public improvements

Poems, Parables 

and Practical Principles

Public Improvements

a friends of light

production 2023

all Rights reserved, without prejudice

Oh, the aroma of fresh coffee brewing.

The heavenly smell of bacon sizzling.

Now comes the cracking of those over-easy eggs. Suddenly, the toast pops up and then comes the crunching sound of butter being spread.

Dishes and silverware clank as they get placed.

A chair gets pulled back.

Eyes now wide open. 

All the yawning and stretching is done. 

Breakfast has been served and it’s a beautiful day. 

The only thing missing is you.

Enjoy.

**********

The next time you are asked if the thing with your picture on it is you, or if that signature is you , say..

"No, I am me."

“Who’s” versus “the whats”

a curious game of chance.

One made by God,

the other, circumstance.

One has a conscience,

which came with Its very soul.

the other one has it not.

it was not part of its mold.

One can think and reason,

and It can rightly judge from wrong.

the other is inanimate,

that is the nature of its song.

One was created sacred,

flesh to flesh, muscle to bone.

the other is invented from need –

a chair, a government, a telephone.

One can show compassion

and make that connection of love.

the other has no idea of them,

not even of our Father Above.

a strange event is beginning to unfold,

one is forgetting about the Other.

thinking that “IT” is All There Is.

…and “IT” has started taking over.

“whats” versus “the Who’s,”

a curious game of fates.

this has happened lots before,

history books give the dates.

chairs forgetting that they were 

made to be sat on.

telephones forgetting that they were 

made to be chatted on.

vehicles forgetting that they were 

made to be driven.

people forgetting that they really are 

Men and Women.

things thinking that they’re “the Who’s,”

and “the Who’s” are “whats.”

who made up this game…

that’s so ridiculous?

**********

Authority always rests with the one being served, 

not the one who is serving.

There once was a good family of hard-working, honest living people. And because of their labors, this family had more money than most families. And since this family was working so hard, everyone thought it would be a good idea to hire a servant.

So they did.

Now this servant was also hard working and honest – at the beginning. The servant performed many tasks to the great satisfaction of the family – at the beginning. And the cost of the servant was also very reasonable – at the beginning.

However, over time, the family began to notice certain tasks the servant used to do were no longer being done. And others were being done to the satisfaction of no one.

So the homeowner called in the servant, and (being a kind and gentle person, did not council the servant, but…) asked if there were any problems.

“Money. I need more money.” He complained.
 

So the homeowner decided to give this servant the expected raise and went about knowing that this extra money will fix the problems. Money always seems to – at the beginning.

Well, things went smoothly for a season – a rather short season. Then the family again began to notice not only the shoddy work, but now household goods were disappearing.

Again, the kind homeowner called forth the servant for an explanation.

“I need benefits. I need healthcare like medical, dental and emergency services and all the drugs that go along with them. I also need Worker’s Compensation for when I get hurt and plenty of insurance to go along with that. And I’ll need more money to pay for my uniforms. They’re getting expensive, too.”

The homeowner, albeit in shock, kind of understood the servant’s requests and said, “Yes. It would be right for you to have these things, too. It only seems fair.” And so the homeowner, once again, agreed to the servant’s requests.

Again, things went smoothly for a season, until something strange began to happen. The servant started acting as if the property upon which it served, now belonged to it. And not only the property, but also everything that rested upon it – like the house, any vehicles… you get the picture.

And since the servant now believed that it owned the homeowner’s property, the next logical assumption was that the servant now owned the homeowner and the homeowner’s family, too.

And so, ever so slightly at the beginning, the servant started telling the family what to do, how to think, how they had to spend their money and what they had to do to keep it. And so upon the servant’s request and believing that the servant would never do the family any harm, the homeowner entrusted a certain amount of money to the servant for safekeeping.

As the days and months and years passed by, the servant gained greater and greater control over the family. More and more, this servant turned its employers into its servants. And to gain even more control and power, the servant made up new rules that only it could understand and forced them upon the family. And if the family did not comply, the servant punished them. 

By now, much of the home and property (including the bank account) had “disappeared” and the family found itself scared and huddled up in the corner of their living room. Then, the homeowner, who is good at heart with an honest soul, knew something had to change. “This is not the servant’s position that we hired for.”

So, the homeowner left that place of fear and worry and proceeded into the kitchen, where the servant was consuming the rest of its feast.

As the homeowner walked to the door that leads outside, the servant asked if the garbage could be taken out.

