It used to be said that at a polite dinner party one should avoid mentioning either religion or politics. This was to minimise the danger of a disturbance to the smooth surface of genteel conversation by the introduction of controversy. Nobody ever told me that this rule applies to writing a blog, so today’s entry touches on both of these topics.
Question: What do the idea of God and the Irish backstop have in common?* Answer: There are all kinds of problems attendant on the idea but nobody can think of a better one.
There is, of course, a serious point to this observation. At the moment when we want to express something very important to us it is often the case that “words fail us”. Some phrase or another is press-ganged into service, but we know that is not exactly what we need. Thinking further about the topic I raised yesterday, of the binary organisation of the brain, this situation is not only common but one might even say it is normal. Left-brained, linear logic and verbalisation do not always serve our needs for expression.
That line from King Lear comes to mind, where the king’s pain and sorrow exceed any capacity he has to speak, and he is reduced to, “Howl, howl, howl!” Something similar might hold true also for exceptional joy. In both of these situations, of course, as for many others, this is where art comes in.
It is probably the case that I will not be posting again until Monday at the earliest, because we will be spending the week-end away with family. Have a happy Easter.
*It would be understandable if readers outside the UK have no idea what is meant by the “Irish backstop”. It is an arrangement reached by Theresa May in her negotiation with the European Union that gives exceptional status to the border between the Irish republic and Northern Ireland. Nobody likes it because if it were ever invoked nobody has any idea how we would get out of it.