For Want of Control
On the seizure of Mr. Uriel Obsevare from
Aeroflot Flight 124, Sheremetyevo International Airport
After being driven in a windowless van over three hours hooded and cold, Mr. Obsevare is placed on a hard steel chair bolted to the floor in a room made of cinder blocks and lit by buzzing florescent tubes. Across a table sit three grim-faced men in black coats lacking any insignia. They ask him nothing and have not since he was escorted off the plane. On the table he notices his passport and wallet, all his cards to include his driver’s license are lined up neatly. Mr. Obsevare is calm and speculative, and he knew a moment like this was inevitable, so although he didn’t expect it that evening, he expected it nonetheless. After ten minutes or so of silence, other than the annoying hum from above, Mr. Obsevare decides to begin, for by that time he realized it was his show.
“What is America?” He asked abruptly.
No response, not even a twitch or grimace.
“It’s an idea gentlemen. Not even 250 years old but born from a desire to attain freedom and a group of people sought so and did. America does not have the deep roots and the long history of other countries, like yours for instance. We being a blend of almost every country on this planet certainly lack a pridian culture. And we are certainly fledgling in the scheme of nations. Even Ethiopia, long ago had an empire that reigned for over 800 years. The Kingdom of Aksum, ever heard of it?”
No response, but two of them began to smoke, a mute understanding, perhaps, that they were going to get an earful.
“A kingdom that ruled over a vast region and held sway almost three times longer than America to date. And here we are today, and my country is dying, already losing the righteous ideals of the pursuit of happiness and self-will. Already lost, perhaps, the sacred tenants of freedom and liberty. Why?”
Nothing but deep drags and smoke rising.
“Because power and want erase those in the middle, those seeking to attain. I ask you gentlemen, where in history has there ever been a thriving and persistent middle?”
Knowing that he would not get a response, he continued after an appropriate pause for meter.
“Look at your country built on another idea, perhaps to you an equally noble pursuit as democracy is to me, but was it? After hundreds of years of Tsars and no middle, comes industrialization and the bourgeoisie and how long did that last? Not even 30 years, not even two-bits before the October Revolution. What a fancy at the time. I imagine it was a righteous cause, the working class, the decimation from WWI, and the elites—the Intelligentsia, espousing the utopia of heaven on earth: equity; equality; all deserving of the same fruit for collective labor. Except for the elites, the all-knowing, the social thinkers that know better than you and me. They of course still sit above and will have none of this middle meddling.
“Two points gentlemen, since I see you will indulge me; first, do you realize that there is a hierarchy in heaven? Do you think Marx considered that? The Seraphim outrank the Cherubs, and the seven Archangels, of which you can see, I am named after one, are in the lower third of the order. Those we Christians consider supreme, like Michael who beat Satan’s ass, are actually mere privates in Angelology. So, ask yourself, where will you walk on those golden streets? Where will your house be built? You can’t be fool enough to think you will reside in the empyrean, do you? Makes you wonder, at least it makes me wonder. Second, and more to my point, your country, at least the one that exists now, although steeped in a long and colorful history, going all the way back to the late 800’s is also fledgling, even more so than America. The Bolsheviks didn’t even crack a century. I’m sure it can be argued that what you are today is still in spirit what Lenin built, but not really. So, although America is dying, we have not yet experienced a break-up, and I am considering the Civil War, which was a costly divide, but not a dissolution. But I mean an end, like the fall of the USSR, of which, I am certain you three are remnants of.”
Mr. Obsevare paused again, more to catch his breath because he was primed, and yet again not a peep from his audience.
“But the states do have independence, each one with its own government and identity, and the termination of the Soviet Union was incredible to witness and perhaps even a portent to America. But if so, very few would draw any similarities because the USSR was an oppressive communist regime, and we, of course, are the beacon of hope and all that. But a break-up can happen in my country, hell, the tail end of Florida has tried multiple times to secede. But now, in this climate we are in, one must ask are we not on the brink? Look at Texas, look at other states pushing against United. And look sincerely at United, at least those in control today, and their acolytes actively engaged to fracture and dissolve American ideals like freedom to speak and independence.
