To go to the summit, to put oneself at risk
without reason
at least a reason that can be stated,
to propose a summit as a summit,
to risk only for the love of anguish.

…a conclusion:
we can only speak of a summit by altering it,
making it equal to decline.
But we can reduce moral rules to conveniences
that have nothing to do with the summit.

Would it, in these conditions,
enclose in its heart the necessity of evil,
of wasteful risk?
Overfull of energy to expend, the malefic share
of which I have spoken…

Would it become complete,
by poisoning the blood?

–excerpt On Nietzsche, Notes, p. 257 by Georges Bataille, trans. by Stuart Kendall

So here I am, my upbringing that of a Christian fundamentalist.  The term “fundamentalist” begs for a definition.  Fundamentalists consider a written text as having priority, a divine canopy of sorts over all-of-life.  A written word come to us complete, borne by Moses down the mountain, or a Constitution penned by “The Founders,” or a black leather-bound old and new testaments in the King James Version, etc., etc.. These are just two examples, a conception of life under the specification of an unalterable word.  Accustomed to climbing toward that fog shrouded summit defined by communities-of-the-book, evil is understood as any deviation from the rules laid down by the divine word.  (Make no mistake, — participation in rightist political movements conform to that pattern of cult-like religion)

Evil is the anti-thesis of good is it not?  The consequence of evil:  to be cast out, a loss of being, forfeiture of status within the community, or life after life…

On the other hand…

One chooses a summit freely, a prospective achievement not specified by a divinity, or by a narcissistic politico, or even a project embraced for “the common good.”  What of desire for something because it is desired?  What of formidable projects embraced for “the hell of it” without assurance that one has enough time or energy or mental acuity… — to “finish the job?”

To learn “from scratch” in one’s senior years to play piano comes to mind…

Wasteful risk, the malefic share, prodigious expenditure…

---

This tune is perfect as subtext for our journey today.  Twilight Zone by Golden Earring.

Twilight Zone

By Golden Earring

Somewhere in a lonely hotel room there’s a guy starting to realize that eternal fate has turned its back on him.
It’s two A.M.

It’s two A.M., it’s two A.M
The fear has gone, the fear has gone
I’m sittin’ here waitin’, the gun’s still warm
Sittin’ here waitin’, the gun’s still warm
Maybe my connection is tired of takin’ chances
Yeah there’s a storm on the loose, sirens in my head
Wrapped up in silence, all circuits are dead
Cannot decode, my whole life spins into a frenzy

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go, now that I’ve gone too far
Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go, now that I’ve gone too far

Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

I’m falling down the spiral, destination unknown
Double-crossed messenger, all alone
Can’t get no connection, can’t get through, where are you

Well the night weighs heavy on his guilty mind
This far from the borderline
When the hitman comes
He knows damn well he has been cheated
And he says

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go, now that I’ve gone too far

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go, now that I’ve gone too far

Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go, now that I’ve gone too far

Help I’m steppin’ into the twilight zone
Place is a madhouse, feels like being cloned
My beacon’s been moved under moon and star
Where am I to go, now that I’ve gone too far

Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone
Soon you will come to know
When the bullet hits the bone

When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone
When the bullet hits the bone

Lyrics by George Kooymans