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Illocutionary Discourse

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California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Soka University Japan - Transcend Art and Peace
Created: February 11, 2003
Latest Update: February 11, 2003
E-Mail Icon jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Site Teaching Modules What Are We To Do?

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, February 2003.
"Fair use" encouraged.

This essay is based on Robert Scheer's column in the LA Times on the lack of justification for the war in Iraq. Backup. And on Marlene Whittaker's question: "What are we to do? Just stand, wait, and take what is given, by him."

On Tuesday, February 11, Marlene Whittaker (CSUDH) wrote:

Subject: Illocutionsary discussion

Gee, sure wish we could send you to congress. It seems to me that as of now, we, the people, do NOT, have an illocutionary discussion with anyone. Seems the government at hand only is listening to what is behind, White House Walls. How unfortunate for the rest of the Unilted States. What will it take for him, Bush, to hear our words? It seems he needs some help in the seeing and hearing department. What are we to do? Just stand, wait, and take what is given, by him? This country should be ashamed of itself, in all its righteous doings, in the name of our country, our mankind, the graves of all our young. When do we stand up and shout again, NO MORE WAR----Will it be too late? Reality is now, do we sit, stand, shout, or just take it? Who then is the one to blame? Love and Peace, Marlene

On Tuesday, February 11, 2003, jeanne responded:

Good question, Marlene. What are we to do? At times like this I wish I were engaged in non-directive therapy, so I could just kind of reflect back to you, so you wonder what we should do? Unfortunately, in name of illocutionary discourse we don't play that game. And, anyway, I think that we all deserve an answer. AN answer, notice, not the answer. I need this answer as much as you do. We're asking real questions, and we're asking them of each other, for we are the ones who are going to stand behind this war, these decisions, and we aren't going to be able to weasel out of it to easily, even though we may disagree with our President. The rest of the world is asking the same question we are: what are WE to do?

Scheer's column today helped. I actually got it from his site over e-mail before I got to the paper. It helped that he gave me some data to confirm my feelings that this whole Saddam Hussein thing is way out of line, and that the smoking gun is pointed in his direction, not Saddam. That doesn't mean that "truth" is with either Scheer or I . It means only that it helps me to tolerate my own ambiguity, that someone whose opinion and analysis I respect has come to the same conclusion that I have.

Maybe we do have to fight? But for oil? To prove Daddy right? To whip out John Wayne's six shooter and whip 'em all? For goodness sakes, this is the Twenty-First Century. If war is the only answer, must we rush it past the people before reasonable consideration?

"What are we to do? . . . sit, stand, shout, or just take it?" No, we can't sit or stand silently, and just take it. For that would make us, as Americans, complicit. Pace, patriotism addicts. Patriotism is not about waving flags and saying Yes! to whatever our elected? representatitves say. Patriotism is about taking responsibility for the actions we all take in the name of our country, and about enough illocutionary discussion to know that we have seconded those actions in our acquiescence and are willing to take responsibility for them as Americans.

People like Robert Scheer are taking the responsibility of telling us in every way they can that this war is wrong. Millions of people in America are confirming to our President that we believe the war is wrong. Teachers like me are trying to give students and community every opportunity to consider the evidence that exists and all perspectives that have come forth to claim our support. And people like you are writing as you did to prompt me to continue writing and to let people like Robert Scheer know that we hear.

It's Collin Powell's job to support the position of his Commander in Chief. Wow, does that affect his perspective. I've been reading the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal almost daily. Their sites and others are linked on the home page of Dear Habermas. For goodness sake, look at them.

The one thing I know we mustn't do is do nothing. Speak if your stomach tells you you must. Scream if you can't hold it in. Don't close your eyes in denial. Continue to read, continue to follow the analyses of people whose values you trust. Question? Talk about it. Then give yourself time to find some of the roses to smell. No one can take all this stress all the time. Don't hold yourself responsible for decisions you can't make. But do recognize that you have a voice. Maybe a small one. Maybe not one heard around the world. But a voice. Use it wherever you are empowered to do so. And try ever so hard to understand the positions of others, and bring them into illocutionary discourse.

It hurt me terribly the other night when a young woman on TV whose husband has been sent overseas said, "Now we must all support the President." Even if he's dead wrong and endangering the lives of those Americans he's sending overseas? Even if his reasons for this display of force can bring endless harm to the world? Yes, we have to provide every support possible to the Americans who have been sent, that there may be no more Somalias. But we can support in other ways than granting his reasoning justification and legitimation.

Gotta go now. But I hope that lots of you will want to contribute to this discourse. And I'll add discussion questions on Scheer's column, hopefully tomorrow.

love and peace, jeanne