06-Feb-01
We have reached the third act break -- the moment of despair. Indeed, it is a sorry state of affairs, isn't it? I don't know who is writing this screenplay but I will certainly be relieved when this 'ultimate moment when things could not get worse' passes. With things so dark, with not one victory having been achieved or in sight, it is easy to slip into apathy here--precisely what the opposition wants.
The End of the Beginning
Rick Kellis RicKelis@aol.com
We have reached the third act break -- the moment of despair.
Indeed, it is a sorry state of affairs, isn't it? I don't know who is writing this screenplay but I will certainly be relieved when this 'ultimate moment when things could not get worse' passes. With things so dark, with not one victory having been achieved or in sight, it is easy to slip into apathy here--precisely what the opposition wants.
How can evil triumph so thoroughly? All three branches of government and the Fourth Estate have gone over to the Dark side. On our side stand the People, for that term is applied to the majority will. The majority will is for the democratic way. Yet we are like Isaiah's Suffering Servant, standing mute before our shearers, as that shining beautiful lady of Liberty is being put to death, pierced in the heart.
It now seems to be true -- democracy has suffered... and died. A period of expansion toward the noble goal of a truly democratic society as set forth by such great thinkers as Thomas Jefferson has come to an end.
Prophesies like those found in Isaiah 53 have come true, certainly. So has the resurrection promised -- consider the life and death of Jesus, who changed the world, although we have yet to see the true benefit.
The Phoenix rises from its ashes. The Death card of the Tarot is a picture of the Reaper traveling by horseback in the manner of a noble leader, representing the process of recycling and resurrection. Such symbols stand for basic lessons of life to be learned.
It is appropriate to mourn the dead. But life goes on, and that is what we must do. Ours is a noble cause, well worth pursuing. The cause is democracy itself, and for once we clearly hold the moral high ground. Truth is on our side and in the air; the facts are on our side and on the ground.
As in any passing on, there are lessons to be learned from the experience we have had to endure. In order to attain the goal of a democratic America, there are procedures to be put in place, organizations to be formed, leadership to be designated and followed.
Thomas Jefferson gave us an enlightening bit of information when he stated that a well-informed electorate is necessary for democracy to flourish. In this area we have an advantage over the opposition -- we do not pretend to know everything at the start. Such a know-it-all attitude is a basic barrier to learning. We consider intelligence to be an asset, along with a command of the language. We like to know the meaning of what we are saying -- it really helps in getting the right message across.
In this age of information and rapid communication we have the means to pick ourselves up and move ahead toward our democratic goals. We may not know everything but we know HOW to know anything.
It is natural to feel lethargic at the time of a death. For an insight into this, consider that the word "lethargy" comes from the same root as does the term "lethal". Those words are derived from a basic root meaning 'to go all the way through to the end, to die'. From that same root comes the word "leader". An understanding of the central concept operating here reveals the outline of the way toward the end we seek, the tools and vehicles required, the training needed, the organization, the leadership that must be exercised