Men are generally lazy. It has been said that humans can reason like cats can swim. We can reason, but we tend to avoid it if we can. So am I. Only the stimulation of an event, an unpleasant event, frees my thinking from its hidden constraints. A few weeks ago I was racing down the motorway towards Edinburgh. My aim was to find a new venue for a talk by Gilad Atzmon, which had been cancelled. This was before he died. Assaulted On the streets of Edinburgh. But even then we already knew what kind of opposition was gathering against his ideas.
These ideas are Being in Time – A Post-Political ManifestoThey are thought-provoking and raise questions in the reader's mind. They are not dictatorial. On the contrary, Atzmon does not prescribe rules or solutions, but argues that truth, honesty, openness and debate should replace a narrow-minded and sterile political culture that no longer represents any reality.
As I sped along, I passed a familiar landmark that I'd never before ascribed any significance to – until that day, that is. The landmark was a Kelpie, and I suddenly instinctively understood its dramatic shape. Though I was pressed for time, I took the next exit and popped in for a look.
The Kelpies are two horse head statues placed on either side of the recently widened river. Forth and Clyde CanalThese are huge, dramatic sentinels installed on either side of a new waterway which will reconnect the historic canal with the Fourth Estuary at Grangemouth, replacing the main road which was cut off in 1968 by central government-planned vandalism caused by the construction of the M9 motorway.
Why horses? Well, in one sense it's a commemoration of the hard-working horses that provided transportation on canals and elsewhere. This seems to have been sculptor Andy Scott's main inspiration, although the title was chosen by the client. British Hydrographic OfficeThat would have a totally different meaning.
As helix The website states:
The name Kelpies reflects a mythical shapeshifting beast with the strength and endurance of 100 horses, whose qualities draw parallels with the transforming nature of our landscape, the endurance of our inland waterways and the strength of our communities.
There are general political themes here in the 21st century: communalism and change. These should be political statements, or maybe they should be post-facto political statements by a statutory body, a government agency. So why choose the kelpie as a subject? There is something more to this animal than a horse.
Douglas Harper, historian Online Etymology Dictionarydefines a Kelpie as:
Kelpie
1747, Scottish, of uncertain origin, possibly related to Gaelic colpach “cow, bull, colt” and colpa “cow, horse”. Lowland name for a horse-shaped demon said to haunt lakes and rivers and take pleasure in drowning them. However, unlike its Danish (nøkken) and Icelandic (nykur) cognate, it could also be benevolent, especially in keeping the waters of the millers' rivers flowing.
or, Wikipedia Let me explain:
Kelpies, or Water Kelpies, are the Scottish name given to shape-shifting water spirits that inhabit the lakes and ponds of Scotland. They are usually said to appear as horses, but can also take human form. In some accounts, Kelpies retain their hooves when appearing in human form, and are associated with Christian notions of the Devil, as alluded to in Robert Burns' 1786 poem “An Address to the Devil”.
As for the poetic parts, here are some relevant verses: Address to Dill:
When Twes melts the snake mass,
Floating Jinling's ice slab,
And the water kelpie haunts the hood.
At your command,
The night travelers are tempted
To their ruin.
What naive travellers will these kelpies lure to their downfall?
What was the reason I hadn't driven by that day? What spoke to me then, and not before? Because the Kelpies seemed a physical manifestation of the strife and turmoil that Gilad Atzmon and I were experiencing. So I stopped and looked at the 100-foot-tall stainless steel colossus. Its meaning suddenly became clear. And as I stood there, its details became clear, too. A pair of heads occupy opposite banks of the canal. Looking downstream to the sea, one is on the left bank, the other on the right. Different, yet the same.
The Left Bank Horse is writhing, suffering, anguished, and noisy. Like the political Left, it is demanding and complaining, uncontrollable and wild. It is obviously dangerous, and driven by emotion rather than analysis. In contrast, the Right Bank Horse is calm, gentle, dignified, and self-controlled. Like the political Right, it appears safe, unflappable, and trustworthy, yet at the same time disinterested, detached, and static. Yet both are the same, both shape-shifting, both deceptive, both with the devil in their DNA. They were born to deceive.
So who are they fooling? None other than the ignorant travellers in the world of ideas. And ignorance seems the best word to describe the British political system. It has been defined as “in a pitiable or contemptible state of intellectual or moral ignorance, reigning in darkness.” What better word could describe our current nation?
Reader, whether you are drawn to the majesty of the Right Bank Kelpies or the passion of the Left Bank Kelpies, remember: they are not what they seem. AtsmonInstead of ignoring, study the origins of ideas, try and understand what is offered to you. Develop your thoughts independent of cults such as political parties. Don't spread your thoughts in private spaces or echo chambers where men and women think alike. Instead, always be ready to learn and think openly in discussions and debates.
“For the gate that leads to life is narrow, and the way is hard, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14)
Don't chase the kelpie.
