"A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." – Carl Sandburg
As you may have surmised over the years Paul Simon is one of my favorite minstrels. Despite his all-in progressive proclivities some of his tunes are among the most poetic, lyrical, beguiling – insightful even - songs of the later 20th century. This soul-searching selection struck me as somehow appropriate for commemorating Justice Barret’s confirmation last night.
Of course poetry is always open to interpretation but this song’s point seems pretty clear. It’s a sort of classic liberal lament: on the one hand we have the roiling, overpopulated planet to contend with but on the other… the miracle of birth! - the wonder and potential of each innocent child born. It’s a dilemma for sure: what’s a committed-to-sustainability, “save the planet” progressive to do?
That’s the problem with progressives, they never seem to have the correct answer to their own questions.
Born At The Right Time
Down among the reeds and rushes
A baby boy was found
His eyes as clear as centuries
His silky hair was brown
Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right timeMe and my buddies we are traveling people
We like to go down to restaurant row
Spend those euro-dollars
All the way from Washington to Tokyo
I see them in the airport lounges
Upon their mother's breast
They follow me with open eyes
Their uninvited guestNever been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time
Too many people on the bus from the airport
Too many holes in the crust of the earth
The planet groans
Every time it registers another birth
But down among the reeds and rushes
A baby girl was found
Her eyes as clear as centuries
Her silky hair was brown
Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time
Amy Comey Barret, her hand on a Bible held by her husband Jesse, is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by Clarence Thomas, its longest-serving justice, as President Trump looks on.
We’re all born at the right time, some people just seem to take more advantage of that fact than others.
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