To Ease the Passing of Time

I recently wrote three short articles in French on the subject of climate change. Perhaps because I know too many fancy words and expressions in my native language, it seems to me that I was so taken by the journey (the writing process) that I didn’t reach my destination (explaining clearly what I believe and where I stand on that issue). Here’s a summary of how I see it:

• All stars and planets, whether or not they are inhabited by human beings like us, have an expiry date.

• Pain, suffering and destruction are not caused only by human activities. Because of the laws of nature, millions of years before we came, animals were already experiencing pain and suffering on this planet. A lot of people are reluctant to admit that fact because it shatters the idealistic vision they have of the universe.

• Human activities can precipitate the end of our presence on earth or the complete destruction of our planet the same way a guy who would eat at MacDonald’s, drink a bottle of vodka and smoke a pack of cigarettes every day would shorten his life expectancy.

• The Industrial Revolution did not only bring bad things. It put an end to famines in many regions of the world and raised the quality of life for many -but not for all people- on this planet; it also created environmental problems for which we must find solutions if we want to survive.

• I do not blame the people who came before me for the mess we are in. Our ancestors had to struggle against wild animals, starvation, bad weather and all kinds of diseases for thousands and thousands of years. So when technology gave them a break, they took it.

• For us, we are caught in a vicious circle. In the system we live in, if we don’t produce and consume, we don’t create wealth; and if we don’t create wealth, we don’t have money to pay for the food we eat, the clothes we wear, our hospitals, schools, roads, etc. And we damn well know that the more we produce, the more damage we do to the environment. We know that the system must be changed, but we are caught in it like a fly in a spider web.

• As for the climate change, I don't think any significant changes can be made unless all those who have the power listen to those who have the knowledge. I think that in order for this to happen, things will have to get a lot worse.

• For me, the guilty ones are not those who worked in paper mills like my father. They are not even all those who owned the paper mills, mines, factories, etc. They are the greedy ones, the ones who always put profit over people. They are also those right-wing politicians who tell the poor and the very rich what they want to hear in order to get their votes: “Climate change is not a result of human activities on this planet. We are going to reopen the coal mines and even open new ones", said Trump before he was elected in 2016.

William Blake was a visionary poet and painter who lived in England shortly after the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. He wrote a poem called Jerusalem that was put in music by Hubert Parry. The poem is a vision. It starts with a legend according to which Jesus, when he was on earth, went to England to establish the basis of the new world that would come one day. Jerusalem is a reference to the New Jerusalem mentioned in the Book of Revelation. It symbolizes in a very poetic way a world where pain, suffering and injustice would not exist.

It is in that context that Blake wrote about the “dark satanic mills” as if he could foresee what was to come. He knew that poor young children were working in factories and mines; he also knew that workers were labouring in extremely hazardous conditions for only a few pennies a day. Today, we have regulations in rich countries but we know damn well that those conditions still exist in many poor countries. The vision ends with Blake writing that all men should fight with all their will, "with their arrows of desire", for a better world, 'til we have built Jerusalem in England’s green and pleasant land.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTOCKLfClwk

Why did this poem come to my mind? I think because it is one of the best answers that I have found so far to questions for which there are no answers. We don’t know why things are what they are. We don’t know why animals and humans have to suffer so much. We don't know why some humans are so cruel, heartless and greedy. We don’t know why nature can be so beautiful and yet so cruel. All we know is that maybe we can make a little difference if we are willing to use our arrows of desire to fight the good fight.

I also know that, as a human being who needs to be reassured, it is good to believe that by carrying my little light in the darkness, I can make a difference. It makes me feel better. Maybe that's what poetry is all about.

P.-S.: There is another song that talks about the New Jerusalem in a poetic way. It’s a song that everybody in the world knows because it was and is still very popular on YouTube. People dance on it all over the world. If you look at the English translation of the lyrics, you’ll see that in this song there is also a reference to the New Jerusalem mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmzg63oZi4k