Dear one,
Yesterday I was reminded of the words of Neil Armstrong: “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”[1] At the time of his moon walk, amid Viet Nam and rioting, culturally a pervasive sense of pride and accomplishment pervaded: like the gods of mythology, we were walking among the stars (which, millennia earlier, were in fact perceived as gods of light). Now Armstrong’s words came to mind, not because I turned to the calendar (e.g. he walked on July 20, 1969), but because I am aware, as you are, of another date: January 6, 2021 and the storming of the US Capitol and the behavior of our representatives.
In my mind, both of these moments reflect our human penchant (perversity?) to be gods; they both reflect the account of Adam and Eve, our primeval forebears. However we understand Genesis 3:1-19 and its transmission, its essential truth bespeaks our humanity. Fundamentally, most all of us, regardless the size of our respective spheres of influence, seek to dominate, seek to establish our wills as supreme within that sphere. Our means of doing so are many and varied, but the goal is the same: that we might determine what is right and wrong, what is beautiful and ugly, what is healthy or unhealthy (cp. verse 6). Moreover, as a friend reminded me several weeks ago, “Anyone who opposes my will becomes a potential enemy, if not in fact an enemy; and I will oppose that enemy, using whatever means available to me.”
Admittedly, this last statement seems overly critical and harsh, and yet I believe it bears truthful insight, particularly as seen in the political arena. However, in a democracy that arena is a reflection of the electorate: we who elected our representatives, we who elected those who seek to secure our will—what we determine to be healthy, beautiful, and right. The other day I observed that, in my lifetime, Dwight, John, Lyndon, Richard, Jerry, Jimmy, Ronald, George, Bill, George, Barack, and Donald, whether by stated principles or platforms, and/or by behaviors both overt and covert, each and every president, in one way or another, has reflected and represented my willfulness.
Our great and truly marvelous advances cannot hide the darkness of the human heart/mind: upon seeking to be gods, Adam and Eve hid, whereupon their Creator invited: “Where are you?” With outstretched arms, He continues to ask that same question.
Reflecting,
Stan
[1] Apparently in 2002, technology verified that Armstrong did utter the indefinite article “a.”