consent.
In short, I believe that you have moved beyond art into
exploitation
for profit. This is not a good thing.
Respectfully,
First Citizen
I barely sit down to enjoy my first cup of coffee of the
day, a good, strong French Roast, when Lee replies. S/he must be staying up
late at the keyboard. I am delighted. The more e-mail I can get from Lee, the
more chance I have of obtaining something that I can use. In the world of
infodemocracy, discourse is water. It makes life possible. S/he replies:
[snip]
But that's the point. Don't you see? You talk about
'evil' and 'good' as if these were objective criteria.
But they're not. You have to let people decide for
themselves what constitutes 'good' and 'evil'.
Lee
I can feel the coffee churning in my stomach. This is
really going to be a tough one. If Lee had told me, in good Australian fashion,
to go piss off, I would be happier. Instead, I've stepped into an oozing black
tar pit of moral relativism; Ethics 101.
At any rate, s/he has given me the wedge I need.
FROM: First Citizen / VCID: 000.000.000.000.001
TO: "Lee Ward" / VCID: 000.000.014.500.663
DATE: 20 JUN 02, 11:04 EDT
RE: OK, see you in COPO
Lee:
When the Nazis threw Jews by the trainload into the gas
chambers,
the Nazis were working with a subjective criteria of good
and evil.
Allies from around the world kicked their ass anyway.
Let people decide? Okay, see you in the Court of Public
Opinion.
First Citizen
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