>> Leonard Cohen is truly a depressing artist. I will not quibble with his artistic vision. I do choose to disagree with the nostalgic idea that yesterday, was better than today.<<
I agree that L.C. is depressing, and that the idea that the past is better than the present is problematic. It is interesting, however, how common such nostalgia is. Political conservatives look back longingly to the pre-60s; liberals, to the 60s; socialists, to a time when revolution seemed a genuine possibility; many religious people, to a time when religion was more dominant; many anti-religious people, to the time when science could be used to 'disprove' religious faith. We, like all peoples of all times, live now in 'the cradle of the best and of the worst' (another L.C. line). |
