Plague Journal, Livin’ It Up
A day dawns. Is it a new day, or is it groundhog day, a hellish repetition of the last four years? This is reference to the election of course. Could this be a version of Nietzsche’s doctrine of eternal return? That understanding of history posits that we are fated to repeat every detail of our lives, over and over, without the benefit of memory which would enable us to at least partially correct the errors of the iterations which we have have lived. Is it possible to know that we are fated, to keep making the same mistakes, — without recourse, without a clue how to cease digging a deep hole that we continue to dig?
It is the end of something; not of innocence. We can never claim to have been “good.”
These quotations from the New York Times election commentary:
“The vote-counting happening now is…. exactly what we knew and reported would happen. This is legitimate vote-counting, of ballots that were returned before or on Election Day.” — Scott Detrow, NPR
“This is an extremely flammable situation and the president just threw a match into it,” Chris Wallace said on Fox News, after Trump’s remarks. “He hasn’t won these states.
“Incredible how competitive Trump is with 230K+ covid deaths and kids being locked in cages and everything else. Even if Biden wins he will have to govern in a Trump country. This is who America is.” — Gabriel Sherman, Vanity Fair
“Biden POTUS with GOP Senate is a recipe for a horrifically nasty politics next year.” — Matt Glassman, Georgetown political scientist
More need not be said.
This tune describes my state of mind (of soul?) this morning….
Hotel California
By The Eagles
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
“This could be Heaven or this could be Hell”
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain
“Please bring me my wine.”
He said, “We haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine.”
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin’ it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis
Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice
And she said “We are all just prisoners here, of our own device”
And in the master’s chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can’t kill the beast
Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
“Relax,” said the night man
“We are programmed to receive
You can check-out any time you like
But you can never leave!”
