Dog and Butterfly meaning

A few days ago, I posted a video by the rock band Heart called Dog and Butterfly.  What does that song mean?  I gave it some thought and then compared notes with some comments about the song on a website that discusses the meaning of songs such as this.

The song is complex in a way.  I wondered if I should even make the attempt to explain my own interpretation.  But here are some ideas.  One idea was that the chase was more fun than the fulfillment.  Another called it the ying yang thing.  One that came close to my idea of the meaning was that the song was about resignation of a sort.  You see, my idea of what the song means is an acceptance of limitations.

Without going too far into the song, it basically boils down to not trying to be what you aren't.  The dog isn't a butterfly, but it has to try because it is a dog.  It will chase the butterfly in its mad pursuit of the unattainability of it to fly, but this doesn't trouble the dog.  The dog enjoys being what it is, it "doesn't know why", but that doesn't matter to the dog.  The girl in the song is troubled by her disappointments, and the old man, who symbolizes wisdom, shows her the dog and butterfly.  She finds comfort in this, and shares it with others in her life.

Some people are troubled by the song.  Resignation like this is like giving up.  That may be true too.  There's a danger in giving up on a goal that is reachable.  We are not dogs.  We can perceive what dogs can't, but this comes at a price.  The wisdom is not in resignation for the sake of resignation, but acceptance of what is truly beyond our reach.  But this is not always clear.  The truth is a slippery thing.

Now, I'll segue into a larger topic.  This correlates with the idea of Limits to Growth.  You see, the left is enamored of this concept.  They want to impose upon the rest of us this idea that we can't grow forever.  In a way, they may be right.  But to give up now could be a path towards tragedy.  If we were to give up too soon, we may stop at the very doorstep of an assurance of plenty for all people.  If we stop, we may doom ourselves to the curse that has plagued us throughout history.  That is, wars over limited resources.

With respect to nuclear power, it is the one way to meet energy needs and more.  For radically abundant energy can lead to material abundance.  It's lack will result in material scarcity.  For many things become possible with abundant energy.  And many things will remain out of reach if we lack it.

Solar and wind can never match fossil fuels in terms of concentration of energy.  What the advocates of this path are not telling you is that you must accept scarcity to go along with it.  They will deceive you into thinking you can have your material abundance even with solar and wind.  But this will not be possible.

It is true that fossil fuels are limited.  It is also true that fission energy carries risks.  But to deny that power today will forever limit us tomorrow.  Is that really necessary?  That question needs to be answered honestly.