Obama's speech in Copenhagen spoke to the notion of our being engaged in a just war and that we are working towards a just peace.
The notion that some wars are necessary and good is rooted in both the ancient Roman Empire and in the Holy Roman Empire and the idea that evil does exist in the world.
The notions of good and evil have plaqued me since childhood. I am the survivor of seduction by a Roman Catholic priest. I attempted suicide in 7th Grade. In my teens I wrote a letter to Mortimer Adler who worked for the Enclopaedia Britannica's series "Great Books of the Western World" asking him for a definition of "good and evil". His response arrived years later, in a letter that referred me to specific cites from his collection "Great Books of the Western World".
I was not satisfied.
Nothing made sense to me. If the priest got away with what he did to me, was it because he was good and I was evil? Was it because God did not love me? Was it because my parents did not love me? Was I so evil that I was unlovable?
Good and evil seemed to be arbitrary and capricious.
It wasn't until I was much older and had studied psychology and saw the irony inherent in making a judgement about good and evil. It was specifically in the realm of Jungian psychology that I found a satisfying definition of good and evil. "Good is that which finds in favor of me and evil is that which does not."
And President Obama's war? Is it good or is it evil?
He says it's a good war that's being waged to bring a good peace. He said so today speaking in Copenhagen.
I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to figure out who is good and who is evil. I'm tired of finding out that it really does not matter in the long run. Right and wrong. Good and evil. Naughty and nice. All these things seem to be a matter of opinion not matters of fact. I'm weary of trying to decode what politicians are really saying.
Maybe I'm just plain physically tired.
From one of my favorite albums from my childhood. I loved the songs on the Joan Baez album, particularly the title song "Blessed Are". I believe she wrote the music and the lyrics. I've even tried being the girl bluegrass singer with bands in Chicago. This was one of the standards in my repertoire along with "Long Black Veil", "Coat of Many Colors" I've had several music teachers. I've had many masters and many lives.