“Yes. Yes, it can.” And so, the homeowner then grabbed the garbage, snaked it out the door and dropped it by the curb. “You’re fired.”

Then the greatly relieved homeowner turned and went back inside and locked the door. As the family stood in absolute joy and disbelief of what just happened, the homeowner pledged to NEVER allow that servant in the door again - ever.

…And also, the homeowner recommended that the family stop working so hard and start taking care of its own issues at home.

**********

Equal in the eyes of our Maker, is something quite different than 

equal in the eyes of man.

There once was a land, which all of its citizens considered themselves, first and foremost, citizens of their land - then they described themselves as they would. This view transcended all other views. The people of this land were all part of the “citizen family.” And that was that. And as usual, with family, came lots of acceptance and mercy.

Then one day, a new family moved into the neighborhood and started dividing people between themselves – identifying differences and making separations between them. The separations were all based on the senses (census?) – mainly sight.

Before this family, there were no separations, because it was a conceptual ideal that these people pursued, not the outwardly materialistic views being desirously illustrated by this new family.

However, over some time, this family (which only wanted to control everything, by the way…) kept digging and digging. They kept pointing out greater and greater emotionally distressed divisions between the citizens of this land. They found that constantly bringing them up in conversations made them go even deeper - those who have versus those who have not; the fortunate versus the disadvantaged; the minority versus everyone.  (And everyone, by the way, one way or another, according to this family, could define themselves as a minority… and a victim.)

The once unified people of this land now saw themselves as separate from each other. So many differences were being identified with their accompanying problems that the people were clueless as to how many problems there were, let alone how to solve them all. …And there started in- fighting.

What to do?

Hence, here is where this controlling and evil family stepped in to rescue the citizens from their great quandary. This family promised to solve everything. They promised to make everyone equal. They promised to bring peace through civility. They promised it all.

And the citizens of this land swallowed it all - hook, line and sucker… uhm, sinker.

**********

Right is right and good is good.

Period.

One day, a certain family convinced a whole land of innocent people that up is down, left is right, there are no such things as absolutes and that “this” is really “that.” They also created things out of thin air by writing them down on paper; then instructed these innocent people that something existed, that really didn’t.

The people believed everything this family said, and in turn, had everything stolen from them; and then, through the consequences of their own judgments, the people unwittingly placed themselves in a prison of their own making.

Can you believe that?

**********

Gull=ability is the ability to be taken to the cleaners.

There once was a proud new land, it started out as a place of peace and honor, where neighbors knew each other and their kids played for hours. A place where God was the only mystery. Otherwise, the sun comes up, the sun goes down, and a living has to be made in between.

Many were farmers. A few worked in the few cities. Natural were all, for there was no electricity to turn night into day. Not yet… anyway.

It was a place, a time where neighbor respected neighbor. No one was out looking to get anything that they didn’t work for. People were honest and hard-working – for laborers are worth their hire.

The language spoken was plain and easy - lots of one and two syllable words. Expressions on the faces told most of the story. The mouth the rest.

Then somewhere along the line, a new group of people came along. They saw how trusting the people of this country were and decided to take full advantage. So they, like snake-oil salesmen, sold a bill of goods that was easily bought into. Problems were identified and told that they could be fixed. Life’s issues were pointed to and told that they could be reduced. Country life, where nature rules, was replaced with Civil Life… where the black robes rule.

Languages were exchanged. One that was plain, simple and common… was replaced with one that is complicated, incomprehensible and absurd. 

A new system was created from this new language. People were told that this new system was going to bring forth a better life - one that is more comfortable, more secure and more prosperous. Always more.

People were told that this new system, albeit un-understandable, was the new way. Suddenly the people were being forced to go through “The System,” instead of being allowed to work things out for themselves. A third party moved in and took over. The people were now being charged with things that they did not understand – and with every charge came a fine and/or a penalty and/or a fee. (Cha-Ching!) Now, the people were not only possibly guilty of doing something, but it could also be criminal to do NOTHING, should they not comply and perform.

The people, when they met the black robe unrepresented, were summarily dismissed - the language being so difficult. The need for an interpreter became essential. Confusion, frustration and stress now became the new routine of the day.

It was not enough to deal with their own personal, private issues and the issues of their neighbors; now they are being required to serve that which was created to serve them. 

In a relatively short time, the law that was common to everyone was abolished and replaced with these newly created laws. The entire land was now bound by these new words, all written by these deceivers.

