The Promised Land Project: Crossing into the Realm of the Prophets

Turning Vision into Action....at least hypothetically

Strike up the music of the band
We're blazing a trail for the promised land
Heaven on earth is within you.

Through the writing of stories, poetry, essays, and a novel, I’ve creatively contended with the consumer culture and the problem of the ideal in the modern era. This preoccupation in time would lead to a vision of cultural transformation and where I believe our democratic society needs to go to truly progress beyond the modern era. Conceding my limited credibility, this blog provides a synthesis of recognized visionaries, poets, and writers with the objective of making a credible argument. Ultimately, it is a certain feeling the project strives to inspire and sustain on a certain level, making more vital use of poetry and the arts; consequently whether one agrees or not is less important than whether one senses it and feels it over time.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Crossing into the Realm of the Prophets

Continuing our trail as we attempt to blaze a path into the promised land, our course necessarily takes us through the realm of the prophets. The modern mindset tends to have a split view towards both prophets and prophecy. One view is dismissive while the other is enamored. The problem with both views is that they’re too removed from our everyday human experience. While one side may fail to acknowledge and draw on a cross-cultural vital force throughout human history, the other side may strike a deer-in-the-headlights kind of gaze, mixed with parts of both fear and adoration, that impedes action.

To bring the two views together toward action, I propose a demystification process, bringing prophets and prophecy down to earth to some degree as an impetus to action, while suggesting that through this earthly process will we better admire and revere the mysteries behind it. Recognizing the limitations of my own credibility, I will cite “voices of reason” at varying points as we proceed.

As I came to the realm through poetry, it is by way of poetry that we enter. In the previous blog entries beginning May 17 through July 4, I attempted to convey my vision and ground the project firmly in the realm of poetry. In the blog entry of July 7, I articulated why it is we have to cross over into the realm of the prophets: the modernist exalting of science, education, and reason has failed to adequately contend with human passions, notably the passion of greed for both wealth and power, that threaten our own destruction.