I could hardly sleep tonight, what with anticipation for the upcoming season of "Parks and Recreation"- coming sometime!!- and so wandered the Web through the wee hours, when suddenly, an idea for a story came to my mind.
Take from it what you want. Hopefully its meaning is easy to discern in this our "holiday season".
I pictured the citizens of a community, mingling with each other and discussing a certain man who was making quite a name for himself.
Here are some of the things that were said:
Before The Hill And The Cross
A Christmas Allegory
"He's chasing fame." said Olig.
"Romantic hipster with other people's stories to tell." said Shmal.
"He is clearly brilliant and is a very deep thinker", remarked Victoria.
"What is important to those outside of his circle of family and friends is what he has DONE. And that is absolutely heroic and epochal", Caleb pointed out.
"It's a viable philosophy, even if we can't live by it", Areti said.
"Its hard to decide what's believable"complained Cassandra.
"Cult-like, idealistic, romantic.", said Rai dismissively.
"Hero!", answered Leos.
"They want him for 'questioning'", said Ax.
"And he doesn't really have rights, he'll be arrested." replied Futu.
"This man believes without a doubt that what he's doing is right and just and it is all beyond him." Johnn said.
"Clearly he does have a cause", Ike admitted.
"We can definitely learn from it if we stop being so afraid of it", Areti countered.
"The internal struggle is quite intense for the astonishingly gifted", Mage offered.
"Unlike most humans, the man thinks", said Han.
"He is a true revolutionary for our times", Johnn agreed.
"Who cares what he is or what he thinks" sneered Resi.
Perso added, "He seems to be a man who is so heavily into philosophy that he has lost sight of reality."
Verit stood on a rock and said to all, "There is a purpose and agenda to your demonization of him and that is to discredit him. We, on the other hand, are just more appreciative of being told the truth by someone, for once."
"His goal is to bring truth to bear to help create order.." Dyus concurred.
Byn interrupted. "I think he's an operative."
"You have pigeonholed a man who seeks no favors" whispered Logi.
"His sensitivity, intelligence and honorable intentions are undeniable" said old Pheus.
"A very bright fellow, comes across as well spoken and thoughtful , but is horribly misguided", Cair replied.
"He obviously has handlers." Eniu joked.
"How dare he be so different from us!" said Eru.
"Our government is paid to protect us!" cried Olig.
Ree was saying, "He has the conviction to put himself on the line for a greater good. Hard to comprehend."
"Doesn't mean I can't find his ramblings bizarre" said Perso.
"I am pretty certain that he wanted the world to know these thoughts", Victoria replied.
"He's interesting -- a young would-be hero, a complete romantic, even down, I fear, to the tragic ending. Very smart, courageous , noble, idealistic. A bit too reckless. He's like a knight in search of a dragon to slay. His chosen dragons are the power structures of his time", spake Cele, with a deep sigh.
Nivil spoke up. "I believe he is a marked man."
"I wish I could shelter him, protect him", Cele prayed.
"He will be remembered for the light, however brief, he brought to the dark", mused Hand.
The End.
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Postscript:
Every quote in the story above is verbatim from comments under a Dec 2, 2010 article about Julian Assange. All quotes refer to Mr. Assange and no one else. The remarks are current.
This is a living, fluid situation, not something from a history book- not yet.
We have the chance to pay attention and make a choice about it, now, not next year or in ten years.
The quoted remarks are truncated, but not otherwise altered. They were selected individually, and are not in their original order, nor do they necessarily convey the same meaning as in the original source comment. However, each came from the thoughts of one actual individual's thoughts about Julian Assange. They are real comments about a very real man.
I feel that Assange has brought a vital issue to the world stage, having an effect which few individual men in my lifetime have had upon the affairs of humanity.
It is incredibly important. We should not sleep through this. We should not turn away to our entertainments, while Assange lives a fugitive life, after doing his service for the rest of us.
People of the world, do not make the same mistake again and kill the messenger.
Any aware person is either standing with Julian Assange and Wikileaks, or by default, standing against him, and might as well be part of the hunt.
I wish I could do something for him, some Underground Railroad kind of service. Instead, I will just write about him, and pray for his safety.
The names used in the story are derived from short groups of consecutive letters in the original posters' screen names.
Quotes source:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/... Thanks to all people quoted, please don't sue me.
Fable by
NoHarmFarm
2010.