Let us beware of thinking
that the world eternally creates new things.

There are no eternally enduring substances;
Matter is as much of an error as the God of the Eleatics.
But when shall we ever be done with our caution and care?

When will all these shadows of God cease to darken our minds?
When will we complete our de-deification of nature?
When may we begin to naturalize humanity
in terms of a pure, newly discovered,
newly redeemed nature?

–excerpt The Gay Science, Book 3, Section 109 by Friedrich Nietzsche

Tuesday holds promise of summer-like warmth.  We who live in the mid-west welcome spring and summer.  The four seasons here are distinct, palpably different in the transformations of nature.  To live here is to celebrate that.

I want to believe that everything is going to be OK…  Likely you join me in that principle.  No matter what, the earth will continue to turn upon its axis, and the giant wheel of the milky way will yet rotate in the universe, etc., etc..  There is bound to be another chapter after this one.

I am not so sure.  Nietzsche asserts here that what we recognize as eternal verities are serendipitous, adventitious, chance contingencies, or to use his term “an error.”  You and I, homo sapiens, appraise elements of experience as eternally enduring, that is, we project divine attribution upon certain aspects of our lives.

I guess we need that.  As a child needs to be reassured by the parent: Mother will never leave you.  Everything is going to be Ok. 

Nietzsche proposes such wish-fulfillment is a lingering “shadow of god.”  The shadow darkens our minds, obscures notice of our condition.

Is it important, necessary for Nature to be redeemed, renewed, and all of us with it?  Then — the task is up to us!  Expectation that everything, or anything is in god’s hands is illusion.

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The news of the day:

A man wielding a metal baseball bat assaulted two staffers in the Fairfax City office of Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) on Monday, then smashed windows and a computer in an apparent rage after learning that the lawmaker wasn’t there, before he was taken into custody, police and the congressman said.

—Washington Post, by Justin Jouvenal and Olivia Diaz

And:

In what has become a terrifying game of chicken, President Joe Biden and congressional Republicans have reached a stalemate over the national debt ceiling.

The deadline to raise it could come as soon as June 1. That’s when it is estimated the United States will run out of money and fail to pay its bills, including debts to bondholders and outlays on everything from national parks to Social Security checks. This would be a historic and catastrophic first that economists say would send the global economy into chaos.

—USA TODAY, by Anna Kaufman

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Mother

By Pink Floyd

Mother, do you think they’ll drop the bomb?
Mother, do you think they’ll like this song?
Mother, do you think they’ll try to break my balls?
Ooh, aah, mother, should I build the wall?

Mother, should I run for president?
Mother, should I trust the government?
Mother, will they put me in the firing line?
Ooh, aah, is it just a waste of time?

Hush now, baby, baby, don’t you cry
Mama’s gonna make all of your nightmares come true
Mama’s gonna put all of her fears into you
Mama’s gonna keep you right here under her wing
She won’t let you fly but she might let you sing
Mama’s gonna keep baby cozy and warm

Ooh, babe, ooh, babe, ooh, babe
Of course mama’s gonna help build the wall

Mother, do you think she’s good enough for me?
Mother, do you think she’s dangerous to me?
Mother, will she tear your little boy apart?
Ooh, aah, mother, will she break my heart?

Hush now, baby, baby, don’t you cry
Mama’s gonna check out all your girlfriends for you
Mama won’t let anyone dirty get through
Mama’s gonna wait up ’til you get in
Mama will always find out where you’ve been
Mamma’s gonna keep baby healthy and clean

Ooh, babe, ooh, babe, ooh, babe
You’ll always be a baby to me

Mother, did it need to be so high?

Lyrics by Roger Waters