Invisible Sun and Friction

The music playlist for dinner was randomized the other night due to my weariness with my daughters’ love of the Go-Go’s. Still music from the 80s, but just not one more repeat of “Vacation,” even though the fault for this fascination of hers rests solely on me.

A long-time favorite from The Police started – “Invisible Sun”- and the lyrics got me thinking of not only what they meant at the time, but how they might be relevant today…

In 1981, I was more fascinated with the Space Shuttle, Mt. St. Helens, and pretty much everything which readily appealed to young bookworms. I remember hearing this on the radio, but the events in Ireland at the time were pretty much like everything else happening in the world – the background static of unappreciated historic events.

Years later, I found myself reading about the inspiration of this song – The Troubles which had been part of a long-lasting conflict primarily between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. During my brief spat of research, the theme I have explored before in an academic attempt to understand and explain the conflict between Russia and Ukraine – that there is never an easy way to understand the multiple sides of any conflict… especially those which are typically within a nations’ borders. There are often layers upon layers of resentment and antagonism which are generations older than those who constitute the various sides. Along with that, there are societal differences which frustrate and negate any genuine attempts to heal the deep wounds sustained by all participants. However, and most importantly, there are those who benefit from the chaos and division – whether it is politically, financially, or ideologically.

The latter is the heart of my interpretation of the idea of the “invisible sun”:

There has to be an invisible sun
It gives its heat to everyone
There has to be an invisible sun
That gives us hope when the whole day’s done

Our sun provides much more than a means to mark the days and roast the unwitting visitors to lower latitudes. While it provides life-sustaining nutrients, the basis of photosynthesis, as well as other obvious benefits, there is much more to it…

The fundamental operation of the sun is violent – the fusion of hydrogen and helium. Radiation, wild electromagnetic fluctuations, ionization, and intense heat… along with an intense gravitational field which keeps our solar system cohesive and predictable. Going down the rabbit hole of what the sun is can be both awe inspiring and downright worrisome at the same time.

Perhaps Gordon Sumner was right – that the “invisible sun” at the heart of all conflicts is inevitable but not necessarily a tragic component to the human story.

While the pull we have had towards strife throughout our years has been destructive and consuming, the same impulses have compelled us to rise above the challenges we have faced. Every tool we have created to share ideas has been used to spread propaganda; the vehicles we developed for the sake of efficiency have been adapted for warfare… Yet, we never seem to stop the cycle – the negative applications create beneficial results in logistics, medicine, and technology. We seem to find an equilibrium in the chaos…

The other day, I was having a conversation with my son on the current state of affairs in domestic politics and social reactionism using friction as an analogy.

Presently, even though things seem to be extremely unbalanced, there is a certain level of friction keeping things in a sort of equilibrium from going too far to the extremes. We can discuss differences of opinions (even though I have been more reluctant to engage, lately), the laws are shaped by the shifts in society as a reflection of changes in what is – or is not – largely acceptable to the whole, and we can react accordingly when communication and legislation prove to be ineffective for whatever reason.

This is, essentially, a sort of friction which keeps us from abruptly sliding into chaos.

However, now that I think of it, too much friction… applied too quickly… generates excessive heat and can quickly escalate beyond the control of the individual, the society, or the nation as a whole. That “invisible sun” either expands or contracts – obliterating any trace of the life it once sustained.

The song is firmly stuck in my head, and this idea – touched on a bit before in “Maslow and Conflict” and “…Rules Go Out the Window” – will continue to evolve in my mind.

Bring marshmallows…