The title of this blog post is from the poem "In Memoriam", written nearly 150 years ago by English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. He began the poem at a time of personal grief, having lost his best friend, Arthur Hallam, very suddenly and unexpectedly. The crisis, experienced in his young adulthood became a test of his faith and forced him to come to terms with it. Tennyson's life spanned a time of social and political upheaval and he spent a lifetime writing the poem. Plagued by doubts, Tennyson focused on the reality of human love as evidence of a higher reality.
It seems we are living at a time of social and political upheaval as well. The Liberty Bell has a crack.
"The old Independence Bell rang its last clear note on Monday last in honor of the birthday of Washington and now hangs in the great city steeple irreparably cracked and dumb. It had been cracked before but was set in order that day...It gave out clear notes and loud, and appeared to be in excellent condition until noon, when it received a sort of compound fracture ...which put it completely out of tune and left it a mere wreck of what it was."
To me, that liberty bell is symbolic. I am reminded of a quote from Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem":
"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." I am praying for the light to get in there!
In a recent article in the Winnipeg Free Press entitled "Truth and trust: necessary but elusive"" John R. Wiens writes that "truth is essential for trust, and both are critical to democracy....it seems to me that real trust between people is impossible without a commitment to mutual respect and reciprocal truthfulness."
That is the ideal I hope for. We are humans and we are flawed and all of us have difficulty living up to the "ideals of truth and trust" but let us not be like the Liberty Bell, giving in to what is happening and remaining silent bystanders.
👍👍👍
ReplyDeleteRuth Jansen
ReplyDeleteElfrieda, you have compressed my random thoughts using Tennyson, Leonard Cohen, and the clarion of the Liberty Bell, though cracked. Thanks for adding the quote from John Wiens of the Winnipeg Free Press as well. We are not strangers to upheaval and unrest, but we must hold fast to the ideals of truth and trust, as you say.
ReplyDelete"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 28:19 reminds us. May truth prevail!
Thank you, Marian. Here in Canada we face similar upheavals as one province contemplates separation from Canada. These are times of unrest unlike anything we‘ve seen since WWII!
ReplyDeleteThere is indeed a crack in everything. It took a Canadian to remind us of that and to point us to a lovely usefulness for cracks. For me, the speech by your prime minister in Davos was filled with light. May we all derive courage and clarity from his clear thinking, keen psychological and historical insight, and determination to counteract both power grabs and sycophantic gesturing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shirley, I am grateful for Carney‘s leadership and his courage to lead us in these difficult times!
DeleteI'm reminded of Galatians 5:22-23: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." We need the Holy Spirit to cultivate, fumigate and prune us so that Jesus can shine through us so to a world that is being shaken.
ReplyDeleteYes, let’s let our little lights shine!
ReplyDeleteMy all time favourite quote from L Cohen and one of my favourite poems to teach kids was The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. I know life (and politics) are not black and white but I can't understand how anyone can look at what's happening in the Trump regime and think that there can be any shade of gray involved. What is more unsettling is that we even have a few relatives who support this madness! Members of the GOP who have allowed this to continue unchecked will be studied about in history books. It seems to embolden others to behave with disregard for human dignity. This happens world wide - I know it always has and maybe one good thing that can come out of this is to make us, in the more privileged parts of the world, more aware of the injustices taking place globally.
ReplyDeleteRobbie
Thanks for your thoughtful and thought provoking reply, Robbie! Although I studied Tennyson fairly thoroughly for my MA thesis I don‘t recall that beautiful poem. Should have had you as a teacher! Actually, I still do, even though not in a classroom!
ReplyDeleteOur little systems have their day;
ReplyDeleteThey have their day and cease to be:
They are but broken lights of thee,
And thou, O Lord, art more than they.
We have but faith: we cannot know;
For knowledge is of things we see
And yet we TRUST it comes from Thee,
A beam in darkness: let it grow.
From Bea
Thanks, Bea. One of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent synthesis of writings and reflections, Elfrieda. Indeed, it would seem that democracy itself is cracked and failing to sound out true notes. I’m so grateful for our Prime Minister and his clear thinking and honest evaluation of the world scene. Thank you for you got your most excellent post.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dot, it‘s good to hear from you! We so badly need those clear thinkers who are courageous and honest enough to stand up and declare that the bell is cracked and something needs to be done about it!
ReplyDeleteThat is a great analogy, Elfrieda. The crack in democracy we witness is very discouraging and yet, we need to remember that there are glimpses of light that get in. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary! It‘s hard to remain positive these days. I see glimmers of light when I hear of people courageously stepping forward and calling for action, at risk to their own safety.
ReplyDelete