(They even told the farmers what crops they had to grow and then gave them the seed each year to do it. And they also told the teachers what things they had to teach in school and what books they were to use to teach it.)

These swindlers now owned this land. They successfully took advantage of these good and trusting people and put themselves in positions to be making all the rules now. They have also changed many words, which included deleting history and re-writing it at their discretion, creating all new truths, which always made sure to put their actions in a better light.

In this once land of peace and honor, right and wrong were replaced with legal or illegal; entire generations of family’s wealth were stolen by these thieves – albeit, legally so; and entire families were destroyed using words written by these scoundrels and enforced by the willing.

Suddenly, these newly “incorporated” towns began operated outside of the people and at the mercy of something called a tax-base. Private property was done away with and came under the jurisdiction of something called Code Law. Now the swindlers controlled everything. 

The citizens of this beautiful land knew deep down that something here was very wrong. They entrusted this group of people with their very freedoms and liberties, as well as their homes and properties and the welfare of their families, and have watched them all get summarily dismissed. 

Something had to be done. However, the people knew that there were a certain number of their own people who believed these deceivers and became loyal to them – they were the ones who carried all the guns.

So after a little thinking, the people knew that violence would not work. For these loyal supporters who enforce these deceiver’s laws would use their weapons against all threats (even their neighbors) - which they believed to be their job. In their positions, they acted as drones, simply doing what they were told; they were not in the habit of giving mercy or listening to reason; and incredibly, they all believed that what they were doing was right.

What to do? The people then, after much pondering, came up with the solution…

They voted the scoundrels out. 

By using their votes (and their overwhelming numbers), they cast out these swindlers from the offices they were holding onto and replaced these deceivers with real people. Then, these brave people did away with all those corrupt and controlling laws and replaced them with ones that are common and fair to everyone. Thus peacefully changing the enforcers back to peace officers and ending a long-standing war between the people and their servants.

Yea!

And what happened to those swindlers when they got found out and voted out? They simply went to other lands looking for people who are just as gullible as these folks once were. And on this planet, they’re everywhere.

**********

Wealth grows from within, because anytime it comes from the outside, well...  

that's where it goes back to.

There once was a land where peace was the most important thing. For with peace, came prosperity. And with prosperity, came pretty much everything else.

One day, a certain man of a certain lazy family had a brilliant idea at being able to make money without having to work for it – he would construct a building and within this building he would put a safe. And within this safe he would put the money that the people brought to him – albeit temporarily. And his family would run it and control it and reap the rewards of it.

You see, the brilliance of this man’s idea was that his family could make money by using other people’s money to do it. He figured out that if his family took the vast majority of what they were given and invested it in prosperous things, then THEY would make the majority of the profit from those investments. Also, since they lent on a principle where interest compounded on itself daily, they also made tremendous amounts off their money that was lent back to the people. 

(To put it simply…. This family took other people’s money and then claimed it as their own to make more money. Then they lent THEIR MONEY back to the people, at interest on interest, thus making even more money on the money given them by the people. Quite the scheme, don’t you agree?)

And to show their gratefulness for the money given them by the people, this greedy family paid the people back a tiny percentage for the money they used.

And the people were happy.

This went on for a rather long season – people bringing their hard-earned money to this family business, so they could turn right around and invest that money to buy properties at bargain basement prices, and then mortgage them out where they would receive 3 to 4 times the amount lent – and the longer the loan, the more money this lazy family makes. And personal loans had an even higher rate.

They soon became the richest family in town. Everyone looked up to this lazy, well-to-do, well adorned family and their rich ways. Over time, these lazy people had more buildings built and named after them. They took credit for everything in the name of progress, for they believed that without their money being lent out, there would be no progress. Without their philanthropy, there would be much greater suffering than what already is.

Over time, the people were becoming extremely agitated. Because of the compound interest being charged on the money they borrowed, they began working harder and harder and started having less and less. (That is, less time spent with family, less money to pay the bills, less patience, etc.)

Homeowners began selling parts of their properties to raise the money for this interest on interest. This lazy family collected the homes on those who didn’t pay. The people went to their government to complain about this lazy family’s practices, but were summarily dismissed for lack of interest.

More and more money flowed this lazy family’s way from all the fees and penalties being imposed upon the borrowers, because of their inability to meet their obligations on time. Interest rates were increased on the poorest, due to this greedy family seeing them as a greater risk with THEIR MONEY that they had lent to these commoners. And more and more in debt these poor folks went. 

