More - Seneca Speaks

After college graduation, I built a line of four city magazines in the early 2000’s. As fate would have it, two vastly larger national publications also competed in those markets. Without providing the tedious details, let’s say that the game on the playground was not conducted fairly. I smile on the inside here.

This short story of woe is vague; and for good reason. While receiving a schoolyard thrashing, many customers questioned my ability to prevail in the market. By simply directing those clients’ attention to applicable state and federal statutes, the status quo (the way media services had always been provided in my market segment) appeared to be “incongruent” with the law. This was enough to quell their concerns of my capacity to provide marketing services.

Imagine the surprise upon receiving a letter from one particular competitor’s legal team; directing the cessation of legal discussions with our shared clients; they considered this to be tortious interference. In laymen terms, it was asserted that by openly conversing about existing fair trade legalisms, I was interfering with their contractual business relations. I could no longer speak about what the law seem to say about the issues.

While my counsel, at the time, felt there was a strong case to be made, it would take millions to wage a drawn-out anti-trust battle. The requisite monetary resources were not available to fight on. Within twenty months, I was financially eviscerated. My complaint was presented to the highest law enforcement offices in the land; being turned away for lack of budgeted resources to take up such a case. Curious…even after two decades.

This experience forever changed my naïve views of American fair business practices. Years later, after living through the “Great Recession”, and for a second time having another business destroyed by corrupt forces outside my control, I decided that it was time to speak up with the narrative laid out in Seneca Speaks.

Most exciting was becoming a stronger, better version of myself. It was required. Catharsis demanded that the corruption which destroyed my businesses and personal life be faced with poise. At the outset of building my ill-fated publishing firm, I failed to see unfair trade; instead focusing on the opportunity before me; fostering the belief that anything was possible with the proper attitude and unyielding grit. Many Seneca Speaks characters experience similar events. Wonderful and terrible things happen on the road to enlightenment.

I learned through personal experience that our county's justice is not fair; it’s paid for. While this sounds barbarous, it reflects a state of nature. Meaning, no one hates the shark for feeding on seal pups; not a pretty picture but necessary for life. It takes having been crushed multiple times in business to accept this truism. The protagonist in Seneca Speaks experiences this same revelation.

Early in my career I took on every big challenge and opportunity as if my trousers were ablaze. Chasing a dream can cost everything. As maturity set in, it became more-evident to me that just because I could, didn’t mean I should.

The right to have or do doesn’t come without a price. Responsibility and unpredictable outcomes are ever-near with each choice. Never ever forget this.

Is there evil in the United States of America? Absolutely! Can we fight everything that’s wrong with our culture? Not a chance. There’s simply too much corruption to catch it all; and if that’s all we did, we’d cease to be a free society. Still, we should oppose misconduct. Concede that in so doing, great pain will be experienced. It was a callow assumption that flaunting the law in the face of those allegedly wronging me would be enough to ensure fair treatment-it didn’t. I was punished for speaking out against unfair trade practices that were destroying everything I had worked for.

Shedding naïveté is a violent process, tearing away society’s comforting lies. It’s quite painful. Every human endeavor comes with a marker. Often times the outlay is cruel and challenges a person’s reason for their choices. It’s easy to be naïve—hell it feels good to just go along with the fairytale. If one can look ahead along the path, know there will be injustice, yet accept the trial's sufferings, then real courage can be had—human holism.

That’s the stuff I’m getting at in Seneca Speaks. Eminence is there for the taking. But it’s going to cost you; cost more than you thought. There's no escape once steps are taken towards this desired thing. And if the choice could be undone, you’d be worse off than enduring said suffering-there’d be too much resentment.

There is no getting away from the terrible-better to face it. Face it or be a slave to anyone who’d take up running down a coward for their own gain. Life’s awesome and beautiful; but also tragic.

The slogan, 'Wide is the path!' is first used is Seneca Speaks, Part I Minding the Mind; nodding to the Holy Bible book of Matthew, holding in opposition the apostle's words that way leading to life and light was narrow. Further, this expression of hope, for a newer and more-expansive choice to make with one's life, is symbolize within the V-shaped icon. A small circle, a monad, affixed above the letter, suggesting a wide path is available to take on a journey to understanding power and it's proper use. The character, David, Part I, describes the purpose of this standard and how to best understand power's true nature.

"Those in power would like you to feel insignificant and in need of their leadership for your survival. It’s true of almost every political structure throughout the world. The higher one goes within these archetypes, the fewer who wield influence. If you sketched out predominance, it might look a lot like a pyramid. The road that leads to eminence diminishes as one gains influence over their life. Empowerment’s path is then narrow, right?”

"I understand. So you would propose to widen the path with a V?” Ethan asked, knowing the favor he was granting by not exposing David’s crime. Abigail took in the conversation with the curiosity of a newswoman.

“Without a doubt! The way to self-efficacy is denied to most given the current state of affairs. But what if it were inverted? Human existence could be wide open for many more to live a life of enrichment. Would this not appear to be much like a V?”

“How would you accomplish such an aggressive end?” Ethan questioned.

“I would be happy to explain. However, we’ve been rude excluding Miss Sanders from our conversation,” David said.

“This scares you, doesn’t it? Look at the dread residing in your fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers. The fear you feel is not in the drastic measures I’ve just laid out. It’s not the horror that your accustomed lifestyle could end. No, it is not this. It’s your own power. That’s what you fear. What does this terror embody? The personal responsibility each one of us must assume if we are to live in, build in, and move forward in this social experiment called the United States of America."

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“Power is neither good nor evil. It’s the force behind the lever, which moves the world. It’s a means. It is; whether humans exist or not. Would the sun still shine if humans never existed? That’s the proverbial falling tree in the forest. What good would the sun do a human if he didn’t exist: Nothing, right? But, the sun would still shine.”

“Thank you, Ted. Shocking, isn’t it? The currency representing the wealth of our nation retains its potency only because we choose to recognize and accept it as so. Its only worth is based upon the full faith of the United States government. That’s us. We are the government—at least in theory; and a theory is all that’s left.

“Washington representatives are no longer listening to their people. They only hear lobbyists who don’t represent us. They stand for the corporations—the new government owners. As we’re aware, a corporation is not the government and therefore cannot be voted out of office."