Monday Morning Musings: Truth and Lies and In Between
“a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. . .
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark”
–Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot
“. . .
We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon. . .. . .When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.”From Maya Angelou, “A Brave and Startling Truth”
You can read and listen to the entire poem here on Brainpickings
Here within the pale blue dot
in this place within the speck
in this space, wrought
by nature and time, unchecked,
the days grow colder
the days grow colder,
and the vultures circle
the lies grow bolder
as the sky turns purple
and choppy is the sea
to which the choppy river flows–
do you see?
There it goes,
while elsewhere people flee
retreat from tyranny
retreat, flee, from tyranny
on flimsy ships, in caravans
not criminals, but wanting to be free
yet stopped by wall-builders’ bans
the bans that echo through history
the bans built on lies
about the other we hate
their skin color or nose size
perhaps their rising birth rate—
rouse the crowd, don’t make them wait
no, don’t make them wait,
their blood is pumping now,
so never speak the truth out straight,
and if lies are revealed somehow,
well, kill it—you know how.
You know how journalists die
through censorship—and worse–
rehearse your stories, fly your lies
praise the dictators and yes, truthtellers curse—
while we hope times will get better, and not worse
we watch movies about lies and hate
but also, truth and kindness, the human spirit rising
to help others, to banish and negate
the hate, to uncover the lies, without compromising
and we come to it
remembering history and seeing friends
remembering that someday the cold
will grow colder, but that it will end,
and the lies will grow bolder than bold
but we will love and each other hold
with care, eat comfort food, drink more wine
cuddle under blankets, dream, it’s fine
to remember time was born
in a brilliant cloud
from a void, torn
with a bang, how loud
if no one heard the birthing horn
or saw the light that’s now allowed
to flow and dance throughout all space
within the cracks and every place
where darkness lurks and surrounds
with beauty, hope, and grace
And so, we come to it,
in this time and place
on this pale blue mote, recommit
to seek the light—or at least find a trace.

Sunset over the bay, Cape May, NJ
We streamed two movies this weekend. 22 July about the terrorist attack in Norway. Though certainly a grim subject, we both thought it was done well, without a lot of gratuitous violence. It focuses more on the aftermath, particularly on one survivor and the trial. We also watched Three Identical Strangers, a documentary about triplets that delves into the moral issues that I won’t go into to, in case you want to be surprised.