Philosophy is simultaneously maddening and satisfying, a linguistic deep dive into the foundations of our ways of life, an attempt to explore why we process “reality” the way we do.  There are great and important differences between us.  Where do those distinctive features, those dimensions of the self that I have come to be, originate?  How do they arise?

Does the assertion that reality is essentially competitive, winner-take-all with “caveat emptor,” describe reality?  On the other hand, what about the opposing view that reality is a reciprocal give and take, — that there is an ethical dimension of balance and proportion to everything.  Yes, to everything — not just social constructions.

We had this discussion last night, among a group of eight or so good friends.  The annoyance arose when language, the words which we must use if we are to say anything at all, are bent, meanings distorted, so that it is difficult to notice that one is entertaining a flat contradiction.

Welcome again to the human predicament.  Communication at best is imperfect because using the same words does not insure that we mean the same thing.

I wanted to feature the lyrics of a tune that I have written about before.  Billy Idol’s White Wedding, written in the heyday of MTV, 1982.  The tune and the lyric impress me as a statement about the uncertainty, the fluidity, warrantee-less of human experience.  The song helped launch Billy Idol to stardom.  The video is one of the most transgressive, outrageous visual statements of it’s time.  Who would feature a barbed-wire wedding ring?  What about a rebel cyclist bursting into a church sanctuary through a stained glass window?  The images offered as the tune is played and sung, sizzle with sensuality.  Life is nothing if not survival oriented, bent on propagating itself.

There is nothin’ fair in this world
There is nothin’ safe in this world
And there’s nothin’ sure in this world
And there’s nothin’ pure in this world
Look for something left in this world
Start again

The coda of the simple verses offer, in rapid fire fashion, the song writers conclusions about the nature of this world.  Given these facts is there room for plenty of caution, for mindfulness in the pursuit of one’s aspirations and dreams?  No question about it, one is well advised to take care.  Who would desire a shotgun wedding?

On the other hand, does compassion, understanding, forbearance toward the mistakes and failures that no one avoids, seem a reasonable response?  I think so.

To come full circle, it seems that reality/life is composed of wins and loses, as well as opportunities for coming together for creating and executing a new beginning, a fresh start.

And is not a fresh start what we all need?

Enjoy the video, especially the opening guitar riff. Those guitar chords make my hair stand on end.

A final note about White Wedding.  The song was performed by 400 musicians in Hungry, in City Rocks-SzegedRocks concert in 2018.  Who says that the arts have not changed the world!?