Regular readers know that I admire, perhaps excessively, a small number of well-known literary works. Shakespeare has several of my favorites. But there are gems scattered throughout western literature from the Iliad on. And of course, there’s the Bible.
I’ve always admired this speech from Macbeth:
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
These are the words of a man who has come to believe that life is meaningless. But it’s really a rationalization for the results of murdering his own conscience. He was describing the hell he had created and that soon would engulf him permanently.
And I find this idea instructive. I think if you keep in mind that there is a moral order, then it gives you a sense of perspective. You can be surrounded by evil and forced to deal with the worst of humanity. But if you can work to preserve the things that are good then you can have some peace in knowing you are giving meaning to human life. And that’s not nothing.
Despair is a godless pleasure that we’re not allowed to imbibe. You have to work to make this crazy world of ours better. Certainly, we are currently seeing a diminution in the state of our world. The morals, the morale, the wisdom of our society is draining away in a shocking way.
And that’s alarming. But it’s far from the first time and it’s probably not the worst example on record. It’s important to keep things in perspective and act reasonably. We will be surrounded for the foreseeable future by people who have bought into the current narrative. This includes all kinds of very harmful ideas and practices. The results of this are the excesses of our culture; confusion over things like the roles of men and women and the importance of traditional practices in living our lives and raising our children.
We can instill meaning and purpose into our actions and interactions with each other by choosing carefully to perform the actions that improve our surroundings and make us better people. And this is especially important in our relations with the young. They are growing up in a world that has been stripped of reason and dignity. They spend their every waking minute immersed in a world of TikTok influencers and other phony celebrities telling them what they should think and what they should value. It’s a wonder they haven’t all been degraded down to the status of sub-human idiots. I feel it’s especially important to enrich the lives of the young people in my life with things that nourish and expand their minds and souls. There is the meaning that we can find; keeping this world from falling into a new dark age.
Life is brief but it is a tale told by whatever truth you have in your heart. If it signifies nothing then that is what is in your soul.
One of ny favorites is Ahab’s soliloquy spoken by Gregoey Peck on the bridge of the Pequod. I do not have the funds to make great changes. No political power, no influence except among family who respect my opinions. I believe there is too much money In politics already, so I do not contribute to political parties or candidates except for a cousin of mine who is a county trustee. Instead, I offer the party or candidate something totally above price. My vote. It cannot be bought as I would not sell it for millions, therefore it is beyond value.… Read more »