Futility

I woke up at 1:30am this morning. What was on my mind? FUTILITY.

Futility – Defined as pointlessness or uselessness. I have been somewhat obsessed as of late, with creating a festival to showcase the importance of knowing our history through living history or Chautauquan performances. A somewhat famous quote from the publicly unknown philosopher George Santayana reads, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” My sales pitch for the festival has been, “There are so many people in our history who have accomplished great deeds for the world and yet their personal stories are on the most part, unknown. Those stories need to be told because without those words of explanation as to why someone arrived at great deeds, the deed remains hollow, a mere epitaph of a life’s journey.

I have spent a good deal of my last 20 years or so, studying, speaking and performing as Aldo Leopold. He was a man relatively unknown in his own time but better known now through his book “A Sand County Almanac.” I strongly felt that bringing a historical character alive through performance was the best way to create a scenario for the public to remember who that person was, what their roots were and what the path was that led them to deeds needing to be remembered. Leopold is fortunate to have written a book which can be referred to over and over again. Many contributors of history have left their legacy in different forms but collectively, their stories are the fabric of who we are today. They need to be remembered.

My sense of futility this morning arose from wondering where this country and our world will be in a year. The Silver City Living History Festival is planned to be held in October of 2026. It was a year ago when enough people were misled into actually voting back a felon, an absolute horror of a person, a 100% narcissistic, evil being to represent our country. Since then, those of us who exhibit some skills of observation and intelligence, have watched in horror as the many guidelines to living in a better society FOR ALL have been quickly dismantled. This most despicable felon has replaced the value of honesty and compassion, knowledge and experience with fealty to a craven image of himself. The jesters of his court are just as delusional as they also “have no clothes” and no conscience.

I have a sense of misleading myself. I felt it important to recognize the contributions of the architects of our society, the doers of good, creative deeds. The compassionate people who fought for civil rights, for our wild lands, for those without much voice. My awakening this morning brought a shift to my reality. I still believe those stories are extremely important, but they need to be held alongside the deeds of those who have no care or concern for anything but themselves, for the opportunity of comparison. I realized that maybe a Living History festival should also include stories to remind us of the past and current world of the evil characters who seek power through debasement of the good deeds of others. These are not creators. These are destroyers. They seek to belittle others, and they mock the very qualities that most of us grew up thinking were ultimate goals: HONESTY, COMPASSION FOR OTHERS AND TRUST.

Maybe it is their stories that need to be told with boldface honesty. Those are the reminders that awaken the decency and urgency of our current world. Let us speak about the atrocities committed by these self-important narcissists. Their deeds should be the drivers to seek a better world for all. Hold up the lies that they tell and say, NO! As our 9-year-old grandson recently said, “Tell the truth. Go to your room. NOW!”

As is written in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” There are no alternative facts. When over 60 court cases have shown that no, the 2020 election was not stolen and yet many still bow down to the Liar in Chief. Open your eyes to the fact that he is naked. When someone mocks others for their qualities, that is an enormous red flag waving in your face telling you that it is the speaker who needs to be examined closely. When people flaunt the very laws upon which this country of ours was founded, then no matter what the rhetoric which issues from their mouths, these are the traitors to our country.

Perhaps it is those stories which in current times need to be stressed, amplified and not glossed over by media. Truth will out as the saying goes, but it needs to be championed as the goal not deemed as irrelevant. Truth and honesty, care and compassion are the foundation of a thriving society which respects all life. Hold up the fabricated stories told by the human imposters and say NO, we will not be led down this path of destruction to serve the unworthy few who have accumulated unbelievable wealth from the deeds of the American people. The evil emperor and his court of jesters have no clothes. The truth behind their stories needs to be told loudly until they become comical antidotes to refer to and give cause to be thankful for, that we all WOKE in time. Perhaps us awakened folks should begin referring to those whose only wish is to destroy and create more money and power for themselves, as HINOS: HUMANS IN NAME ONLY.

Futility be damned.