rapiō (present infinitive rapere, perfect active rapuī, supine raptum); third conjugation iō-variant
Whenever I hear people (some of the gentlest nicest people I know) talk about becoming "integral" as somehow meaning they are now closer to a god, maybe even are one, I think of rape, enraptured, rapt. By what have I been caught up? By what are victorious troops sacking a city enraptured? The god of that party is Dionysus, god of war, plunder, ecstasy, drink, of the poet in rapture. Exiled to hell in Christianity, as the goat-footed one. Whole means the lizard brain at one with the ego, and with the angelic self. I can identify with a man like Trump. What I cannot identify with is being at one with myself like he is with himself. The holy is come again, and the language of it is not lyric, or even a tweet, but tragedy.
We all at times walk around with blinders on, the kind that horses wear to keep them from being overly distracted or startled. We wear colored glasses, too, under safety goggles. And bug hats and gloves and elbow and knee pads. We carry canes and cattle prods, umbrellas and water filters. At times we can barely see one another through all this garb. That you cannot identify something about a man who is equipped to the nines with protective gear is not surprising.
Posted by: Christine Egger | June 23, 2017 at 12:00 PM
"Authentically himself," may be the highest praise at my funeral. Followed by, "And more is the pity."
Posted by: Phil | June 25, 2017 at 08:46 PM
I too have thought fTrump to be a mode Dionysus, Phil, and a mystery certainly lies within. When there is no self, one can, of course, be "at one."
Posted by: crowdedfalafel | July 08, 2017 at 10:31 AM
The ecstasy of partis pris victorious.
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | July 23, 2017 at 11:14 AM