|
bookmarks:
|
main | ongoing | archive | private |
james baldwin
People evolve a language in order to describe and thus control their circumstances, or in order not to be submerged by a reality that they cannot articulate.
What joins all languages, and all men, is the necessity to confront life, in order, not inconceivably, to outwit death: The price for this is the acceptance, and achievement, of one's temporal identity.
It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identify: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.