Now this lazy family was becoming mega-rich. They owned almost all the properties in the land. By using the people’s money to their advantage and then lending it back to the people at compound interest, and then fining them for their tardy ways, this wicked family became as Monarchs.

The people, who once lived in peace and prosperity, now felt as slaves to the grind and hated their lives. What are these people to do?

At about this time, a certain citizen came forth and offered this solution. “What if we built our own building for the people to bring their money? And what if all the profits and interest stay with the people? The new business could have salaried employees, but the people would own it – not just one family. Then we can ALL share in the profits.”

Well, that’s just what the people did. Since they got no help from their government and this lazy, greedy family was not going to change their practices, the people stopped taking their hard earned money to this evil family, and built their own building, with their own safe, run by their own citizens who understand the meaning of trust.

This new Bank of The People did not charge compound interest, but 10% simple interest, on the money’s lent. And this was sufficient for the building’s obligations to be met, salaries to be paid and good profits to be made.

All the people now kept their money in The People’s safe – thus keeping it within their “family.” And within what seemed to be no time, the people once again owned their own property; they got back nearly everything that was lost; and peace and prosperity, once again, reigned in this land. And they never heard nary a word from that other lazy family again.

Amen. 

**********

At the heart of every scam is this simple principle:

Take what is of worth and replace it with something that is worthless and make the one who just go scammed feel good about it -

                                                                          then get the hell out.

There once was a land of proud, free people. Everyone trusted everyone and a handshake sealed the deal. The only need for paper was to finish up the dirty work – if you know what I mean.

The people of this land did have money, it was a valuable mineral. But mostly, these people bartered between themselves to get what they wanted. (In other words, very little transfer of hard currency happened.)

Well, one day a new family moved into the neighborhood and convinced those good folks that they should stop carrying around all that mineral and start carrying something more convenient – something not so cumbersome and bulky – something that was just as good as their mineral, but a whole lot easier to use… and could be folded.

This made sense to the people. Carrying around all that mineral was a hassle; too much was dropping out of one pocket and falling into another. But would the new money be insured? The mineral money never deteriorated and would last forever.

Yes, the new money would be insured. It would be replaced at no charge anytime it was traded in for newer money.

Well, this satisfied the people, and they all agreed that this new money was the smart way to go. All this new family asked is that the people bring in their precious mineral and exchange it for this “new money.”

The people gladly turned over their precious mineral for this new script – ink on paper. They happily started paying for things more and more and cut way back on the bartering. The people started acquiring more and more stuff. Life changed to one that was more updated – more better.

However, the people began to notice over time that their new money was buying less and less goods. People were having to work harder to keep what they have. This new money was SOMEHOW becoming more and more worth less.

The newcomer held a meeting with these anxious people and told them that this is something called “inflation.” It was a very technical aspect of business and commerce - more than the average person could understand - but he would fix it.

So he started offering more of his money for this precious mineral. What a deal! People came out of the woodwork to give this family their precious mineral – so much money for so little mineral!! Again, what a deal.

Then one day, the people who had worked so hard and lost so much, came to the conclusion that this new money wasn’t working out and they wanted to get their precious mineral back. 

So all the people gathered at their town hall and marched to this newcomer’s place of business to get back what was once theirs. They were fully expecting to trade in this script for their precious mineral.

To their disbelief, they came upon a closed-up shop, not a soul to be found. There was nothing in the safe and the people’s precious mineral was all gone.

The only thing left was a seven-word handwritten note taped to the inside of the window…

“Out of business. Went on vacation. Thanks.

”**********

Time's like money, it ain't what it used to be.  Spend it wisely.

Coins are very curious things. Although their man-made shapes and values generally differ, all coins have one thing in common – they all have two diametrically opposing sides: heads or tails. No gray area here.

But upon further inspection, it appears all coins have a THIRD side, too. It is the “edge” side, the ring which connects and separates one to/from the other. The depth of this side, generally dictates the weight of the coin. And normally the more a coin weighs, the greater its worth.

However, when these rules are disregarded and money is made worth less, time corresponds in kind. It must, after all…

TIME IS MONEY.

**********

Misdirection is the only direction the deceiver wants you to look.

Ten people gave ten thousand dollars each to a man who promised to increase their wealth. He gladly took their money and went about his business making more money from that money.

Things did go well for a season. Those ten people saw good usury off their “investments” and were exceeding glad. (The man however, made ten times more than the ten combined.) 

