{"id":106344,"date":"2024-07-28T00:39:17","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T06:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=106344"},"modified":"2024-07-28T09:33:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T15:33:41","slug":"courage-and-sorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/courage-and-sorrow.html","title":{"rendered":"Courage and Sorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Crescent,<\/a>
A nighttime view of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, accompanied by a crescent moon.
(Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the great moments at the current Summer Olympics in Paris, one of the most impressive displays of heroism, was not an athletic one. \u00a0It had nothing directly to do with sports, and it won\u2019t \u2014 alas! \u2014 win a gold medal. \u00a0It was C\u00e9line Dion singing \u201cHymne \u00e0 l\u2019amour,\u201d<\/a> a song that was originally made famous by the great \u00c9dith Piaf (1915-1963), at the base of the Eiffel Tower. \u00a0Coincidentally, as I\u2019m writing this, a television drama is on in the room that has absolutely nothing to do with the Olympics. \u00a0The characters are in a bar, and in the background is playing \u00c9dith Piaf\u2019s signature song \u201cLa Vie en rose.\u201d<\/a>:<\/p>\n

But back to C\u00e9line Dion, who closed the opening ceremonies, emerging to sing immediately after the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. \u00a0Ms. Dion is suffering from a rare progressive neurological disorder that sometimes leaves her unable to move and quite unable to sing, and, until these Olympics, she hadn\u2019t performed in public since 2020. \u00a0But she was magnificent. \u00a0She was courageous. \u00a0She was nothing short of heroic. \u00a0If you haven\u2019t already watched her rendition of \u201cHymne \u00e0<\/a> l\u2019amour\u201d from the Eiffel Tower, please do. \u00a0Here are the lyrics in the original French, followed by a reasonably good English translation:<\/p>\n

Hymne \u00e0 l\u2019amour<\/h3>\n
\n
Le ciel bleu sur nous peut s\u2019effondrer
Et la Terre peut bien s\u2019\u00e9crouler
Peu m\u2019importe si tu m\u2019aimes
Je me fous du monde entier<\/div>\n
Tant qu\u2019l\u2019amour innondera mes matins
Tant qu\u2019mon corps fr\u00e9mira sous tes mains
Peu m\u2019importe les probl\u00e8mes
Mon amour, puisque tu m\u2019aimes<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
J\u2019irais jusqu\u2019au bout du monde
Je me ferais teindre en blonde
Si tu me le demandais
J\u2019irais d\u00e9crocher la Lune
J\u2019irais voler la fortune
Si tu me le demandais<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Je renierais ma patrie
Je renierais mes amis
Si tu me le demandais
On peut bien rire de moi
Je ferais n\u2019importe quoi
Si tu me le demandais<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Si un jour, la vie t\u2019arrache \u00e0 moi
Si tu meurs, que tu sois loin de moi
Peu m\u2019importe si tu m\u2019aimes
Car moi je mourrais aussi<\/div>\n
Nous aurons pour nous l\u2019\u00e9ternit\u00e9
Dans le bleu de toute l\u2019immensit\u00e9
Dans le ciel, plus de probl\u00e8me
Mon amour, crois-tu qu\u2019on s\u2019aime?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Dieu r\u00e9unit ceux qui s\u2019aiment<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Hymn to Love<\/h3>\n
\n

The blue sky above us may collapse
\nAnd the earth may well crumble
\nIt doesn\u2019t matter to me, if you love me
\nI don\u2019t care about the whole world
\nAs long as love floods my mornings
\nAs long as my body trembles under your hands
\nI don\u2019t care about the problems
\nMy love, since you love me<\/p>\n

I would go to the ends of the earth
\nI would dye my hair blonde
\nIf you asked me to
\nI would reach for the moon
\nI would steal a fortune
\nIf you asked me to<\/p>\n

I would renounce my homeland
\nI would renounce my friends
\nIf you asked me to
\nThey can laugh at me
\nI would do anything
\nIf you asked me to<\/p>\n

If one day life tears you away from me
\nIf you die, far from me
\nIt doesn\u2019t matter, if you love me
\nBecause I would die too
\nWe will have eternity for us
\nIn the blue of all immensity
\nIn the sky, no more problems
\nMy love, do you think we love each other?<\/p>\n

God unites those who love each other<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

My attention was caught by that last line. \u00a0One might quibble, I suppose, with the sentiments expressed in the preceding verses. \u00a0They\u2019re a bit extreme, as expressions of romantic love sometimes are. \u00a0But Latter-day Saints enthusiastically concur with the last line: \u00a0\u201cDieu r\u00e9unit ceux qui s\u2019aiment.\u201d \u00a0\u201cGod unites those who love each other.\u201d \u00a0Or, more accurately, \u201cGod reunites those who love each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A cherry stand in Majdal Shams, with its Druze proprietor
(Wikimedia Commons public domain photo by Palmon Adi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cChildren and teens among 12 dead in Golan Heights attack that Israel blames on Hezbollah, raising fears of major escalation\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

My wife and I were greatly saddened to learn of this incident. \u00a0We visit the Golan Heights every time we lead a tour to Israel, typically at least once or twice or even three times a year. \u00a0And we always pass through the Druze Arab town of Majdal Shams. \u00a0It\u2019s a very familiar place to us \u2014 as well as the setting of the superb and moving Israeli film The Syrian Bride<\/em><\/a> \u2014 and I\u2019m very curious as to why the town was apparently targeted.<\/p>\n

Some Druze \u2014 those of the Mount Carmel region, for example \u2014 serve in the Israeli military. \u00a0But the Druze of the Golan Heights, which are, legally speaking, still generally considered to be occupied Syrian territory, are exempt from military service. \u00a0And, so far as I\u2019m aware, there is nothing of military significance in Majdal Shams. \u00a0The town is known, rather, for the excellent apples and cherries that are grown in the orchards around it. \u00a0(We always stop on Mount Bental, not very far away from Majdal Shams, to look over into Syria. \u00a0While there, we usually visit with an elderly Druze man, a retired math teacher possessed of a remarkable handlebar mustache, who offers samples of apple slices with local Druze honey to passing tourists and, inevitably, because they\u2019re so good, sells a whole lot of honey. \u00a0He seems to be about 120 years old, but he\u2019s a real character. \u00a0May he live forever.)<\/p>\n

Perhaps Majdal Shams was targeted because its Druze inhabitants, while ethnically Arab, are not Muslims. \u00a0In fact, strictly orthodox Muslims of the Wahhabi sort (or their Shi\u2018a counterparts) would likely consider them schismatics, heretics, and apostates. \u00a0And that might be enough to make them targets for some Hezbollah types.<\/p>\n

Or maybe Majdal Shams wasn\u2019t even a target at all. \u00a0(I have no idea how accurate the missiles were that hit the town.) \u00a0Was Majdal Shams merely the chance victim of missiles that were fired indiscriminately, with complete irresponsibility, \u201cIsrael-ward\u201d? \u00a0The Middle East can be a very troubling place.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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