“Independence, what an idea, what a profound idea, but not in conformity with the want of control. That is another idea, the verso, and it is called a dependent state. And that was the whispered goal of the intelligentsia in your country post revolution and that is the hum of the engine beneath the rhetoric in America’s leftist ideology today. So why? Why a dependent state. Is it truly the attraction of Marx’s fantasy of utopia? Can these vastly superior beings truly believe that? Of course not. Who of the elites live in HUD housing? Who of the elites have EBT cards? Who of the elites have basic need? Not one and not ever. They are ideologues and they can never be wrong. And they don’t stand on soapboxes to proclaim their edicts, they stand on crystal daises in fashionable shoes and silk capes. And if you dare to question them, you are an enemy of United, and they will ensure everyone knows it, especially you.
“It is power gentlemen, always power that drives want of control. And it is always the middle that threatens that power. To stay elite, to maintain control, these better social designers must reduce the middle. For if you minimize the middle, you solidify control. For the lower, sadly, will always be the lower and controlling them takes no effort at all. Empty promises keep the lower where the elites need them to be. The unfortunate thing about the middle, whether the bourgeoisie of early 1900’s Russia, or in America today, is that the middle is generally asleep at the wheel. Busy with life and happy enough with the three-bedroom house and soccer weekends, most people in the middle are disconnected from the maneuverings and the policy shifts and all the little, but significant changes made by the elites. Until it is too late. It is remarkable how often history repeats itself in this cyclic way, where the masses in the middle are caught unaware and are forced to eat circumstances for elite decisions and trajectories because they didn’t have a buy-in. Sadly, they did, they just didn’t know it because they weren’t paying attention. Are you paying attention,” he quipped?
Mr. Obsevare took a moment to gauge the three men. They didn’t appear bored; they were simply impassive. He realized he was parched and asked for water. The same blank stares, the same immobility. Curious, he said to himself, cleared his throat to amplify his request for water and continued.
“Let us focus on power gentlemen, for power, I propose is the root of all evil, and this is not really a eureka observation, it is simply a basic truth. We will look at power and look at the idea of the intelligentsia’s war on the middle. To best illustrate, let us liken society to human body types. Especially in America where image is considered so important to the controlling elites. You have the apple, the pear and the inverted triangle. You also have the rectangle and the hourglass. In America it can be argued that we have an abundance of apples and pears and very few inverted triangles. I would suggest that the elites desire more pears, but they will settle for apples as long as they can keep them in place. In Marx’s pipe dream, he conceptualized the rectangle, but in practice it became a disproportionate hourglass, where the bosom was much smaller than the hips, but the waist was ideal—so narrow that very few could pass through and only with permission. And this is ultimately what the elite social thinkers in America want as well, for a bottleneck limits ascension and thus condenses power.
“Now, I will make a slight pivot, it does not deviate from what I am saying about want of power and control in a society, in fact it drills down on power and control as a deeper more insidious construct, and of course this is just food for thought while we wait here for whatever is to take place, for I have no idea why I am here and why you choose not to engage me.
“So, what is power gentlemen? And further, what is the driving force behind power? Is it to do good for others or just for yourself? Or to gain wealth and influence? Can it be an innate craving for popularity, a larger than normal ego that needs to feel special and above others? Or is power in itself the desire? Power for power’s sake. Supreme control, not crystal platforms, but a diamond podium; not limited ascension, or a bottleneck, but no neck, no passage. Just you for the sake of you, or to be a little cryptic, ‘him for the sake of him’. Please consider how many historical figures were driven by power? How many books, both fiction and non-fiction are based essentially on the solidification and use of power. Is there any driving force that is not based on power? Is not the foundation of our creation, our purpose on this earth a struggle for power and domination? Whatever religion, whatever faith or non-faith agathism, the underlying force is always power. So, ask yourself, is power a sentient thing? Is it aware? Does it have its own desire and course? And has its purpose been laid out and pursued since the birth of mankind? I ask you; I’m seriously asking you to think about it. It may dawn on you that power might actually be a conscious force. So, what of it, this force, is it a means for something else or is it a means for itself?
“I propose, for your consideration that power is an awareness and a means, but not for itself. I suggest power is a force driven by evil. A tool used by evil throughout human existence to cause destruction, terror and mayhem. A tool used by evil to constantly remind God that the goal posts have never changed, just the players. And really, can we not see this for what it is? A second or a third in line deciding he should be first. It is that simple, but the simple buried in layers over thousands of years becomes complex and convoluted. Back to religion for a moment, all religions of God or in the spirit of goodness profess the virtues of good and the warnings of bad each in its own way. And there are steps and rules and advice to reach heaven or nirvana and the unfortunate results if you do not heed and abide them. So, what is another way to look at this? Is it not a form of power, control and domination? Even Buddhism, which I would argue is the most passive, and not centered on collective control, is still subject to the force of power, for what is the goal of self-enlightenment? Is it not to gain power over corporeal life, thus power to control, albeit just yourself, but this pursuit certainly relies on power to do so.
