As I watch the city empty itself…. Its inhabitants gathering up their goods and belongings… and boarding up their homes… I wonder… How did this come to pass? What is the reason for so many people to want to leave this beautiful place? It appears to be so pure and clean…. So… orderly….
I tap the shoulder of one such inhabitant… and ask… Tell me brother…. Why do you wish to leave this place? Isn’t it beautiful? Is there some tension between different sects?
The inhabitant sadly shakes his head…It is nothing of the sort my friend… we are all brothers and sisters here… no one hates another for such trivial reasons… but the fact is… we all fear for our lives…
I ask… Fear for your lives? In such an idyllic place?
The inhabitant replies… Things used to be different in the past… I am afraid this is a long story…
I reply… I have nothing but time…
The inhabitant sits down and begins his tale…
In the past… this city was not so beautiful…. People would often fight and say rude things… there was disorder in many places…. But even so… the people would still live happily and harmoniously together… it might seem odd… but we enjoyed the little bouts of rough-housing… we were obviously punished for our misdeeds… and we learned our lessons… even if those lessons had to be refreshed every so often…
But then…. things changed… times were dark… the old city was annihilated… and in its place… this beautiful new city rose from the ruins… built by the Emperor… The inhabitants were very pleased with their new homes and could not wait to return to life as usual…. But the Emperor wanted this city to be better in very way… and so he instituted a new set of rules and drafted a large army of enforcers…
The rules were written with good intentions… indeed many of the citizens are in complete agreement with the rules… however… the Emperor failed to give as much thought to the method of punishment for those breaking the rules… in order to nullify the bad elements…. He chose a seemingly simple method…. Death...
I ask… Death? For what kinds of crimes??
The inhabitant wearily replies…. ANY crime… EVERY crime… big or small… intentional or not… every day we are traversing a minefield…. Waiting for someone to trip…. Hoping it is not us… but that is not an existence which anyone cares for…. And so…. You see…. after losing so many friends...
I reply… Yes… I see…
The inhabitant points to a man who has suddenly jumped up onto a rooftop… Then there are people like him… who decide to go out in a blaze of glory…
The strange man starts gesticulating and talking loudly… saying some obscene things…. People around him are staring…. They all seem suddenly afraid… but there is also a hint of admiration in their gaze… and then… all of a sudden… a hooded figure descends on the man and a flash of light illuminates the rooftop.... the strange man smiles triumphantly... even as he starts to disintegrate into dust…
Inhabitant… while I do not agree with his methods… I understand his frustration… and that is why I must take my leave now my friend…
I ask… where are you going?
Inhabitant… in search of a new home… one where we wont have to live in fear of Death for every little mistake we make…
I reply…. Fare thee well my friend…
Inhabitant…. What of you?
I reply… I will stay here…. For as long as I am able… for as long as there are still people here I can call friends… I will stay with them for as long as I can…. and perhaps guide those who wish to leave... so that they may find a haven more suited to their tastes… in this way... I hope to honor the memories of the lost ones....
Inhabitant… Then… farewell...
As he proceeds to depart… hefting a large backpack…. He suddenly turns and calls after me…
Inhabitant… I just remembered something… its something I read somewhere…. It perfectly describes what our fair city is going through…
I ask… What is it?
Inhabitant… “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”
I look at him as he doffs his hat and resumes walking...
Yeah… sounds about right… but things may yet change… I have hope… even if its very little…. Its still there…
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I tap the shoulder of one such inhabitant… and ask… Tell me brother…. Why do you wish to leave this place? Isn’t it beautiful? Is there some tension between different sects?
The inhabitant sadly shakes his head…It is nothing of the sort my friend… we are all brothers and sisters here… no one hates another for such trivial reasons… but the fact is… we all fear for our lives…
I ask… Fear for your lives? In such an idyllic place?
The inhabitant replies… Things used to be different in the past… I am afraid this is a long story…
I reply… I have nothing but time…
The inhabitant sits down and begins his tale…
In the past… this city was not so beautiful…. People would often fight and say rude things… there was disorder in many places…. But even so… the people would still live happily and harmoniously together… it might seem odd… but we enjoyed the little bouts of rough-housing… we were obviously punished for our misdeeds… and we learned our lessons… even if those lessons had to be refreshed every so often…
But then…. things changed… times were dark… the old city was annihilated… and in its place… this beautiful new city rose from the ruins… built by the Emperor… The inhabitants were very pleased with their new homes and could not wait to return to life as usual…. But the Emperor wanted this city to be better in very way… and so he instituted a new set of rules and drafted a large army of enforcers…
The rules were written with good intentions… indeed many of the citizens are in complete agreement with the rules… however… the Emperor failed to give as much thought to the method of punishment for those breaking the rules… in order to nullify the bad elements…. He chose a seemingly simple method…. Death...
I ask… Death? For what kinds of crimes??
The inhabitant wearily replies…. ANY crime… EVERY crime… big or small… intentional or not… every day we are traversing a minefield…. Waiting for someone to trip…. Hoping it is not us… but that is not an existence which anyone cares for…. And so…. You see…. after losing so many friends...
I reply… Yes… I see…
The inhabitant points to a man who has suddenly jumped up onto a rooftop… Then there are people like him… who decide to go out in a blaze of glory…
The strange man starts gesticulating and talking loudly… saying some obscene things…. People around him are staring…. They all seem suddenly afraid… but there is also a hint of admiration in their gaze… and then… all of a sudden… a hooded figure descends on the man and a flash of light illuminates the rooftop.... the strange man smiles triumphantly... even as he starts to disintegrate into dust…
Inhabitant… while I do not agree with his methods… I understand his frustration… and that is why I must take my leave now my friend…
I ask… where are you going?
Inhabitant… in search of a new home… one where we wont have to live in fear of Death for every little mistake we make…
I reply…. Fare thee well my friend…
Inhabitant…. What of you?
I reply… I will stay here…. For as long as I am able… for as long as there are still people here I can call friends… I will stay with them for as long as I can…. and perhaps guide those who wish to leave... so that they may find a haven more suited to their tastes… in this way... I hope to honor the memories of the lost ones....
Inhabitant… Then… farewell...
As he proceeds to depart… hefting a large backpack…. He suddenly turns and calls after me…
Inhabitant… I just remembered something… its something I read somewhere…. It perfectly describes what our fair city is going through…
I ask… What is it?
Inhabitant… “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”
I look at him as he doffs his hat and resumes walking...
Yeah… sounds about right… but things may yet change… I have hope… even if its very little…. Its still there…
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Another blog post I made elsewhere.... and again aimed at the tyrannical moderators... this one also seems to do pretty well out of context...
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