Saint Judas

Gerard Van der Leun at the American Digest has a sparkling essay on the subject of the recent Judas craze which he brilliantly relates to the larger issue of treason in our time. His piece reads in part:

It's a fact of our self—centered contemporary existence that betrayal has become one of the common forces that shape our lives. For when our own desires ride us like a drunken demon lodged on our shoulders, betrayal is the first order of the day when others seek to thwart our desires, or even when others become a mere inconvenience to our whims.

We've long permitted greater and greater levels of betrayal as law, policy and custom as far as the wishes of the individual are concerned. And when the betrayal of others is glossed over with phrases such as "I needed to be me," or "I needed my space, " or "We were just on different paths," the elevation of this disease of the soul to the larger realm of treason against all is only a question of degree.

The problem is that shame, a vestigial thing in many shrunken souls, persists, and shame must be driven out of the soul if the secular is to thrive. Both betrayal and treason are still weighted down by a lingering sense of shame within at the same time they are made safe from the weight of blame without. Both are permitted by our cults of personal freedom and "sensible" selfishness, but both are deeply dark and not easily expunged from the soul no matter how reduced it may be.

Offering some penetrating insights into the state of the modern soul, it is an excellent and thought—provoking read.

Vasko Kohlmayer   4 17 06