Then, to this “money maker’s” great gladness, most of his clients took his advice and gave back their profits for “reinvesting.” This well dressed businessman was quite convincing when he highly recommended that they do this. “The more money you invest, the stronger your portfolio will be and the greater the return you’ll receive on your investments.” He pronounced with great confidence. “That’s the way to win at this game.”

Then one day, something terrible happened. All those investments got “lost” in one terrible day of business. Somehow all that money just disappeared.

“I’m terribly sorry,” said the down-faced man. “There was a severe downturn in all the businesses you invested and all your money was lost.”

The people couldn’t believe it – they accepted it (albeit grudgingly), but they couldn’t believe it. For, after a while, they had invested much more than just ten thousand dollars with this man – they invested their future. And now it was gone.

And where did this money go that got “lost?” It didn’t go anywhere. It’s still in the hands of the one who took it – it always was.

**********

Just below the surface, is where the serpent lives.

How does wickedness get what it wants? It secretly messes with whomever it wants to gain dominion over, until those people openly fight back.

Now wickedness can go to war against what it wants and conquer it in the name of safety and security and most importantly, with The People’s blessings.

Just what wickedness wanted in the first place.

**********

History repeats until the lesson is learned.

But it doesn’t always look the same.

like a laser, He used that taser,

for the execution of the electrocution,

to gain dominion over His minion;

for He is a Member of the

Sorority of the Authority,

of the lawful to do the awful

and to say with great force,

those liability-less words, of course,

“Hey, I’m just doin’ my job.

”**********

Sometimes, great trials produce greater results. 

One day, a Dragon decided to visit a village full of humans. As it flew across the sky, it blew fire and smoke, which completely blocked out the sun from the villagers’ view. This scared the livin’ bejeebers out of ‘em. They had never before seen a creature like this, with this kind of firepower, and ran to the hills and hid. 

The Dragon, seeing that its future meals for that day all got away, got miffed and blew a couple of fireballs towards the village to show his dissatisfaction. These fireballs, which were no small things, mind you, took out better than a third of the village. Then, upon gaining enough joy from the misery of others, the Dragon flew away.

By the end of the year, most of the village had been built back up again. And things, as much as they could be, returned to normal - except for the rumors being spread about what everyone actually saw.

Then one day, again the Dragon flew over the village and noticed that it had all been put back together. The people again seemed to be in balance. “This will not do.” The Dragon reminded itself. So without a hint of warning, the Dragon swooped down and with a mighty breath, turned better than two-thirds of the town into cinders. The people made it out by the skin of their teeth, but a lot of their stuff wasn’t so lucky. 

Again the Dragon flew off mumbling something about getting nothing to eat.

After hiding for a long time, a few of the villagers stepped out of hiding, only to find most of their homes, businesses and places of worship, utterly destroyed. Fear started turning to anger - and for some, to rage.

“What is this creature and where does it come from?” One villager cried out.

“And why must it keep destroying our village, when we have done nothing to it?” Another asked.

Then the leader spoke. “We will go find out. Gather your supplies, we leave in an hour.”

The leader then gathered 12 men and went in search of this creature of fire - this beast of destruction and misery. The brave men weren’t sure what they were going to come up against, but they knew that they had to somehow make this creature stop destroying their property… or maybe, even themselves. So they walked in the direction it flew.

After traveling a rather short distance, they came upon many other burned things - forests, other villages and huge tracts of land were all burnt to a crisp. They decided to follow these catastrophes in hopes of finding their “creator.”

After a day and a knight’s journey, the brave men came upon a cave with rank smelling smoke coming out of it. “This is surely the place.” The leader of the brave men commented.

Then, using their excellent hunting techniques, the brave men worked their way through the obstacles of carnage and made their way to the opening of the cave. From the moment they entered, all they could see, taste, touch, smell and hear were the crispy-crittered carcasses of all the living things this creature destroyed. This is its wrath.

As they made their way deeper and deeper into the Dragon’s Lair, the leader noticed large scales that must have fallen, or been shed, from the creature. “Each of you take one of these, I believe they are parts of the creature that will protect us from its wrath of fire.”

“But how can you be so sure?” One man asked.

“It is doubtful that the weapon of mass destruction this beast has been endowed with, would also destroy it, or else the beast wouldn’t use it. Therefore, it makes sense that this beast has created a natural barrier to protect it from its own destructive nature. So these scales should act as pretty good shields against its wrath.”

