Memorial Day, T4, and the crap that keeps me up at night.
As per our Memorial Day tradition, we watched Saving Private Ryan. I managed to get through without a migraine, but still felt utterly drained. The kidlet watched it with us this time. Did not speak much afterward.
Near the end of the movie, when Miller says to Ryan, "Earn this," he's talking not just to Ryan, of course, but to the whole audience. And I don't know if we have. Are we a freer nation because of our armed forces? Yes. Are we a better nation, more courageous, more principled, more just? Honestly, I don't know. I can't help feeling like we've lost something since then.
On the bright side, earlier today we went out to see T4. A better movie than T3, but certainly not as good as T2. (No matter how many Terminator movies they make, that one will always be the best.)
Note to those who have not seen it: This movie is not about John Connor. He's in it, but it's not his movie. It's also not entirely about Marcus Wright, though his story arc plays a big part. And it's not even about Kyle Reese, although I wanted to cheer every time he came on screen. (Anton Yelchin needs more roles!) The movie was primarily about what separates man from machine, and it hit the mark squarely--even though I guessed what Wright was going to do in the end.
If you're expecting a masterpiece, you'll be disappointed. But there is more to it than just whiz-bang action and pretty explosions. This one's a solid entry in the franchise.
On a completely different note, have some pre-Socratic natural philosophy:
Empedocles (the inventor of the light and dark sides of the Force) said that although there were four metaphysical elements (earth, air, fire, water--as opposed to folks like Parmenides who thought that ultimate reality was singular and unchanging), there were two metaphysical forces--Love and Strife. These two forces continually pulled reality in two different directions. When Love is at its fullest, the four elements are completely mixed into one undifferentiated sphere--in which there is no life, because all is peace and stillness. When Strife is at its peak, the four elements are completely separated from each other--and there is again no life, because reality cannot exist without a melding of these four primary elements.
It's only in the middle of this eternal cycle--from the complete unification of Love, to the complete separation of Strife--when the elements are mixed up and always in motion, that a cosmos (and life) can exist. (Kinda like the Big Bang/Big Crunch theory.)
Empedocles believed that we live in a cosmos that exists in the second half of this cycle--when the elements are being torn out of unification by Strife. We can see how the universe whirls around us, if we pay attention to the night sky. This is the whirling of the vortex of Strife, which rips the elements out of unity and into their individual essences (which will eventually destroy the universe--think of entropy and heat death).
Perhaps this is why we are driven to love: because the world is being dissolved by Strife, loving and caring for each other and the world around us will make the cosmos last longer.
So--what about the cosmos that might exist after ours, when Love is rising? When the elements are being mixed back together towards Love's unity and stillness, would its inhabitants be morally driven to violence and destruction? By acting in strife, that would make the Love-rising cosmos last longer, and give life a longer time to exist.
Thought I'd share the question that's been keeping me up for the last few nights. Enjoy. ;-)
Near the end of the movie, when Miller says to Ryan, "Earn this," he's talking not just to Ryan, of course, but to the whole audience. And I don't know if we have. Are we a freer nation because of our armed forces? Yes. Are we a better nation, more courageous, more principled, more just? Honestly, I don't know. I can't help feeling like we've lost something since then.
On the bright side, earlier today we went out to see T4. A better movie than T3, but certainly not as good as T2. (No matter how many Terminator movies they make, that one will always be the best.)
Note to those who have not seen it: This movie is not about John Connor. He's in it, but it's not his movie. It's also not entirely about Marcus Wright, though his story arc plays a big part. And it's not even about Kyle Reese, although I wanted to cheer every time he came on screen. (Anton Yelchin needs more roles!) The movie was primarily about what separates man from machine, and it hit the mark squarely--even though I guessed what Wright was going to do in the end.
If you're expecting a masterpiece, you'll be disappointed. But there is more to it than just whiz-bang action and pretty explosions. This one's a solid entry in the franchise.
On a completely different note, have some pre-Socratic natural philosophy:
Empedocles (the inventor of the light and dark sides of the Force) said that although there were four metaphysical elements (earth, air, fire, water--as opposed to folks like Parmenides who thought that ultimate reality was singular and unchanging), there were two metaphysical forces--Love and Strife. These two forces continually pulled reality in two different directions. When Love is at its fullest, the four elements are completely mixed into one undifferentiated sphere--in which there is no life, because all is peace and stillness. When Strife is at its peak, the four elements are completely separated from each other--and there is again no life, because reality cannot exist without a melding of these four primary elements.
It's only in the middle of this eternal cycle--from the complete unification of Love, to the complete separation of Strife--when the elements are mixed up and always in motion, that a cosmos (and life) can exist. (Kinda like the Big Bang/Big Crunch theory.)
Empedocles believed that we live in a cosmos that exists in the second half of this cycle--when the elements are being torn out of unification by Strife. We can see how the universe whirls around us, if we pay attention to the night sky. This is the whirling of the vortex of Strife, which rips the elements out of unity and into their individual essences (which will eventually destroy the universe--think of entropy and heat death).
Perhaps this is why we are driven to love: because the world is being dissolved by Strife, loving and caring for each other and the world around us will make the cosmos last longer.
So--what about the cosmos that might exist after ours, when Love is rising? When the elements are being mixed back together towards Love's unity and stillness, would its inhabitants be morally driven to violence and destruction? By acting in strife, that would make the Love-rising cosmos last longer, and give life a longer time to exist.
Thought I'd share the question that's been keeping me up for the last few nights. Enjoy. ;-)