From the June 2004 Idaho Observer:

From the Editor's Desk:

Where do we go from here?

So, what do we do now -- drop everything to take up the occupation of watching old movies and waiting, in a nostalgic reverie, for the final curtain to fall on the American dream?

But, who, then, will rescue our country and our world from the depths of depravity to which it has sunk, if good people choose to escape the sadistic perversions of our contemporary lives by hiding our minds in the movie magic past?

There is no one. We cannot escape into the realm of fantasy and await the appearance of someone else who will heal our nation's wounds. Such an escape is only suitable for those who have decided our country and her people are not worth saving; that is what we do when we decide our lives no longer have any meaning.

If you are like me and find the anger and injustice of our modern world unbearably insulting to our intelligence and sense of compassion, then you have been annointed with a responsibility that supercedes your desire to watch “Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” over and over again until the end.

What you and I do from here on out is critical. It appears that politically, economically, socially, medically and spiritually we no longer have the luxury of time to await a better future, nor do we have the option of waiting for someone else to save us from ourselves.

Sit back and think about the implications of this for a moment: We are going to hell as a nation and, if our leaders have their way, they will take the rest of the world with us.

The captains of government and industry who profit immensely from the conflict and misery their policies produce will not suddenly see the errors of their ways and reverse them to heal the damage they have caused; their minions in government will not stop administrating our destruction because they are “just doin' their jobs; the masses are too preoccupied with making ends meet and too ignorant of history to turn the tide and; God has no desire to meddle among godless people intent on destroying themselves.

Who, then, remains to remake the world in the image of decency? We don't have to look very far or think very hard to arrive at the correct answer, do we? Our human nature and its tendency to attach responsibility to anyone or anything other than ourselves may not like the answer, but THE answer is clear: You and me.

A handful of people like us know, with every fiber of our being, that humans must overcome cowardice, mass-mindedness, fear and greed or face perpetual war and pestilence until we can no longer survive ourselves. Those people, you and me, are charged with the task of bringing the world into alignment with universal principles of love, faith, honor, justice, compassion and decency.

It is difficult to experience the world of today from our perspective and not feel as if we are nearing an end from which there is no return. It is harder still to believe that we, as individuals following the dictates of our hearts, have the power in our convictions to prevent the cataclysms that await the foolish human race. But -- we do.

Right now the “smart money” is vested in chemicals and other weapons fanning the flames of ill-intent.

Intent is the most powerful force in the universe. Ours is to counter theirs. We have fallen so far we can only go up from here. (DWH)