Then, after many carefully placed steps, the men came upon the beast. It was sleeping in the darkest recess of its lair. They took cover behind a large rock outcropping.

“Maybe we should kill it – kill it now before it awakes.” A few of the men anxiously whispered.

“No.” The leader stood up and spoke aloud. “We will awaken the beast and ask it our questions.”

“But what if it sends us its wrath? What do we do then?” One man whispered back.

“Use your shield, one of its scales, to protect you. Hold it before you and get all of you behind it.”

“How do you know it will respond to you – understand you?” Another man asked.

“Surely a being that possesses these unbelievably incredible talents has a conscience, a consciousness.” Then the leader picked up a rock and threw it near the feet of the beast. “HEY! WAKE UP! HEY, WE WANT TO TALK WITH YOU!” 

Suddenly the Dragon awoke with a terrible jolt and quite unhappily became conscious of the intruders. In the wink of an eye, it drew a breath…

“GET BEHIND THE SCALES!” The leader yelled.

…and let go a horrendous blast of fire and brimstone. 

After a few seconds, which was needed to give the smoke the time to clear, the leader put down his scaly shield. Upon seeing this, the Dragon began to take in another huge breath.

“WAIT!” The leader threw up his hands. “Wait, oh great creature of fire and destruction. We are not here to harm you, we are only here to talk with you.” As the leader turned and motioned his arm to show the creature all of his men, the men ducked out of site, leaving the leader alone to face this beast. Perhaps not-so-brave. “There are things that are happening that we just do not understand. Can you please help us to?” The leader got down on one knee.

The Dragon was taken aback. Never before had any of its food sources ever showed it such respect, such honor - let alone want to communicate with it! This, it was not going to pass up. “Why do you come to me?” The Dragon asked. “Why do you violate my space?”

“Because you have violated ours, oh great beast.” The leader replied.

“Your space?” The Dragon quickly rifled back. “I was here BEFORE you. You came into MY space. I used to have free reign over all this land, but now because of all you humans, I only have this damp, dark cave to give me refuge.”

“Why do you wish to do us harm?” The leader asked. “Why do you burn down our buildings and destroy our homes and places of worship?”

“You show me no respect.” The Dragon retorted quite matter-of-factly. “You only know how to take. You take and take and take without a single consideration from whom you are taking or even anything about GIVING BACK.”

“What is it that you wish for us to give back to you, to show you the respect you feel you deserve?”

The Dragon thought for a moment. “A few of you would be nice… maybe tied to a stake or something where they can be easily gotten at.” The Dragon picked something out from between its teeth with one of its claws and flicked it toward the men.

“You wish for us to sacrifice ourselves to you?” The leader wanted perfect clarification.

“Yes, I expect it.”

“We will not.” The leader stood his ground. “All of life is precious, and life is not to be sacrificed in such a vane way.” A few of the men who were peaking above the rocks which shielded them, quickly ducked back down, fearing the worst.

The Dragon stood taller. “Then give me part of your land to claim as my own. A place where I can be safe from you.”

“You wish for us to sacrifice our land for you – all our gardens that we’ve worked so hard on? Our forests that have taken us years and years to make pristine, just so you can level them on a single whim? Our lands where our children play and cattle roam?”

“Yes.” Replied the Royal Reptile. “I expect that will do just fine.”

“We will not.” Again the leader stood up for himself - and his people. “We are entitled by Prime Creator to a place where we can exist in harmony with our environment. The land we use is needed – you’ll get no part of it.” By now the men behind the rocks were really feeling this was the end. 

“Then you will perish!” The Dragon cleared a spark from its nostrils. “If you are not willing to make sacrifices for me, then you will die. I will burn you to a cinder. I will destroy everything you make.”

By now the leader had moved even closer to the great beast, looking up even higher.  “Who are you to make such great threats? Who are you to do harm to anything? Why must you attempt to claim our lives and property as something that belongs to you? WHO ARE YOU?” The leader asked with great compassion and authority.

“I AM THE DRAGON.” The Dragon majestically replied, with equally great authority. “I am the keeper of these lands. I am the biggest, the strongest and the fiercest. I have been here since the beginning and my creed is, until something bigger, stronger and fiercer comes along, everything here belongs to me.” The Dragon started blowing huge smoke rings towards the leader. They made the men cough.

The leader however, was undaunted. “You know we have the Right to defend ourselves. We will never attack you, but we will defend ourselves.” He knew the visit was over.

