This is a great time to be alive [View All]

Ask yourself: What kind of time would you like to live in?

Would you like to live in a time with no great question, no great struggle, no great contest? I do not believe in Utopia, in a world of peace, because men are men and testosterone is addictive, and because power must always be held by someone and will therefore corrupt absolutely. But there have been times when people have only had to worry about their immediate surroundings, about their lawn or their crop or whether the King will conscript them to go fight the enemy across the sea. There is a peace in this, a peace in being absolutely powerless. Would you like to live in that time?

Or would you prefer to live in a time where a great question is before you, where there is a great struggle, where there is a great contest? The gamble here is the slim, good, or certain chance of absolute defeat. Being involved at all means you have power, you have a say, you can determine the fate of the planet beyond the reach of your arm. Being involved means you must face the consequences of involvement, be there defeat or victory. Any wise person will tell you of the hazards to be found down either path, each hazard being equally deadly. Winning can be worse than losing, though both are in play.

What say you? Where do you stand?

I say this is a great time to be alive, and if defeat is to come, then let it find me on my feet, and not on my knees.