[Intro]
Be careful where you aim at
Be careful where you aim at
When I started working on this problem
Or I guess when it start working on me was probably really in the mid 80s
I found myself suffering from two things, one was a very lengthy sequence of nightmares of nuclear destruction
They were very affective dreams
And associated with that was a sense of amazement that the dream that was that awful could reflect a reality that could be that awful
And additional amazement at the fact that despite the production of tens and thousands of weapons of unimaginable destruction
That people could go about their day-to-day lives without acting as if anything fundamental, whatsoever had changed
I've never really been able to figure out why that disturb me so much when it seemed to not disturb most of the people I knew
It doesn't really matter
Spent my whole life trying to understand what evil was and more importantly, what might be done about it
[Chorus]
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Be careful where you aim at
Be careful where you aim at
When I started working on this problem
Or I guess when it start working on me was probably really in the mid 80s
I found myself suffering from two things, one was a very lengthy sequence of nightmares of nuclear destruction
They were very affective dreams
And associated with that was a sense of amazement that the dream that was that awful could reflect a reality that could be that awful
And additional amazement at the fact that despite the production of tens and thousands of weapons of unimaginable destruction
That people could go about their day-to-day lives without acting as if anything fundamental, whatsoever had changed
I've never really been able to figure out why that disturb me so much when it seemed to not disturb most of the people I knew
It doesn't really matter
Spent my whole life trying to understand what evil was and more importantly, what might be done about it
[Chorus]
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
Human existence consists of the confrontation between
The finite and the infinite, the finite and the infinite
[Chorus]
Suffering exists as a consequences of our limitations
Every single person who's alive is going to die
Suffering exists as a consequences of our limitations
Every single person who's alive is going to die
And every single person who's alive is going to deal with
Serious physical illness and mental distress
And so the fact of our finitude is essential to the nature of our being, and we're forced to deal with it on an ongoing basis
If you could do absolutely anything you wanted at any point
And be anywhere you wanted, and be anything you wanted
(I wonder, I wonder, what you would do)
(If you had the power to dream any dream you wanted)
If there was nothing that was out of your reach
Suffering exists as a consequences of our limitations
Every single person who's alive is going to die
Suffering exists as a consequences of our limitations
Every single person who's alive is going to die
And every single person who's alive is going to deal with
Serious physical illness and mental distress
And so the fact of our finitude is essential to the nature of our being, and we're forced to deal with it on an ongoing basis
If you could do absolutely anything you wanted at any point
And be anywhere you wanted, and be anything you wanted
(I wonder, I wonder, what you would do)
(If you had the power to dream any dream you wanted)
If there was nothing that was out of your reach
Evil for me is differentiated from tragedy by its lack of necessity and its volunteerism
Evil is more pernicious
Than that which is generated by social inequality
I think it's actually a form of
[Chorus]
Demonically warped aesthetic
Demonically warped aesthetic
Evil is more pernicious than that
Demonically warped aesthetic
Evil is more pernicious
Than that which is generated by social inequality
I think it's actually a form of
[Chorus]
Demonically warped aesthetic
Demonically warped aesthetic
Evil is more pernicious than that
Demonically warped aesthetic
Consider the lilies of the field
How they grow
They toil not
Neither do they spin
And yet I say unto you
That even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed
Like one of these
Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field
Which today is and tomorrow is cast in the oven
Shall he not
Much more
Clothe you?
How they grow
They toil not
Neither do they spin
And yet I say unto you
That even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed
Like one of these
Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field
Which today is and tomorrow is cast in the oven
Shall he not
Much more
Clothe you?
It's like what happens at the beginning of the story of Pinocchio is that Jepetto
Wishes on a star
So what Jepetto does is align himself with the metaphorical manifestation of the highest good he can conceptualize
He aims
At the star
For him the star is the possibility that he can take his creation
A puppet whose strings are being pulled by unseen forces
And have it transform into something that's autonomous and real
Well, that's a hell of an ambition
You know and we're wise enough to put that into a children's movie, but too foolish to understand what it means
It’s such an interesting juxtaposition that we can both know that, and not know it at the same time
Wishes on a star
So what Jepetto does is align himself with the metaphorical manifestation of the highest good he can conceptualize
He aims
At the star
For him the star is the possibility that he can take his creation
A puppet whose strings are being pulled by unseen forces
And have it transform into something that's autonomous and real
Well, that's a hell of an ambition
You know and we're wise enough to put that into a children's movie, but too foolish to understand what it means
It’s such an interesting juxtaposition that we can both know that, and not know it at the same time