Originally published at: https://integrallife.com/white-pride-vs-white-guilt-in-the-metoo-era/
There is a hidden subtext lurking behind the Trump reality show, US political gridlock, and the Kavanaugh confirmation showdown. Yes, it’s certainly a clash of worldviews. But it’s also about racial and cultural tribes. And it’s even about gender roles and identities.
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Reading material on white guilt after viewing this Integral Life segment, I came across the lyrics below which were cited in one of the articles. The lyrics are from a 1992 Leonard Cohen song called “The Future.” If ever there was an anthem for leftist-green views of white (man’s) guilt, this would have to be it, or at least near the top of the list, as it captures or suggests many of the “sins” historically and still attributed to white men, everything from authoritarianism to “stopping the wheels of heaven.” Wow, heavy stuff.
While the lyrics are coarse, bleak, and brutal, I actually like the sound of the song, which you can listen to here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKwr3DDvFpw if so inclined.
Religiously, Cohen practiced Judaism throughout his life, was also an ordained Buddhist monk, and had an affinity for Christ, all without any inner conflict on his part. While that alone does not qualify him as even a borderline Integralist, it does give him some points in my book and off-sets some of the bleakness (and also might help explain some of the lyrics).
The Future
Give me back my broken night,
My mirrored room, my secret life
It’s lonely here,
There’s no one left to torture.
Give me absolute control
Over every living soul
And lie beside me, baby,
That’s an order!
Give me crack and anal sex,
Take the only tree that’s left
And stuff it up the hole
In your culture
Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and Saint Paul
I’ve seen the future, brother:
It is murder
(Refrain)
Things are going to slide
Slide in all directions
Won’t be nothing
Nothing you can measure
Anymore
The blizzard,
The blizzard of the world
Has crossed the threshold
And it has overturned
The order of the soul
When they said Repent Repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said Repent Repent
I wonder what they meant
When they said Repent Repent
I wonder what they meant
You don’t know me from the wind
You never will, you never did
I’m the little jew
Who wrote the Bible
I’ve seen the nations
Rise and fall
I’ve heard their stories
Heard them all
But love’s the only engine
Of survival
Your servant here
He has been told
To say it clear,
To say it cold:
It’s over, it ain’t going
Any further
And now the wheels
Of heaven stop
You can feel the devil’s riding crop
Get ready for the future:
It is murder
(Refrain)
There’ll be the breaking of
The ancient Western code
Your private life
Will suddenly explode
There’ll be phantoms,
There’ll be fires on the road
And a white man dancing
You’ll see a woman
hanging upside down
Her features covered
by her fallen gown
And all the lousy little poets
Come around
Trying to sound like
Charlie Manson
And the white man dancing
Give me back the Berlin wall
Give me Stalin and Saint Paul
Give me Christ or give me
Hiroshima
Destroy another foetus now
We don’t like children anyhow
I’ve seen the future, baby,
It is murder
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Here’s one that attempts to build bridges and specifically addresses white guilt with:
“You gotta put down the weight, you gotta get out of your way.”
Dear brother
When you gonna call back your mother?
She thinks you’re sleeping in the gutter
We both know you can do better
When you gonna write your older brother?
A letter
Hey man I miss you, gettin my shit together
And for the record
I wrote this note as a reminder
Hermano mio there’s a future
We can believe in
It’s gonna take more than songs of justice and freedom
There’s a future, we can believe in
Gonna take more than songs of justice and freedom
Freedom! Yeah
If you’re thinking, about leaving
Hold my hand, understand this too can be a kingdom
Blessed
And when the rain comes
Put your hands in the dirt, baba this is where you came from
This is where you came from
This is where you came from
This is where you came from
Systems broken no fucks given
Wealthy people living off the backs of the broken
Dreams of America
Dreams of America
Need a pipe carrier
Let me smudge you off so the vision can get clearer
Your mothers crying boy can you hear her?
[Pre-Chorus]
What I see, in you
A young tree bearing fruit
Place to start
Don’t hide behind your heart
[Chorus]
You gotta put down the weight
You gotta get out of your way
You gotta put down the weight
You gotta get out of your way
[Verse 2]
Dear lover
You can find me on the front lines covered
In the blood and tears of another
Brother, sister, mother
Revolutions being broadcast on Facebook and Twitter
There’s a noise
I can hear it when the megaphone roars
Wipe the tears from this tear gas choice
We have a choice
Stand in front of your fear, baby, time to find your voice
It’s a story
A love story
We can believe in
Death, birth, your life’s worth is trending
It’s a story
A love story
How vain are we to expect a happy ending?
I got my hands up
Follow directions still they shoot us
I’m fucking sick and tired of no justice
No peace
Promise me I’ll never pick your body off the streets
We’re all taking heat here
The trust is broken I don’t get these police
Disenfranchised step in to a new life
Maybe if you listen to the wind there’s a war cry
Peace in America
Peace in America
Be decent America
I’m begging you
[Pre-Chorus]
What I see, in you
A young tree bearing fruit
Place to start
Don’t hide behind your heart
[Chorus]
You gotta put down the weight
You gotta get out of your way
You gotta put down the weight
You gotta get out of your way
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