“So here we are, and I am under your control, I am subject to your power. For what? Some bullshit charges, lies and falsifications. I’m sure I’ll find out. But whatever reason is put forth it doesn’t matter for your goal is to leverage your power over me and I know this and so do you. I know my value gentlemen, for I am an American and you will use me to flex your power, this I have no doubt.”
Mr. Obsevare stopped again. All three were smoking now and the room was thick with the gray haze of their exhaled breaths. He coughed and cleared his throat shaking his head in self-acknowledgement of his predicament. This is his moment, he knows it, this is his flexing of power, yes words only, but his words, his thoughts. Soon he may not be able to speak, so best to push on through the smoke, with his cotton mouth and stinging eyes. He chuckles in spite of it all, for what will be will be. He hopes distantly that they are at least recording, but probably not, why would they want a record of whatever happens in this room?
“I have always wanted to believe in the goodness of soul gentlemen. That we are all good by nature and strive to stay good. But when evil acts and infiltrates, our goodness lessens, our souls diminish. Going back to my idea that power is aware and a tool— the tool of evil, can this force be an invisible stream or a conduit like the akashic record that somehow attracts our souls like a drug. And we unconsciously take sips throughout our lives, even very early in life. And perhaps some of us, as the saying goes are ‘drunk on power’ because those nips became gulps? And what if, as I contend, we don’t even know we are imbibing? Perhaps Eve did not really know what the fruit actually was, at least not consciously, although it is taught that it was a willful act. But didn’t power drive her? Was not power the means to become aware? Think of a child gentleman, I won’t go as far back as an infant because survival at that stage of life should not be considered as consciously knowing, the baby is merely reacting to attain its needs. But a child, let’s settle for a toddler, knows power. This child has learned how to control and dominate. How? This is not rocket science, it’s quite simple.”
A dramatic pause this time, but still no effect, not a nod or a blink, just puffs and blows and the circling of smoke.
“Well, the child has learned how to ensure he gets what he wants. He learned through practice how to manipulate in order to gain something. He has learned how to use power for want of control. Whether successful every time or not, he has learned at a very young age how power works. Now move forward through life, do you not see how power is tapped into and utilized by us every day? Like today, here and now, how you are using your power over me. And you will use this power to gain something. What that something is remains to be seen; mere chips, us silly Americans, for others like you to flex your power at will.
“My hope for the world gentlemen, is that most of us just take little nips of power. Not giant gulps or long swigs. For those that thirst for power always lead others into pain and suffering. And this introduces my thesis gentlemen. The big power brokers and the scheming power seekers open the door for evil to bloom like the weed it is. In low doses, evil is checked, still a win here and there, still some grievous results, but not affecting large masses, not, so to speak, unbridled. But when the want of control is far reaching, global even, then who is really driving? And dare a diminished soul to try and resist, it will not matter, for evil takes control when the stakes are high. Evil becomes the direct wielder of power, and you are just a glove. For if we consider that the soul, even if not reduced as all of ours are, does not truly want to hurt others, what source can be tapped to prevent evil and want of control? Love? We’ll get to that momentarily, but for the average human, like you and I, power and the desire for power checks our souls, beats them into a corner of our life force to cower and watch in horror and disbelief evil do its work.
“And what work gentlemen! So many examples, so many heart-wrenching stories, of grim and despicable facts throughout our existence, and do you sense like I do the rapidity of late? The uptick? if you check the pulse, you will see that these examples are quickening, yes, the tempo is rising. And we are numb to them, all of us to varying degrees, numb like dwellers in an opium den. And if that doesn’t show you how dim our souls are, nothing will. So, are we done? Are our souls so burrowed into the safe spaces of our life force that evil has already won, and we are just witnessing the victory lap? I wonder about this, and I fear it might be true.”
Mr. Obsevare hacked of a sudden and rubbed his burning eyes. He was impressed with the three men in the room with him. Not one in any kind of discomfiture, even though they were in the same room filled with thick smoke and no airflow. And it was warm, quite warm, and although he realized he was sweating and sticky, not one of them had the slightest sheen of perspiration. He wondered if they were robots.