Feeling the leader’s honor towards the beast, the Dragon bid them farewell and promised them safe passage out of its lair. “You will see me again.” The Dragon ominously warned.

On the way out of the cave, the leader had a brilliant thought. “Grab as many of these scales as you can. We shall return again in two nights to take the rest.”

Upon returning to the village, the leader called a great meeting. “It claims everything here belongs to it. It wanted us to sacrifice ourselves for it, to honor it. I said no. It then wanted to take control over parts of our land, to satisfy its demands for justice. I again said no. It told me that it was the biggest, the strongest, the fiercest one of all and because of that, we belong to it - our lives, our liberty and our property. I said we have a God-given Right to exist here, or else Prime Creator would not have put us here in the first place. It did not accept that and bid us farewell, with the warning that it would return.”

“What shall we do? We’re doomed!” A number of villagers cried out. “It will kill us all! It will show no mercy!” All the villagers began expressing great fear.

“Wait! Wait!” The leader shouted and waived his hands. “I’ve got something to show you!” He held up one of the two huge scales that he removed from the cave. Then he cheerfully announced, “These will save us, the beasts own scales! There are thousands of them in its lair. We will remove them from there and rebuild our village out of them. All our homes and places of work and worship will then be safe from this beast and its destructive nature. We will use the part of it that it continually discards to protect ourselves with. Once we do that, the beast will be powerless to do us harm.”

“Then we will KILL IT!” One of the villagers screamed. Then the entire village exploded in a frenzy of cheering.

“NO!” Screamed the leader. “That beast has the same Right to exist that we do. We will exist in HARMONY with it. We will not take more than we need and we will give it some of our food as an offering of good faith.”

“Good faith toward what?” Someone yelled. “The first chance that thing gets, it’s going to kill us all! And that’s for sure!” The crowd began mumbling.

The leader seemed unaffected. “Through our defense, the beast will realize that it cannot harm us. Through our giving, it will give us mercy. In turn, it will see that we can live together in a mutually beneficial way. The beast will end up protecting US, but we must first prove that we are NOT a threat to it in any way. We must be humble and give without grumbling. You must see this outcome, for it is totally possible. But we must FIRST show good faith.”

Just then, like a missile falling from out of the sky, the Dragon swooped down and took a feeble old man. As the villagers fled for cover, the Dragon took out everything else that withstood its last visit. “I TOLD YOU I WOULD BE BACK!” It shouted. “This is what you owe me.” The Dragon held the old man high in the sky with its talons as it flew back to its lair.

“We have nothing now.” A young woman fell to her knees in the ashes of what remain. “That monster has destroyed everything!” 

“Not everything.” The leader held up one of the scales, which was smoking, but unblemished from the great blast of fire. “Let us go this evening, all of us, to the Beast’s Lair and bring back as many of these scales as we can. It may have destroyed our old village, but we’re going to build a brand NEW one from scratch - one that’s impervious to it.”

That full moon night, the entire village – every able-bodied man, woman and child - made that long day’s trek to the Beast’s Lair. They pulled carts that they would later fill with hundreds and hundreds of scales.

As they approached the cave opening, the leader motioned for the villagers to make a single line. “We’ll go in first and start handing them out. Be quiet now, we don’t want to awaken the beast. It wouldn’t take kindly to what we’re doing.”

All through the night and into the wee hours of the morning, hundreds upon hundreds of scales were passed, one by one, out of the cave. The entire village worked as one unit. Quite effective. Quite efficient. (Isn’t it amazing how diverse people always seem to come together in times of crisis?) 

When they knew they could carry no more, they all quietly headed back to the village, carrying with them the hopes for a peaceful future.

Over the next couple of days, the villagers worked frantically to build their new homes and businesses and places of worship. They found that the scales actually fit together like puzzle pieces and quite easily created very spacious, as well as safe, dwellings for all the families. Most came to say that these new homes far surpass any of the ones they used to live in.

When all the homes and businesses and temples (along with one very large building at the outskirts of the village) were completed, the villagers celebrated with a huge festival - the biggest party anyone can ever remember.

It was also harvest time for their most excellent gardens. So the villagers also recognized a feast like never before. Some food was prepared; much food was stored.

The leader then spoke up. “Take this food and put it in that building.” He pointed to a good-sized cache of food getting ready to be stored, and then to the rather large building just outside the village.

