Leonard Cohen: Democracy
Democracy
Quiz by Sharon Michiko Yoneda
"It's coming through a hole in the air. " It's coming from a crack in the wall."
When something is broken, we can see the light or the Truth of a situation.
"From the wars against disorder. From the sirens night and day. From the fires of the homeless. From the ashes of the gay."
"On a visionary flood of alcohol...or fentanyl...or heroin...From the staggering account of the Sermon on the Mount "
The import of illegal drugs into countries is killing a huge population, especially the youth of our countries.
"It's coming from the silence, On the dock of the bay, From the brave, the bold, the battered, Heart of Chevrolet"
The working classes of America are suffering and struggling to make ends meet. Who will help them?
"It's coming from the sorrow in the street, The holy places where the races meet. From the homicidal bitchin' that goes down in every kitchen to determine who will serve and who will eat"
The homelessness crisis is everywhere on the streets of sanctuary cities in America. Vancouver, Canada, too.
"It's here the family's broken, and it's here the lonely say that the heart has got to open In a fundamental way"
Families are increasingly broken through addiction, poverty, joblessness, divorce, and lack of spiritual guidance; family violence is often the result. Compassion is needed.
"I love the country but I can't stand the scene. And I'm neither left or right. I'm just staying home tonight Getting lost in that hopeless little screen"
"Left" - Democratic Party/"Right" - Republican Party. In Canada, "Left" - Liberal Party-NDP/ "Right" - Conservative Party
"Sail on, sail on. O mighty Ship of State! To the shores of need, past the reefs of greed, through the squalls of hate.....Sail on, sail on, sail on"
artist: Leonard Cohen
songwriter: Leonard Cohen
date released: 1992 for the album, The Future
The lyrics begin with Buddhist principles of imperfection—of brokenness, holes and cracks. This imagery predicts Cohen's Buddhist studies at Mount Baldy Zen Center (1994–1999), emphasizing impermanence, suffering, and the potential for enlightenment through life's fractures. "It's coming from a hole in the air." "It's coming from a crack in the wall."
In the American election of 2024, the Republican Part won the election in a landslide victory winning the House, the Senate and the Electoral College. Thus, under the Democratic standard of "majority rules", the Republicans will form the government of 2024-2028, after which another election will be held. Though many may not agree, this is Democracy, and it is indeed coming to the USA.
The album, The Future, was written during the early 1990s before Cohen became cloistered in the Zen retreat of Mount Baldy. The song juxtaposes images of societal division, civil unrest, and spiritual longing, suggesting that democracy emerges not from idealized perfection but from the flawed, raw realities of human experience—does this all sound familiar in 2025? The brokenness of the US is in various polarities: wokeism vs common sense; DEI vs meritocracy; abortion legislated by the central government vs the state; open borders vs closed borders; Americentric vision vs global vison; tariffs vs free trade---the mandate of the elected government is to fix this brokenness. "Democracy" explores the complex, often tumultuous nature of American democracy, the definition of which seems to change from administration to administration. They lyrics reflect on its contradictions, struggles, and enduring potential.
As for Cohen, he is a Buddhist and does not dote on "the scenes" that blare from his tv screen. He is neither left or right, but focused on Nirvana—a transcendence from the Buddhist dictate: All life is suffering. All is imperfect. All is impermanent, so why bother negotiating on what is right or wrong—Time cannot decay these life principles.