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From: fbr@utastro.UUCP (Frank Ray)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Miss America
Message-ID: <284@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Jul-84 13:43:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.284
Posted: Thu Jul 26 13:43:02 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Jul-84 21:15:42 EDT
Organization: UTexas Astronomy Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 35



The celebration of life forms is the work of artists, scientists, and
lovers, in their appropriate languages; the objectification of human acts
and the commensurate trading of those objects for some commodity is the
work of prostitutes and pornographers.  All of us support some form of
objectification, and would probably do well to do it less.  There are
thousands of dimensions and nuances in each person's most trivial daily
experience; there is certainly space in the collective consciousness of
say, the population of the U.S.A., for more appreciation of our own
existence.  Perhaps if we had that, we would be less likely to blow it
all to hell.  Bob Guccione might go out of business, but, he's probably
rich enough to retire, anyway.

Vanessa Williams' predicament is an incredible ironic juxtaposition of
two polarized facets of objectification in this country: pornography
and beauty pageants.

We might well turn our vision to art, to genuine science, to those acts that
can direct the passionate forces of life into works of value and beauty,
works that transcend any market, that cannot be "traded".  
We could stop accepting the generic and statistical generalizations 
of ourselves drummed into us by the advertising industry,
and learn to appreciate the subtle beauties of each other, and of our 
delicately balanced world.

The good thing to come out of this incident is a heightened awareness
that once human acts are objectified and suitably recorded,
those records can be sold to the highest bidder.  Maybe we all do
that a little, in our careers, our relationships, our business dealings.
But if what we gain in the sale or trade does not include an expansion
of our spirit, or a gentle feeling of transcendance, of satisfaction,
then there is no real gain, only a transfer of property.

Frank Ray (...ut-sally!utastro!fbr)