“All of it?” Many asked with feelings of anxiety and doubt. “Don’t we need to store this away for later? For those times when the beast will burn our crops and create great lack?”

“No.” The leader commanded. “Take it all to that far building over there and leave it.” He pointed.

“BUT IT WILL ROT!” One of the men cried out. “We can still save it!”

The leader touched the young man on the shoulder. “You must trust in my judgment.” He spoke with great compassion and wisdom. “Please, let us ALL take a little of our bounty and place it there.”

After a considerable amount of food was taken to the far building, the leader gathered everyone into a large circle. “We give thanks to Prime Creator for His bounty – for His limitless compassion. We thank Him for His wisdom and mercy…” 

Just as before, the Dragon abruptly made its presence known. But, instead of running to the hills (the old place for hiding), the villagers took safe refuge in their own homes and awaited the beast’s wrath.

“YOU THINK YOU ARE SAFE FROM ME INSIDE YOUR HOMES?” The Dragon yelled with great rage. “You mock my power?! WE SHALL SEE!” Just then, it let rip a huge breath of fire and brimstone. With that, the Dragon engulfed the entire village with its wrath. A huge mushroom cloud of smoke and fire grew from its center. “That’ll show ‘em.” The fire-making beast laughed out loud, as it soared into the sky.

As the Dragon reached its peak and flipped over to make another pass, it noticed all the homes and other buildings were still standing, still intact – not even on fire. “What? NOT destroyed?” The Dragon couldn’t believe its eyes. So it came back through again with another thunderous blast of heat and carnage – well, lot’s of heat, but no carnage.

Over and over again the Dragon blasted the village – with no effect. Then being so frustrated and angry and down right enraged that such a puny species can stand up to such a superior species, it mustered up and delivered the biggest, the strongest and the most fiercest blast of fire (that it had ever made in its whole life) upon the village. 

(You may be asking yourself right now, ‘Hey, maybe the flames aren’t getting to the people, but what about the heat? Surely they’re cookin’ by now.’ Good thought. You see, the leader thought of that, too, and had a large tub of water placed in every house as it was being built. Then, when the Dragon struck, the family would all sit in this tub of water, which would protect them from the intense heat. Pretty smart, huh?) 

Then the leader came out of his home and yelled to the Dragon – “Great fire-beast! You see what we have done?”

“Yes.” The Dragon sadly replied. “You have used a part of me against me, a part of me that I am unable to destroy.”

“Not against you, my fiery lizard – FOR US.” The leader had a huge smile. “Look.” He pointed to the building far away. “Now! Do it now!” He yelled to some men standing down beside it.

Upon command, the men pulled on some ropes, making the entire building collapse outward, around the food, without doing an ounce of harm to any of it.

“This is for you, oh great Fire Breather. We give it to you so you can experience our sincerity, our genuine desire to live in harmony with you. Now we can’t give this to you all the time, just this one time of year we call harvest.” 

The Dragon was in a complete funk from this genuine gesture of love and mercy. In fact, for the first time in its life, it actually generated water, which leaked out if its eyes. At that moment, the Dragon stood to levy another blast, but couldn’t get any fire to come out. It appears that the water from the heart put out the flames of the head.

The Dragon then landed nearby and fell to its knees and wept. “You have opened my heart, oh great beings of mercy and love. You have shown me this mercy, this love and I have no more desire to bring my wrath upon you. I realize now that I have misjudged you – I made a mistake. I will trouble you no more.” The Dragon then lifted from the ground with a mighty leap and then swooped down towards the far building. With mouth wide open, it consumed the entire lot in one single chomp. 

‘Impressive.’ The leader thought.

Then as it flew over the villagers, it yelled out “I’ll be back next year! Until then, know that because of your love and mercy for me, I will always protect you.” Then it flew away.

And to this day, 

all those who show the Dragon 

love and mercy are protected.

All of them.

**********

The servant that believes itself to be greater than the one being served, is only serving evil.

Pure and simple.

licensing and registration.

anger, rage and more frustration.

people pissed within this nation.

this is the white man’s world.

Contracts, Deeds, Titles and fees.

documents abound - cut down more trees.

who needs oxygen when you’re living on your knees?

this is the white man’s world.

believe what you hear, question not a soul.

follow, follow, follow - keep doing what you’re told.

the Authorities know best, this bill of goods is sold.

this is the white man’s world.

be civil, be meek and always law-abiding.

take what you’re told with no more fighting.

the pen can kill because of its writing.

this is the white man’s world.