Gleaming City Upon A Hill

Centuries ago, the was a vision. A vision brimming with the values of  dignity and courage. This vision laid the foundation for a gleaming city which rested on top of a hill.  A blood stained banner waved proudly over the city in the crisp uncultured air.  There was an assembly of architects and philosophers that  collaborated to construct what was to be their paramount oath. It was oath live in harmony, deliverance and opportunity. They made a pledge to uphold truth and free will, but sadly too  many of the initial assembly members sought power and dominance. In its infancy, the city ferociously  struggled to honor the vision it held.

Generations following the initial assembly, the city prevailed. Through war, drought, disease and strife the city stood. Beyond  hatred, fear and ignorance the city stood.  Then one auspicious day sixteen years  into the millennium a terrible crack rooted deep inside the foundation of the city became grotesquely visible. Despite the cultivation of inclusion  that  now guided the city, this ugly fissure rapidly expanded its scope.  This crack deep beneath the surface brought  havoc on the city's inhabitants. Poisoning wells of alliance, polluting  the winds of compromise and pillaging the spirit of compassion.  The  blunt and broad stroke  of terror between neighbors paralyzed effective communication.                       

Technological silos harvested  individual bias with a vengeance as an assault of facts invalidated hope.  Spiraling at an accelerated rate the city's destruction loomed on the horizon, as others  around the globe bore witness to the devastation. Corruption and hypocrisy  are menacing but not unstoppable.  Just when bleak oblivion seemed inevitable, a righteous  reckoning returned. 

A legion of champions  took to the streets. Methodically these contenders set out to  repair  the city's damage. Their tools:-forgiveness, trust, kindness, and patience.  Their number multiplied with every open heart and mind. The task  set before the city's inhabitants  would be merciless.  Like lava the fervor of transformation sears the flesh,  The flames burn off the rot and decay. Charcoal ashes tumble to the earth as the dust settles on the morning after the righteous   reckoning. The   streets are lined with the fallen, those too proud to surrender to harmony, inclusion and forgiveness.  Corpses lay trapped in jewel adorned cages. They are the hallow shells of those too self consumed to grow past perceived  individual suffering. Centuries of corrosion and destruction are monumental, yet the cities inhabitants are not weary.  Battered and exhausted, they huddle closely together, steering towards a course of healing.  An epic recovery that requires a vast range of remedies.  Solutions that only an assembly of   united inhabitants can provide. As we usher in the next  generation of patriots, leaders,  consumers and moguls, may wisdom  offer insight to steer the city back to the core of its vision.