Oozing, Leaking, Bleeding
Evil was visible, opaque, localized…
We have exorcised it, liberated it, liquidated it.
But has it, for all that, ceased to be Evil?
Not at all: it has become fluid, liquid, interstitial, viral.
That is the transparence of Evil.
It is not a transparency in the sense
that you might see through it.
It is, rather, that it shows through in all things
when they lose their image, their mirror, their reflection,
their shadow, when they no longer offer any substance,
distance or resistance, when they become both immanent
and elusive from an excess of fluidity and luminosity.
As long as Evil was opaque, oblique, obscure,
there was still a transcendence of Evil
and it could be held at a distance.
It has now become immanent and interstitial
(assuming all forms of virulence – political, biological, sexual,
media-based or electronic).
…Evil is entering a phase of definitive dissemination.
The Illusion of the End, by Jean Baudrillard, trans. by Chris Turner, page 40, pub. 1992
Yesterday remains in memory as a montage of images.
First an image of personal experience: seated at a corner table, with an old friend, at a neighborhood French restaurant, my gaze encompassed the Eiffel tower in the room, and our fellow diners. I could faintly hear Stevie Nick’s great tune, Silver Springs emanating from the kitchen. This first image symbolizes the sanity and goodness that’s possible to nurture over an arc of time.
Another image of the wildfires laying waste, enveloping neighborhoods around Los Angeles. The fires are uncontained due to the 60 to 80 mph Santa Anna winds. I heard report of abandoned cars clogging a road, bulldozed aside to allow fire crews to pass through.
One more image of a news conference featuring the Mayor of Chicago, twice deflecting, when directly asked if he intends to “solve” the negotiation impasse with the Chicago Teachers Union with a short term high interest loan. This was a “deer in the headlights” moment in the Q&A session with the press.
A final image of the President elect, anticipating inauguration twelve days hence, holding a 72 minute long stream-of-consciousness press conference. Trump gibbered on about controlling the Panama Canal by military force, coercing Canada into becoming a U.S. state, taking control of Greenland, etc., etc.. The Mar a Lago event was another ‘unwinding’ of this ego-intoxicated, ignorant individual.
What shall we hold onto, something to anchor us, to lend definition to our sense of self, to our relationships? We can do no better than absorb the melody and lyric of Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac.
Blue-green colors flashin’
I would be your only dream
Your shinin’ autumn ocean crashin’
Don’t say that she’s pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don’t want to know
So I’ll begin not to love you
Turn around, see me runnin’
I’ll say I loved you years ago
Tell myself you never loved me, no
Don’t say that she’s pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don’t want to know
Oh no
And can you tell me was it worth it?
Baby, I don’t want to know
Time cast a spell on you, but you won’t forget me
I know I could have loved you
But you would not let me
Time cast a spell on you, but you won’t forget me
I know I could’ve loved you, but you would not let me
I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice will haunt you
Give me just a chance
You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you
Was I such a fool?
I’ll follow you down til’ the sound of my voice will haunt you
Give me just a chance
You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you
Time cast a spell on you, but you won’t forget me
I know I could’ve loved you, but you would not let me
I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice
Lyrics by Stephanie Nicks 1977
2 thoughts on “Oozing, Leaking, Bleeding”
There have been predictions of the manifestations of evil (or whatever that might mean to someone) for as long as mankind has been able to imagine forces that could be mustered to wreak havoc on our fellow humans. What is fascinating in a kind of nightmarish sort of way, is that for me personally, I had always thought of that perception of evil as happening in a different time. Such as the Holocaust, or the Black Plague, or The Inquisition, or some of the many other forms of mass destruction and heinous behavior. Of course there were aspects of society that appeared very wrong to me growing up in the 1950s and 60s. The Vietnam War or the lack of Civil Rights for many minorities are but a couple of examples, but they did not seem to be of the same extreme nature as those mentioned above.
And now, here we are, facing a monstrous evil; voted into power by our neighbors. A dystopian nightmare come to life through the ignorance of people who we thought at least had a modicum of sense, empathy, and decency. Friends tell me not to worry, that it’s just four years, butI don’t want to have to “live through” another reign of Trump. I don’t want to have to look for silver linings and try to find the good in people just to make myself feel better about what the immediate future holds for all of us. We could see this coming from 20 miles down the track, the engine of hate, intolerance, misogyny, and xenophobia racing towards us, especially since we had a disgusting taste of it for four pervious years, but that had no effect on keeping it at bay for another four years.
But I don’t really have a choice. I can either accept the fact that we have entered a period of pure evil, keep my head down, and try to find whatever happiness I can while the storm surges around me or I can fight the good fight along side those who can see this rising tide and make the best of whatever time I have left. Not particularly pleasant choices either way.
As Mr. Baudrillard said,
“As long as Evil was opaque, oblique, obscure,
there was still a transcendence of Evil
and it could be held at a distance.
It has now become immanent and interstitial.”
And indeed it has.
You understand his point.
We’ve been marinating in this darkness for a good while, – distracted by affluence (shiny new objects to amuse), projecting our approbation upon the ‘evil empire’ as Ronald Reagan once stated. And now…