derrida and the family

derrida states rather blatantly that the "family" is his enemy. then, is derrida trying to create an ideal citizen? NO. derrida's main aim is to save the western individual.

derrida's idea of "context" determining meaning is an idea that has destroyed hierarchical thinking. rap music is determined by context and its context is not any better or worse than the context of musicians like beethoven or mozart who express their contexts on a higher level than any of the musicians who came before them.

and if there is no hierarchy, all hierarchy is personal preference. I, for example, prefer the music of chopin because of the emotions inside of me that need release in an aesthetic manner. another person's hierarchy may prefer the minimalist music of east asia.

what does this idea of context mean for the family for the family is a hierarchical structure with mom and dad being on top of that structure? are kids equal in preference to the adults... have they formed their aesthetic or moral judgment enough to make a choice?

for a long time, i blamed capitalism for the breakdown of family values. my father was in the military and he was never home when i was young. he never really taught me anything. he never taught me how to be a man. as an aside, the military is a very capitalistic structure.

but can it be that deconstructionism aims at the breakdown of the family unit. there is something to be said for the evils of the family unit. the American south, for example, tends to emphasize family values much more than the northeast or California. but too much time with the family can make you very small-minded and narrowly focused.

the south is also very xenophobic and the elite in the south are worried about all these Asians who are doing so well in school... they are doing better than their sons and daughters. many Asians sacrifice a lot for their studies... americans want it all... is that possible?

in the south also, the French are often eroticized. the WASPS are always supporting the alliance between England, America, and Israel at a time when our financial systems are floating on printed money with no backing but the faith of the US government. the way that WASPS, americans, and some Jews act like no other nation in the world matters is incredibly disturbing.

so what is family in the south? The WASPS are above americans and the Jews are slightly below americans. There is some intermarriage between Jews and Americans. many of the intermarriage between Asians and americans is due to wars and war-time brides. generally in the private schools, interracial dating is frowned upon and except for the occasional offender, everything goes as the culture goes. if you are Asian, your parents want you to be a doctor or a lawyer, just as Jews were expected to be at one point. Asians are hardworkers so they often stay longer at work so other americans can take vacations etc.

at the same time, there is agape... a concern for general good and social stability and great warmth in the south. there really is a family and a body wisdom. in the northeast. everyone's got an angle and you can figure it out pretty quickly. also, in the south, there is a very definite culture... a culture with eros. many southern women are really very spiritual, more so than northern puritanical women.

so why is derrida against the family? being from a shepardic jewish family, there must have been a lot of discussions about how other jews from different backgrounds were either inferior or superior to shepardic jews. in Israel right now, the only "events" that can unite all jews is the holocaust or the holocaust and even the holocaust can fail to unite jews. when we rationalize differences too much, we are really being racists.