I first became aware of the song “Lovers In A Dangerous Time” thanks to the Barenaked Ladies in their greatest hits album. They had released, at the beginning of their career, a cover of the song sung in a rather ironic and satirical manner, and it became their first Canadian top 40 hit. Of course, not being a Canadian myself (although my maternal grandmother is a native-born Canadian). The original of the song became a signature song for an obscure and socially conscious Canadian singer named Bruce Cockburn [1], and later was referenced by U2 [2], with regards to his sentiment that you have to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight, which is an elegant if somewhat violent way of expressing the concern many of us have for bringing darkness out of light. This, of course, recognizes that great good can be drawn, albeit with difficulty, from the darkness in life that we face.

Today I happened to read more than half of a novel that was loaned to me by a friend of mine. Anytime someone lends me a book to read, I am scrupulous to try to read that book as quickly as possible so that I may return it to its proper owners, as I do not like to be a steward of the property of others indefinitely, lest I forget that it was not mine to begin with. Additionally, I am often intrigued in the motives that people have for lending me particular books. For example, there are some people who lend me books that are largely related to larger questions of history and politics, for they know of my profound interest in these subjects. On the other hand, there are others who tend to lend me books that would tend to cut against the types of books that I would be expected to most enjoy.

An example of this second type of book is the one I started today, reading about three fifths during my break and lunch and various down time today in between my work and the other assorted tasks I sought to do today (including read a book that I have promised to finish by tomorrow). This particular book is a romance novel (which was turned into a movie) whose plot deals with a man who is “chronologically challenged” to put it very mildly. The male protagonist of the story struggles against the temptation towards alcoholism that his father struggles with, has to deal with a delicate and longstanding relationship with a young woman, along with the fictional consequences of his supposed genetic inheritance as well as the repercussions of his nudity, his social awkwardness (especially with regards to stolen/borrowed clothes), and the crimes that he commits for reasons of survival. When I read material like this, it is my natural instinct to wonder exactly what and to what extent the material was chosen to represent some sort of knowledge or awareness or commentary on my own personality and conduct and character. Being the sort of person who is given to overanalyze [3], it is possible that some of these concerns are real but that they are moderate in their tendency rather than being an attempt at drawing those parallels to an extreme degree.

Why do we live in a dangerous time, and why does it matter to those who write and think often of questions of love (and not merely romantic love either) but who are spectacularly unsuccessful in such matters? In many respects, our dangers are the result of structural problems that themselves are the results of many millions of harmful decisions made by ourselves and others like us. Our families, institutions, and societies have faced increased centrifugal tendencies and decreased cohesion, which has prompted ever higher degrees of suspicion and surveillance in the absence of trust and cooperation on a voluntary level. Increased coercion on the part of vulnerable authorities at all levels of society (from parents and school officials alarmed at the social anarchy faced by young people to leaders of institutions and nations seeking to preserve their status and rank and position in the face of restive populations not given to deference) conflicts with those who seek to enjoy the same freedoms their ancestors and elites have celebrated and enjoyed but which has not been granted to others. In short, we live in dangerous times because we are torn between different approaches to the challenges of trust, freedom, security, and related concerns and because we actively punish virtue in our dealings.

What are we to do about this, then? To a large degree, we must seek to rebuild the communities that have fallen into decay. We must rebuild the ruins of our families, of our societies, of our business institutions, of our moral and physical infrastructure that provide the foundation for our efforts to rise above the struggles of our times. We must not see ourselves as mere vagabond atoms cast adrift in a hostile world, but rather integral parts of the systems of our existence, connected with everything else in our world, so that our well-being and safety depends on the well-being of all around us. It is only through understanding the shared vulnerabilities and concerns that we all have as well as restraint as well as considerateness in our own behavior towards others that we can at length and with strenuous effort seek to build up what has been lost through decay and decadence. Despite all temptation to do otherwise, including suffering the punishment for sins we have not committed, let us not become agents of corruption or decadence ourselves, but rather of edification and restoration. For this world needs a great deal of love and graciousness and edification, and those who have to begin such work will not have the advantages of being trusted or appreciated, at least at first. Let us not be deterred, though, from loving in a dangerous time anyway.

[1] http://youtu.be/7IX4gWkFqvU

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovers_in_a_Dangerous_Time

[3] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/blowing-in-the-wind/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/02/16/younger-now-than-we-were-then/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/deeper-underground/