Safe fear

A classic Gospel song sung by everyone from Elvis to Beyonce. This version is at its simplest and most hypnotic. One comment on Youtube was "I don't believe in God but I believe this song."

It's been nearly a year since I last wrote in my dino's to birds blog. I feel the relevance of the title everywhere, all the time, from the rise of populism to the abandonment of deep discussion and thought about the complex issues that a technology led world confronts humanity. What makes us humans or robots, alive or zombies as the world has the potential to move from the mechanistic paradigm to one based on knowledge.

Since my birth in 1962 (around the time of the first transistor radio by Sony) the transformation of the our world to of every growing bandwidth and speed in processing power and memory began. In half a Century the technological and innovative changes have exponentially increased to eclipse all of human history that preceded it.

Yet, the fundamental problems of human nature, selfish ambition, lazy complacency in what we "know" and smug feelings of success because of trophies at the expense of the potential of others, have never been more evident in how resources are invested. While it is absolutely possible to evaluate the potential of each person and tailor education, work, life, leisure to each individual, capitalizing on their innate potential and augmenting their capacity to create, to express, to love, to enjoy.... We resign ourselves to being robots of a cloud of stupid processors.

Expectans Expectavi
BY CHARLES HAMILTON SORLEY
From morn to midnight, all day through,
I laugh and play as others do,
I sin and chatter, just the same
As others with a different name.
And all year long upon the stage
I dance and tumble and do rage
So vehemently, I scarcely see
The inner and eternal me.
I have a temple I do not
Visit, a heart I have forgot,
A self that I have never met,
A secret shrine—and yet, and yet
This sanctuary of my soul
Unwitting I keep white and whole,
Unlatched and lit, if Thou should'st care
To enter or to tarry there.
With parted lips and outstretched hands
And listening ears Thy servant stands,
Call Thou early, call Thou late,
To Thy great service dedicate.

The other hypnotic music that haunts me is the 2nd movement of the Symphony of Psalms by Stravinsky. It starts with Expectans Expectavi which just means wait. The poem was written by a poet who died at 20 during WWI. Considered one of the defining poets who died during the war, this poem is about waiting for the real us. There is a sanctity of being human but it has to be discovered free of the noise of the distracting crowds and their flighty ambitions and judgement.

The symphony ends with videbunt et timebunt which means they will see and be afraid. See and fear what or who? Instead of just saying God, I think I will say truth.

For those interested in what is real will seek it, create it, love it, fear it with all their being. Con artists can (as the saying goes), fool some of the people some of the time but will one day have to die with the shit they create.

As Einstein was accredited to have said "When the answers are simple, you can hear God think." or in other words, the moment we see and fear.