TGIF! That’s all I can say! It’s been a rough several weeks for many of us. And it gets crazier each and every day! Today’s Dictionary.com Word of the Day is another of those blasted words that has a poignant parallel to current events. Last week I dodged the bullet, so to speak, and refused to apply the theme of my haiku to the obvious. But there is no way around it this week…Faustian…how else does one explain the madness that we are currently witnessing?
Dictionary.com defines Faustian as
- sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain: a Faustian pact with the Devil. or
- of, relating to, or characteristic of Faust: a Faustian novel.
But it is the origin of the word that truly sent me over the edge…
Johann Faust (c1481–c1541), Latinized as Johannes Faustus, was an itinerant German alchemist, astrologer, magician, and thaumaturge. Legend has it that even though he was very successful, he became dissatisfied with his life and with the limits of human knowledge and therefore sold his soul to the Devil for limitless knowledge and pleasure for a limited time—the Faustian bargain. Faust in German means ”fist”; faustus in Latin means ”of favorable omen, auspicious.”
I know I don’t need to mention it, but it bears repeating, especially since many of you are not from the U.S. Just in case you might be wondering if I am one of those insane persons in the minority who dealt our country a lethal blow last month by voting for, well, you know who. At any rate, here goes…
I did NOT vote for Trump.
That being said, as much as I might want to scream from the rooftops, “He is not my president; he will NEVER be MY president!” I am reminded that the angry minority that voted for him thought that very same thing about my President these last eight years, misinformed and misguided though they may have been. They voted recently, many of them – especially those who claim to be Christians – by selling their soul, in true Faustian fashion, turning a blind eye to his misogyny, racism, privileged, narcissistic, bullying and lying behavior because basically, they were “mad” at a government that they believed was not serving their self-righteous needs. Oops sorry…too harsh? Oh well.
Apparently I am still stinging from the betrayal of many of my friends and family who voted for this monster. In my heart of hearts I know that they are not all those awful things that define the man that they voted for. And while I have admonished myself to be forgiving I am finding that this is an ongoing inner battle that I must fight each and every time I hear another one of his outrageous lies or his announcements of each vile cabinet appointment. “What were they, those who voted for him, thinking?” I think…
Taking a deep breath.
Like it or not, he is THE president-elect. Forgiving those I love for their error (IMHO of course) will, I’m sure, continue to be a thorn in my side, but one that I am determined to press through because I do love them.
As for my country? Just because I forgive the generally nice people who were blinded by his skulduggery, does not mean that I will not continue to stand for justice with every ounce of my being. It’s a fine line we walk, those of us who are awake. But the future depends on it.
Peace and LOVE to you all…kat
“We the People” reap
fallout from Faustian pacts…
elections matter!kat ~ 2 December 2016
