I am a firm believer that our sins follow us, lurking behind in the shadows. No matter where we go in our lives, they will always be with us. (Spooky huh?) It doesn’t mean that we can’t expose them for what they are, only that they are a constant and usually unwelcome travelling companion… To me they are like a stowaway on the soul, or a bitchy neighbour that refuses to fuck off and move.
My friend Daniel once compared it to dragging mines behind you, with the belief that if you slow down even for an instant, it could have catastrophic results. I think I agree to a certain extent, but from that catastrophe comes resolution, and usually freedom.
I also believe those same sins play a major part in defining our character. (Whether we like it or not.) In some ways, the exposition of our flaws and lapsed judgement are far more telling about us than we would like to believe. Sadly, the good stuff tends to get lost in the shuffle. Only by seeing one’s character undone, do we ever really get to see the mettle that someone’s made of. How’s that for irony?
But that’s the way society wants it anyway. (Which speaks to society’s sins too…) We celebrate the downfall of others with overwhelming zeal. Few things entertain us more than watching someone’s life fully and completely implode. I must admit I love it. Seeing some poor schmuck get done it by his own stupidity is more entertaining to me than a good hockey game. (Hopefully I won’t get struck by lightening for saying that…)
That’s not to say that the good things in our character should be ignored. There must after all be some sense of balance; otherwise the whole thing would go to shit. Hell our world has heroes, who rise to the occasion when needed, and without them we would have no moral compass. (Here in lies that balance.)
But we have villains too. Without them we’d likely be unable to examine our darker selves. Everyone has a seedy underbelly. The Pope’s got one, and so does your mom, it’s the nature of who we are. It’s normal.
That is unless you happen to be Gary Glitter. Then you have stepped outside of normal. Normal is not even on the map. Sadly, Gary is in the middle of his catastrophe. His mines collided the second he decided to pursue Vietnamese children for sex. His resolution and freedom apparently will come guised as a firing squad. That poor dumb bastard. Instead of getting help for his problems, he chose the stupid plan.
Something tells me there will be no “Rock & Roll part 3” in anyone’s future.
His sins come from an inability to deal with a fading identity, and a lifetime of excess. It’s funny how indulgences can seem trivial at the time, but come with their own set of problems. I suspect if you were to ask him before he became a success, or even at the mid point of his career where he’d be in 2005, I doubt highly he would ever say “Um facing the death penalty for screwing little Asian girls.”
I’ve heard a lot of people over the years complain that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. I have never believed it. Not once. I think it’s just our sins coming to collect on a debt.
Perhaps if we took less time to celebrate notorious lifestyles, and spend a little more of it dealing with our shit, we’d all be happier.
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