ALTERNATIVE HISTORY

     There has been, of late, a spate of books written  with an alternative theory of history, that is, what might have been if things had been different. If a decision had been different, if an action had been taken or not - what would history have been like? I find these books fascinating reading yet shudder at times from the close calls, from what could have been.
     What is even more fascinating - and frightening - are the books written with an alternative future, a result of a different past or  different outcomes of reality in the past and the fact that these books are so realistic can scare the wits of the reader. In any case, I am reading a fascinating book called The Ambassador by Yehuda Avner and I cannot put it down, for its "history' and what it says about us, humankind.
     What amazes me in this book is the fact that the author could have an optimistic point of view about the ability of some people, some very evil people, to turn themselves around, to face the truth that reached out and smacked them right in the face, the realization that these people whom they treated as subhuman, whom they slaughtered, were people, with wants and desires, needs and loves and in turn did a totally unexpected turnaround and performed an act or two of heroic, yet seemingly minor, proportions.
     Here, while we had an author who believed in the possibility of good, even as Anne Frank also wrote that she believed that there was good in people(amazing that she could write that), an author of another book, Jacqueline Winspear, wrote in her latest Maisie Dobbs book, Journey to Munich,  which took place mainly in pre war Nazi Germany, that all of us have a streak of evil within us, one that allows us to say just the thing that will hurt someone, or commit a cruel act, but most of us can control these feelings; however, there are some people, who when confronted by a certain circumstance, open the floodgates of their evil and it pours forth, to a degree which can astonish humanity. Such were the Nazis and their helpers, their co-criminals.
     I happen to believe in both theories, as contradictory as that may sound, but I have seen it happen and cannot explain at times the sudden act of kindness from the nasty person, or the helping hand and heart that can suddenly come to the fore. But I also know of the hatred that lurks within man, that looks for an entrance into the world and as I look around in this world at the present time, it is frightening to see all the hate. And yet, we are also finding that bitter enemies, blood enemies, of long duration, can actually talk and deal with each other. Listen and you will hear some of the voices of hope coming out of Israel and Saudi Arabia, a lone voice from Kuwait, the long lasting peace between Israel and Jordan and Egypt. It is not always smooth, but it is there.
     The message? Well, always read, for it gives nourishment to the brain, but seriously, the world out there is not very different than the world in here, inside the gates of CV. People become heated, revved up over the doings in the Village, over the misdeeds, the poor policies, the acts taken or not, with malice aforethought or  not, of careless thinking and incompetence. But they also need to think of the people who volunteer and want only what is good for the Village, who actually care. I know that these people, today, while growing in number, are now tired. Tired but still determined. I know that many of us who have volunteered or wish to volunteer have been turned away or turned off by the actions of certain members of UCO, but we must also remember that we can write an alternative history of the future if we remember that nothing is permanent and that WE HAVE MADE  A DIFFERENCE already. The ballot machine, certain policies - all came about because UCO was pushed into it. WE denied them the wasteful policy of their Wi Fi and need to watch about Broadband, but we can do it. We can triumph in our struggle for the Village and our future.
    So although many people are now tired after the election and some people are disgusted and even depressed at the difficulty of getting this camp out of office when our hands are tied by all these new rules and regulations, illegal suppression of our freedoms of speech, of assembly and of the press - do not give up. I know that many of us are staying home, not attending committee meetings as they are ridiculous rubber stamps of the same people time and time again and what a waste and what an insult to the our intelligence. Do they think we do not notice that the Advisory and the Bid and the Officers, etc., are 95% the same people with the odd person thrown in as  a token - if even that - so the votes are moronic with no purpose - not until there is a fair realignment of the members and a limit of one time to vote for all people, not again and again and again and again.....ad infinitum and truly ad nauseam!
    But the time will come when we finally turn this place around. In the meanwhile, before Nature takes its course, before time runs on and over us, we need to stay strong and devoted to the truth and not give in to despair. Remember - arf, arf!