Redtree Times

And all the time — such is the tragi-comedy of our situation — we continue to clamor for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more drive, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or creativity. In a sort of ghastly simplicity, we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.

–C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (1943)

When I first read this paragraph from C.S. Lewis, I actually felt better that the lack of courage, selflessness, honor, honesty, and self-sacrifice that is openly on display among our leaders was not a new phenomenon, that even in the midst of WW II there were many weak and dishonest leaders. Maybe not so many as our current batch but they were still there.

But then I felt far worse for the same reason. It is disheartening, to say the least, that we always seem to get far less than we expect from the people we choose as our leaders.

But maybe what we end up getting is a more accurate reflection of ourselves.

We say we want to be led by people with those virtues– courage, selflessness, honor, honesty, and self-sacrifice– but when such a person is put before us, we reject them out of hand. We refuse to accept their virtue as real. 

Instead, we opt for those who exude dishonesty and selfish corruption, who unendingly spew lies and false accusations that benefit only themselves. People who take credit when none is due and place blame on others when the responsibility is theirs alone. People so weak that they attack the defenseless and wither before those who they see as powerful.

We see these less than honorable people as being more real than those who display virtue.

More like us.

We understand lying. We understand selfishness. We understand evading responsibility. We understand cowardice. We understand cheating and deception.

It’s more real to us.

It’s who we are. 

I know that seems like a searing indictment of us as a whole. And maybe it is. But I have to add that there are many, many people of great virtue among us, selfless and fully realized humans who lead courageous and compassionate lives that benefit their families, friends, and their communities. They hold this country together. Unfortunately, they would most likely be destroyed by the toxicity of the money-driven political machine if they ever attempted to extend their sense of virtue to a wider audience. 

Which is the point of Lewis’ passage at the top. We expect the best but refuse to accept it and end up with the dregs. 

And that is where we are as we head into the last weekend before a new and potentially much darker era begins on Monday. I know it sounds cynical and maybe it is rightfully so. I have been dreading this as inevitable for about 45 years when I first began to witness the inexorable march that brought us to this point. I have never wanted to be more wrong on anything. But I fear I am not.

This is going to be the last diatribe I share on this subject. I will still pay attention and do what I can but want to focus on things that give meaning and hope to people, myself included, here on the blog. 

Of course, that could be a lie. That is who we are, after all. And that being the case, maybe we’re getting what we deserve. 

Here’s a song from Leonard Cohen, one of his last efforts before his death. I first played it here four years ago but it seems destined for this moment. This is You Want It Darker.

I wrote this about the song before the 2020 election. It applies even more today:

With its ominous bass line and its focus on our mortality mixed with Old Testament imagery, it seems fitting for these times.

One of the words used in the chorus of the song is Hineni, the Hebrew word meaning Here I am. It was the response from Moses to God speaking to him through the burning bush. It was the answer from Abraham to the voice of God who then instructed him to slay his son. And it was the response from Isaiah when he hears the voice of God ask, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” It is generally an indication of faith and total commitment without question while awaiting one’s appointed task.

Here, Cohen seems to be questioning God. He’s not asking the listener if they want it darker. Seeing the way the world has descended into darkness, he is grilling God, almost questioning whether this deepening darkness is somehow the desire of God. There’s an edge of anger when he asks and replies: You want it darker/ We kill the flame.

It’s a powerful song, one that haunted me this past week. It reminds me that we are in for some trying times in the months ahead and that we need to be fully prepared to endure whatever is thrown our way.

Ready to say, with total commitment, Hineni— Here I am.

Hineni…