On the one hand, Israel and Hamas — mindless, impulsive and programmed cruelty — on the other, Leonard Cohen's lyrics
© 2023 Peter Free
19 October 2023
The dominating constants in the human condition . . .
. . . are stupidity and cruelty.
The historically brewed stew — that rapaciously chews Israel and Hamas — is eagerly also breeding elements of a much larger catastrophe, via the cognitively disabled, addictive hatred that fuels it.
The same has been true of the West's literally psychotic loathing of Russia and (now) China.
The United States and the European Union enthusiastically instigated and continue provoking both these fires.
In such arguably Manichean chaos, writhes a spiritual parable
Or more.
I am reminded of Leonard Cohen's song, Suzanne
His metaphor (in it) goes beyond its Christian reference.
Admittedly, perhaps, only for those who already have substantive souls, whether that by focused self-development or Godly creation:
And Jesus was a sailor
When he walked upon the water
And he spent a long time watching
From his lonely wooden tower
And when he knew for certain
Only drowning men could see him
He said "All men will be sailors then
Until the sea shall free them"
But he himself was broken
Long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human
He sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
© 1966 Leonard Cohen, Suzanne, LeonardCohen via YouTube
Fifty years later, Cohen may have been sadder . . .
. . . and ambiguously despairing.
Perceptive experience on this planet tends to exorcise youth's hopeful illusions.
The aged Cohen's, You Want It Darker's — "We kill the flame" — goes to the heart of humanity's arguably most defining characteristic.
Here excerpted:
They're lining up the prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggled with some demons
They were middle-class and tame
I didn't know I had permission
To murder and to maim
You want it darker
Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my Lord
Magnified, sanctified
Be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified
In the human frame
A million candles burning
For the love that never came
You want it darker
We kill the flame
© 2016 Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker, LeonardCohen via YouTube
The moral? — Blessed be the peacemakers
Without them, humanity is lost.
It matters not to me which religion — or strain of secularism — sponsors the peace-making spirit.
Just that it is there, and its spirit glow.
Thus, we wrench the flame of holiness from nihilism's soulless avarice.