January 20, 2025
THE SECOND COMING
Turning, turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Wind shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
What would our lives be without a song, a tune to commemorate a portentous day? Riders on the Storm by the late Jim Morrison and The Doors seems right:
2 thoughts on “January 20, 2025”
Part I
Yeats believed that his current state of affairs (guessing based on WWI) was apocalyptic in nature. That the fabric of human existence itself was in jeopardy. And yet, we survived, unrealistically referring to that conflict as The War to End All Wars. Only when we entered another war to end all wars did we even change the name to the First World War in juxtaposition of the Second World War. At least in 1946 we didn’t have the temerity to believe that all future conflicts would cease. It was clear that mankind could not, or would not stop killing other people for the sake of, well, whatever was the excuse of the day.
Today we look at the elevation of a madman into the highest office, once again, and wonder if this is the moment of truth; that he, his cohorts, and his rampant stupidity will lead to the destruction of humanity. If this were another time, I might have optimism that we would move past this episode and find a better tomorrow after the insanity of Trump had passed. This would be in keeping with the historical record. But today is different. In conjunction with Trumpism comes the dire predictions of a climate catastrophe, the likes of which have never been witnessed or experienced. This sets this era apart from the power mad dictators of the past be they, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, and so many others who thought they could rule the world and failed.
Part II
Our history and the fictional tales written over the ages lull us into a false sense of complacency. As noted above, all of the autocrats who have risen and then fallen lead us to believe that good will triumph in the end. The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, and hundreds of other fictional tales regale the heroism and ultimate victory of good over evil. These stories and the victories of both fictional and real societies over the likes of Mordor and Hitler allow us to pretend that ultimately, all will be well. That good and justice will prevail. But as we slide down a path towards environmental degradation leading towards the extinction of most of life on earth, it’s difficult to imagine a fair and just outcome. In this event, even the greedy will perish, despite their delusional notions of life ever after. We are pointing a pistol directly at our collective heads and saying, “Don’t worry, the gun’s not loaded.” Yeah, right!
Another spin of the cylinder ?! I am reminded of the Russian Roulette scene in the Deer Hunter film. We have always been troubled as a species. A frank admission, taking responsibility for our condition would be a step in the right direction.