"In between the moon and you, angels get a better view,
of the crumbling difference between wrong and right."
So those lyrics got me thinking. And reading. Conclusions? Glad you asked.
David Horowitz, intellectual provocateur, recently published The End of Time, a memoir in which the agnostic writer considers his illness, brush with death, convalescence, and the bonding roots of mortality we all share. The following excerpt illustrates the complexity and polarity of a dying man's psyche:
These tragedies happen to others. I am not one of them. Even as I entertained thee thoughts, I recognized how self-denying and ultimately absurd they were. None of us are outsiders. We are all going to the same destination. Though my recent ordeal was over and I could walk back into the sunlight and resume my interrupted life, I was not really out of there. I had been lucky, but I had not been given a pardon, only a reprieve.
I find his thoughts to be a stark illustration of a man who, through the process of a harrowing experience, gained vast wisdom ("...not been given a pardon, only a reprieve") yet reaffirmed his preexisting falsehoods ("We are all going to the same destination"). The polarity between wrong and right is a yawning divide that swallows those who stand on middle ground. It is quite dangerous, in a society which faces a barrage of attacks from relativism to a failing belief in moral law, to loose sight of the imperative, yet crumbling difference between truth and falsehood.
I’m tempted to say it’s not always so simple. The rich complexities of the mind often leave me at war with myself as I wrestle with difficult decisions, and most often I ultimately see things in shades of gray. But I’ve come to fear the difference between black and white is bold, unambiguous, and clear.
3 comments:
These last two days (blogs), Mr. Rice, have been great. Keep up the good thinking and writing!
Have you studied spiritual warfare? The battle between good and evil is our reality. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.
That's an interesting idea (spiritual warfare). To answer your question, no I have not studied spiritual warfare. I have read many novels and essays which explore the opposing themes of good and evil (kundera-lightness and heaviness, etc.) Isn't there some religion devoted especially to that notion (manichurism??sp??). Why don't you tell us your thoughts on it since I don't really know much about it!! :)
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