Both Ruvy in Jerusalem and Aaman have posted on what the passing of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon may signal for the State of Israel. To my mind, both posts seemed to have such an apocalyptic feel that I couldn't help but think--as I often do--of my all time favorite poem by W. B. Yeats. I first discovered it back in high school, and it has haunted me ever since. To me it is--and will forever remain--the most chilling yet bleakly beautful prediction of unspeakable horrors and woes yet to come.
The Second ComingTurning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all convictions, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?--William Butler Yeats
During the past year or so, it has occurred to me again and again that if I believed in that sort of thing, what's been happening in the world today would surely have convinced me that the End Times are at hand. (Yes, there have been horrors in our world since time immemorial, but being human, of course I see things from the narrow perspective of my personal knowlege, experience, and Zeitgiest.)
Devastating hurricanes; uncontrollable wildfires; tsunamis; earthquakes; another deadly virus poised to morph into a pandemic; a well nigh unwinnable war with Iraq; Iran's implacable anti-Semitic stance; the worldwide scourge of terrorism and the rogue trading in nuclear materials...need I go on?
And now, to add to Israel's turmoils, the passing of the Sharon era in a time of unprecedented crisis for the Jewish State.
I shudder to think what might be in store next.
Article comments
1 - Shark
Great poem.
Elvira's List: "...Devastating hurricanes; uncontrollable wildfires; tsunamis; earthquakes; another deadly virus poised to morph into a pandemic; a well nigh unwinnable war with Iraq; Iran's implacable anti-Semitic stance; the worldwide scourge of terrorism and the rogue trading in nuclear materials..."
Um, you left out "destruction of the environment" -- "exponential population growth" -- and "Paris Hilton is still popular".
Yer welcome!
PS: Have a nice day!
S
2 - Elvira Black
Shark, I didn't dare bring up, or even think about, those items, especially the Paris Hilton thing, for fear of flinging myself out the nearest window in utter despair. And then I'd miss the whole crazy bizarro apocalyptic three ring circus altogether, and what fun would that be? I say, if we're gonna check out, let's all go out together. And if by chance we both survive a la Mad Max, we can gang up and kick Paris' candy-ass butt if she's still around.
Thanks for filling in the blanks!
3 - SonnyD
Shark: uh...Thank you, I think.
4 - justine
I feel for you.
But, at least this is a natural death - of a man who really made his mark. The symbolism is nasty though - what a pity the news reports were so detailed.
I think the future is full of possibilities for Israel: there are so many people engaging with the problems and working towards peace. It will happen, one day. If one of the difficulties for peace in Israel is that the inhabitants have such strong convictions - well - I think that's also its strength.
5 - Elvira Black
SonnyD:
LOL!
Justine:
Great point about strong convictions--although of course, as the poem implies, if taken to excess the results can be catastrophic.
Ironic, isn't it, that the holy land is both a place of reverence for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike--while at the same time being the epicenter of such unrelenting conflict and violence?
I have to say that seeing fanatic Palestinians rejoicing in the streets at the prospect of Sharon's demise made my blood boil. How did the basic tenets of organized religion become so twisted and perverted? This phenom is, of course, not limited to Islam--or rather, fundamentalist Islam.
Many thanks, Justine, for your thoughtful comment.
6 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Elvira, thank you for visiting my blogsite and leaving you comments. I believe I've referred to that poem above myself elswhere - possibly in my piece on Hanukkah. It scares me also. I believe that Yeats was granted a vision of sorts. Being a Christian, he saw it through those eyes, but it was a vision nonetheless.
What is coming is indeed scary, and for many will tax their willingness and ability to believe. Robertson - an unpopular man here - has been excoriated for making an obvious linkage between Scripture and events. People are jumping all over the man for stating the obvious.
It is going to be very hard for people to let go of popular beliefs and assumptions that they have sustained over the years, assumptions that they believe have sustained them.
I'll give you an example. For years, the "national religious" Jews here have worshipped the state and the army. Whatever the state did wrong, they wre willing to make an excuse for, whatever the army did wrong was alright...
Then came Gush Katif. People were thrown out of their homes for no reason other than to keep the premier out of jail and to satisfy American pressure. Now that they were homeless, The "national religious" Jews figured out that they had beeen engaging in idolatry. One worships G-d - alone. This is a very painful awakening for these people. Two thirds of their "trinity" had just taken the last train for the coast and left them stranded.
Another exawmple, more painful. I knew a fellow who came from Szeged, Hungary. During the Second World War, the country's ruler, Admiral Horthy, was an ally of the Nazis but he never really carried out the kinds of deportations the Nazis demanded. One day the Nazs threw out Horthy and took over themselves.
A day or two later, a convert (to Christianity) came running into the shul where this man I knew was praying minhha, the afternoon prayer with his two brothers. The convert told them to leave - immediately. The Nazis were coming to round up Jews for the camps.
The Jew in the shul refused to believe him. They were shipped to a holding center a half hour later. Two of the brothers died in the death camps.
Shavua Tov
7 - Temple Stark
BC's having a poetry resurgence. The sentiments here in the post are spot on for the discussion. I wonder if they quote poetry in the peace talks.
OT Patriots (New England) just scored a TD. 12:08 in second quarter.
8 - trl
Iran's implacable anti-Semitic stance
Careful. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism. Unless you believe that any attack on the idea of a Jewish state is racist, then it should be clear that Iran is anti-Zionist. If you do believe that an attack on a Jewish state is racist, then where exactly does that leave Israel, the mother of all racist states in the world? What other country has been granted to an entire ethnic/religious people?
9 - Elvira Black
Trl:
I'd left a response to your comment awhile back, but somehow it got deleted--some technical problem, I assume. So I'll try to reproduce it again here:
When a nation's leader and/or spokesman claims that the Holocaust is a myth, this is not just anti-Zionism. It is anti-Semitism, pure and simple.
As far as your question--"What other country has been granted to an entire ethnic/religious people?"--I think the answer to that is obvious. And not just one nation, for that matter.
10 - Elvira Black
Well, Ruvy and Temple, I just noticed that my replies to your comments have vanished as well. I'll re-enter them soon, at least for the "record." Thanks!