Old Long Ago
For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld lang syne,
We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne
The unequivocal New Year's anthem is “Auld Lang Syne”. Many sing it without even understanding what they're singing. What's an auld lang syne? It's Scottish. Auld = Old. Lang = Long. Syne = Since. Old Long Since or Old Long Ago. Taking a cup for auld lang syne is drinking for "old times' sake".
Even though it is antithetical to our modern progressive worldview, we still talk about the "good old days". Progressives can legitimately only talk about the "bad old days". They look at people longing for the old days with suspicion. With their arsenal of scary words at the ready: Racist! Sexist! Homophobic!
And millions of these progressives will ignorantly sing For Old Time's Sake in Scottish code because, well, they've always sung it on New Year's, ever since they were children back in the, you know, good old days. Innately they sing the truth which condemns their ideology even if it fails to convict them. But please, nobody tell them. If they catch on they'll try to cancel singing it. They can't, of course, but it would be rather annoying.
The best view of eternity is the old long ago. In some sense we think eternity is nearer to the future than the past, but that's just a byproduct of linear thinking. Eternity isn't linear. We can't see the future, so it stands to reason, the best way to glimpse eternity isn't to stare into the void of the unknown, but to look back to what we can see: the Old Long Ago.
The good old days aren't just good because we're tricked by nostalgia. They are good because in the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God. And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. The past is good because though Christ is and is to come, He also was.
Sure, nostalgia puts a bit of shine on things, but we can't help that. When we look back on the good old days that which is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy are going to stand out brighter, stronger, and starker, not because we're psychotics with wish-fulfillment issues, but because in the old days that which was False, Evil, and Ugly cannot hold a candle to the True, Good, and Beautiful. This is a glimpse of eternity. One day all truth, goodness, and beauty will ultimately conquer over falsehood, wickedness, and ugliness. Nostalgia is a sign of their impending doom.
The past is brighter than the present. Living in the now, the ever present, we feel the pain sharply. Looking to the future for guidance tells us nothing about the pain. What to do with it or why we're experiencing it. Looking to the past, we see that pain produces a baby, the joy of which will outlast every pain we're currently going through, even to the point of forgetting that pain forever. The past grounds us, gives us context, and sets the table for the future so that we can press on. So that we can truly progress.
If your worldview or character distills within you a fear or hatred of the past and the desire to cancel it, that is a sign you're batting for the wrong team. It also places one's soul in a highly precarious situation. Destruction of the past leaves only going forward, and that's a problem when Jesus calls us to repent. How do you turn back on a path that only goes one direction? Surely a mark of a satanic ideology is its hostility to repentance.
Going back enables true progress. See what C.S. Lewis said a long time ago,
"Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man."
Look for eternity in the past. Revel in the truth, goodness, and beauty you find there. Long for the good old days, the good old things, the good old ways. Imitate them. Imbibe them. Re-establish them. Auld lang syne, my dear, is a sure and trusty guide. Take a cup o’ kindness with me and let’s drink to it.