3 thoughts on time from musicians

"The clock is another demon that devours our time in Eden"
-10,000 Maniacs

"Why do I feel so mocked by the hands of the clock"
-Vigilantes of Love

"We know the drill and we do it well. We love it, we hate it, ain't that life. Ain't that the curse of the second hand. Ain't that the way of the hour and the day."
-Mark Heard

A Meager Tribute

So as to not be cliche, I have waited until the day after the holiday to pay tribute to Dr. King. I have had a variety of responses to this man in my 35 years. I clearly remember the first time I heard of him. We were shown a film strip on his life in 2nd grade (remember film strips?). Not only was this my first exposure to Dr. King, but it was my first exposure to segregation. I remember looking around at some of my African-American classmates (I was fortunate to have lived in an ethnically diverse neighborhood) and being shocked that not too long before this, we would have lived dramatically separate lives. Over time, my youthful romantic optimism faded. I came to feel that the fame of Dr. King was tokenism (I struggle even to type this now). I felt inundated with clips of him uttering about his dream, yet I failed to grasp the significance of it. I have now come to view him as one the great heroes of American history. I believe that the greatness of this man extends far beyond his role in the eradication of segregation. To begin with, Dr. King recognized that the greatness of the Untied States has really nothing to do with the United States in a vacuum. It rests in the fact that people who founded the nation, as well as those who have maintained it, recognized truths that were much greater than any one nation or state. The country only works as long as it seeks to perpetuate the role of these truths within the nation. Dr. King wasn't just acting to save the black man, he was acting to save the nation. If segregation had been allowed to continue, it could only have led to the death of the nation in one form or another. Something that helped me realize all of this was taking the time to read the entirety of his speech from the March on Washington. As I mentioned, I had heard the end very often, and I never found much meaning in it. I believe that the significance of Dr. King is found elsewhere in the speech. The following is a portion of that. It reflects optimism rather than cynicism, love of country rather than bitterness towards it,and a plan for improvement rather than just a complaint. Above all it shattered the assumptions that many white Americans had made concerning African-Americans, and it helped America be more American than it ever had been before. I only hope that I might be able to implement this attitude in my own role as a citizen, and perhaps pass it on to my students as well.

•In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children

• -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream”

Paradox

I am continually confounded by the concept of paradox. It seems to unravel countless philosophical mysteries, but could it just be a cop-out? One such mystery for me is the moral character of French Revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre. Celebrated by some, scorned by most, Robespierre is remembered as both a champion of civil liberty and as the first modern totalitarian dictator. But it would be too easy to write off the inconsistency of this man as having simply been a case of hypocrisy. No. With Robespierre it was far more complicated. He seems to have been both an oppressive tyrant and a champion of human rights at the same time. More than a hypocrite, this man was a living embodiment of paradox.

On one hand is the Robespierre who committed himself "to defend the oppressed against their oppressors, to plead the cause of the weak against the strong who exploit and crush them." On the other is the Robespierre who later is responsible for the executions (among thousands) of Francis Bertrand for making sour wine, as well as of former close friends like Camille Desmoulins and Georges Danton, who he deemed too moderate (which they were anything but).

The issue of Robespierre's religious belief makes for an interesting case-in-point. The Bible in the book of James says that "faith without works is dead." The book of Galatians lists joy, peace, temperance, and goodness among the fruits of the spirit. If either of these can be included as essential parts of the definition of a Christian, than it would be hard to consider Robespierre one. Yet in a climate of militant anti-Christianity, Robespierre continually defended the role of the Christian faith in French society. He made a particular enemy of Atheism towards the end of his life. He believed that the belief of the people in God was intrinsic to the Revolution. He said "The French people pins its faith...upon the conception of an incomprehensible power, which is at once a source of confidence to the virtuous and of terror to the criminal." Indeed much of his motivation to lead a revolution of the people to overturn oppression came from inspiration he received from the teachings of Christ.

Although his actions seem to contradict a Biblical definition of a Christian, his words and thoughts, both private and public, seem to affirm one. Similarly, he seems to have both opposed and championed basic human rights and equality with equal passion and authenticity. Only the idea of paradox allows for the existence of such contradictions.

So is paradox a legitimate entity? Certainly it can be used irresponsibly. It would be very easy to write off any inconsistency as being paradoxical rather than hypocritical. The life of Maximilien Robespierre seems to demonstrate however that dramatic inconsistencies that can exist authentically, or paradoxically, in an individual.

Over the Rhine

Thanks to my brother for this info- Over the Rhine will be playing Messiah College (my alma mater) on March 28th. Click here for ticket info.

i have flown free

I am going back to school.