“If it is the truth, I am ever the optimist. I sincerely believe that goodness can make a comeback. And we have examples of this, not as many examples as bad, but just enough glimmers of hope to inspire me to not give up. As if goodness is asking us to persevere. So, I try to. I am trying right now to dig my soul out of the hole it’s in. Are you?”
Of course, no answer.
“I believe that if we allow evil to use us for control and domination, we cannot expect God to forgive. Well, maybe,” he adjusted considering, “if we just take little nips throughout our lives, but don’t get hooked, maybe then with Lord Jesus petitioning and some of those higher angels interceding, maybe then some of us will ascend. Not as an inverted triangle and certainly not at the top of the hourglass, but maybe we will get a shot at heaven where there are no body-types at all. I don’t know if I’m onto something gentlemen, perhaps I’m just rambling in hope that there is a higher purpose for all the suffering and the pain that the pursuit of power has wrought on human beings since we first began. And I hope further that there is another tool that transcends our collective existence. A tool that negates the sufferings of evil, the torment of power and the hurtful results of want of control. A tool that the angels use by the will of God to stop the hurt and the misery. That in the moment of terrible acts, these angels swoop in and end agony. But honestly, although this is my hope, especially for all the innocents that have suffered at the hand of evil and the force of power, examples abound that show suffering and pain are not curtailed or cut short, but allowed to happen.
“So here is a good place to segue to that other force, the one I have just described as the tool of the angels— love. I am sure, as you have listened to me (and I am thankful you have done so with such attentive patience), it struck you that love does not need the force of power for love is love. An all-encompassing ubiquitous energy. God’s love is universal and everywhere; not a driving force, but a state of presence, for that is God. Well, let us stipulate that this is true, and I believe it is, that God is Love and Love is God. Let us also stipulate that God’s love is available to all, you just have to accept it. But that there is the rub, the taking of love, or we can flip it and say the receiving of love. First you must want it, then seek it and ultimately embrace it, and I contend that this, although sounding like an easy process, is not. It takes more than a moment of clarity and reflection, and with us being so numb and all, love is a nice accoutrement when in fashion, but certainly a distant second to the necessities in life, and we get those things by use of power in one form or another.
“So, I say to you now gentlemen, practice your power. I’m sure you will, but mind don’t relinquish control to evil, don’t go slugging too deep in that stream! If you do, you’ll be held accountable no matter how deep your spirit has dug. For want of control is invariably bound with evil and when the game is for big stakes, evil will not be the one riding shotgun.
“I know when I started this rant, I was talking about socialist ideology and power, and then it morphed into evil and power and some will inevitably cry foul. But I am not trying to link the two. I am simply warning that one can lead to the other. A caution to the masses of what can come next. It certainly appears that America is on a trajectory that doesn’t give many in the middle a warm and fuzzy, and likely has ‘woke’ many up, but not in the way the architects desired. The frantic and erratic steps progressive ideologues are taking today are causing pain and suffering to the apples and the pears. This is irrefutable. So, although I am not suggesting that the essence of socialist dogma is evil, even though history is rife with actors that have used the doctrine in very evil ways— also irrefutable— what I am submitting is that thirst for power and want of control enables evil and we all must be vigilant against that! Also, we should not be so haughty to profess that the foundation of a virtuous thought will ultimately build a castle in the clouds. For the less smug amongst us realize that most people in a castle are not lords and ladies, so try not to be so hypocritical with your thees and thous but be honest about who you will actually invite to the ballroom social.”
Mr. Obsevare wiped his brow, he looked around and tried to find anywhere in the room that wasn’t obscure. The cigarette smoke was so thick that curls and wisps very dancing around his ankles. Not bad, he thought, but he knew it didn’t matter. Whether they were robots or flesh and blood, it didn’t matter at all.
“Now get to it boys, I’m out of saliva and my throat is screaming. I will try to forgive. I will try to focus on the higher purpose, that which is above evil. But evil reigns here until God says otherwise. So, I’ll go on hoping and I’ll put a prayer in for you too. And if gets really bad, I’ll ask the angels to swoop down and carry me away. But first I’ll have to do my best to pull my soul out of this hole, but it’s tough goings.”
jlewisceleste 