The following tale is fictional. No people or animals were harmed during its writing. We tell this fable for its many analogies and applications, maybe to your life, your experiences, your efforts, or your strategies. We hope that at its conclusion, you will spend some time in personal reflection, to evaluate what could, or may, be happening to you in our Nation today. The tale speaks to your accountability to your Creator, and how steadfast you are to His innate conscience and morals within you. Remember, a light shines brightest in the darkest places.
Years ago, in a land not far away, there were people very interested in hunting down some very illusive animals. No matter how hard they tried using conventional means, they were always extremely unsuccessful. Together, they rationalized that their methods must be flawed, outdated, for their approach seemed certainly ineffective. They decided to form a club, to communicate, coordinate, and devise better strategies and methods. So, a club was formed. They purchased a lodge for their meetings and proudly displayed the name of their organization on the outside of their building above the front door, “THE HUNTER’S CLUB”. They began meeting regularly to discuss and make plans, each contributing their own personal methods, which were adopted by many. They met and hunted for many months, but unfortunately, they found that the standard methods used by one member were as ineffective when used by another member. Something else had to be done to increase their effectiveness in the hunt. They started thinking “outside the box”, coming up with all kinds of new hunting methods. They tried dressing more like the prey, in colors that made them seem less threatening to the prey. The found that spaying on special scent products made them even smell like their prey. But still, they were not satisfied with the results. They determined they had not gone far enough. Soon, they began wearing the horns and feathers of their prey, but still that seemed insufficient. They learned how to make the proper sounds of their prey, and their sounds could be heard for miles around their club building when they practiced. Still, they were not being as effective in their hunt as they had hoped. They finally determined they needed to move and act like their prey. They would meet for hours at a time in their club and practice their moves, dancing, jumping, and leaping well into the wee hours of the mornings. This went on for days and extended into weeks and months. Before long, they felt they were ready for the hunt to resume. One by one they departed and joined in the hunt for their prey. They had not counted on one flaw in their plan. They could no longer distinguish themselves from their prey. They found themselves cavorting with the prey and became like their prey in nearly every way imaginable. Many forgot who they really were and were lost in the deep woods of the forests around. But they did not recognize they were lost as they seemed to have found new clanship with their prey. Months turned into years and “THE HUNTER’S CLUB” fell into disrepair due to abandonment. Years then extended into decades, during which none of the club‘s members ever returned. They were lost among their prey, for the hunters had become the hunted. Several decades passed, and many who passed by the meeting place wondered what had happened to the club. The building was covered with moss and vines, and barely visible and readable was the sign that once hung proudly over the entrance door, now partially suspended at one end with the other end resting on the ground blocking the door. Some of the greatgrandchildren of the founding members of the club would occasionally wander by and ask silently to themselves, what went so tragically wrong at “THE HUNTER’S CLUB”?
We want to be blunt, not out of spite, and certainly not out of a feeling of superiority, for what we say now is as applicable to us as it may be to you. Pollution is a horrible thing. It destroys the normal by corrupting the natural. Pollution can compromise in multiple ways and with multiple things. Pollution of the environment, of the air, water, soil, and of any natural element. Pollution can compromise and even destroy beings, like animals and humans. Pollution can also alter chemicals and chemistry. Finally, pollution can infect thoughts, ideology, morality, and truth, things that cannot be seen but can be manifested in words and actions. As “enlightened” humans, we think we know so much, but we don’t know what we don’t know. When it comes to the human brain, the mind, the center of reasoned thought, we can dissect certain functions within the brain, and can understand some of the processes within the brain that lend to communication and actions, but when it comes to understanding conscience, awareness, beliefs and thoughts, we struggle to understand and comprehend, let alone define and analyze one’s soul. We can give names to one’s actions and words through labels like liberal or conservative, schizophrenic or sociopathic, but to understand the how and why is far outside our grasp. We know that heredity, traditions, experiences, social interactions, and education play a part, but all those things can be witnessed or researched. The intangibles are illusive.
We say all of this to get to the point of our fable. As individuals, we are all self-controlling beings. We all have the FREEDOM and LIBERTY to talk and walk as we think. In our attempts to integrate into groups, clicks, or organizations, we can be tempted to act or talk against our “normal”, to “fit-in” and be found acceptable. All humans have a basic need for some kind of companionship. Some find it in spousal relationships, or in clubs of like-mindedness. Some find bonding with animals, who usually do not contradict or complicate our desires. Sometimes we are influenced to pursue our relationships as we seek acceptance and belonging with our “prey” by making efforts to become like them. So, we ask some basic questions all can answer. Have you compromised your “normal” in anyway by altering your “natural”? Do you occasionally cheat or lie, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant? When driving, do you speed beyond the limits of the established guidelines, or roll through stop signs without coming to a complete stop? Do you watch movies that make violence and sex desensitized in your thoughts and even actions? Do you seek revenge and pursue another’s harm through gossip or the spreading of lies and misrepresentations? Everyone should know we see a lot of that in campaign ads these days, regardless of which side of the political aisle you reside. Do your thoughts ponder on the good and healthy, or are they bombarded leaving scars of dislike, hate, or even violence? All of us are children of our Creator, whether you recognize it or not. He has instilled within each of us “His Image” of morality and truth. The Spirit or Soul that indwells has the choice to serve Him faithfully, or to reject His guidance and forgiveness. If we choose to walk toward the path of the tolerance of evil and sin, to find community and clanship with those who exemplify that through words and actions, then we will become just like them. We have found that when “good” attempts to influence “evil” by joining in their activities, “evil” too often overcomes the “good”. We should all be warned to not be like them. Jesus prayed that His disciples would not be “of the world”, even though they are “in the world”, and the same applies to us today. (John 17: 14-15, 20.) If you want to maintain your true FREEDOM and LIBERTY, then don’t dress, smell, sound, and act like those who call this world their home, or you will lose those qualities not only for yourself, but also for those who follow you in life. If you want to influence those who have wandered away from their Creator, just remember that a light shines its brightest in the darkest places. “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14-16.)