An Excerpt from Cyrano De Bergerac, Act 5 Scene 6
CYRANO:
Why, I well believe
He dares to mock my nose? Ho! insolent!
(He raises his sword):
What say you? It is useless? Ay, I know
But who fights ever hoping for success?
I fought for lost cause, and for fruitless quest!
You there, who are you!—You are thousands!
Ah!
I know you now, old enemies of mine!
Falsehood!
(He strikes in air with his sword):
Have at you! Ha! and Compromise!
Prejudice, Treachery!. . .
(He strikes):
Surrender, I?
Parley? No, never! You too, Folly,—you?
I know that you will lay me low at last;
Let be! Yet I fall fighting, fighting still!
(He makes passes in the air, and stops, breathless):
You strip from me the laurel and the rose!
Take all! Despite you there is yet one thing
I hold against you all, and when, to-night,
I enter Christ's fair courts, and, lowly bowed,
Sweep with doffed casque the heavens' threshold blue,
One thing is left, that, void of stain or smutch,
I bear away despite you.
(He springs forward, his sword raised; it falls from his hand; he staggers,
falls back into the arms of Le Bret and Ragueneau.)
ROXANE (bending and kissing his forehead):
'Tis?. . .
CYRANO (opening his eyes, recognizing her, and smiling):
MY PANACHE.
Why, I well believe
He dares to mock my nose? Ho! insolent!
(He raises his sword):
What say you? It is useless? Ay, I know
But who fights ever hoping for success?
I fought for lost cause, and for fruitless quest!
You there, who are you!—You are thousands!
Ah!
I know you now, old enemies of mine!
Falsehood!
(He strikes in air with his sword):
Have at you! Ha! and Compromise!
Prejudice, Treachery!. . .
(He strikes):
Surrender, I?
Parley? No, never! You too, Folly,—you?
I know that you will lay me low at last;
Let be! Yet I fall fighting, fighting still!
(He makes passes in the air, and stops, breathless):
You strip from me the laurel and the rose!
Take all! Despite you there is yet one thing
I hold against you all, and when, to-night,
I enter Christ's fair courts, and, lowly bowed,
Sweep with doffed casque the heavens' threshold blue,
One thing is left, that, void of stain or smutch,
I bear away despite you.
(He springs forward, his sword raised; it falls from his hand; he staggers,
falls back into the arms of Le Bret and Ragueneau.)
ROXANE (bending and kissing his forehead):
'Tis?. . .
CYRANO (opening his eyes, recognizing her, and smiling):
MY PANACHE.
Let Us Do Evil
I sometimes ask the kids the question "Why do we do what is right?". They now know to answer with "Because it's the right thing to do". That is to say that morality is unconcerned with outcome because both morality and outcome belong to God. We God-fearing people are to do what is right. No matter what.
Some so-called evangelicals who plan to vote for Donald Trump simply haven't paid attention. They'll vote for a duck if it has an "R" in front of its name. The rest, who say they will vote for Trump simply because he claims he will support the conservative agenda and put conservative judges on the supreme court are much worse. They have said "Let us do evil to bring about good". This is a man who has doubled down on evil statements like "we should go after their families" and has suggested that he'd have sex with his own daughter because she's hot. He's used bankruptcy law, whimsically, as a business tool. He has publicly made misogynistic comments and then laughed them off instead of apologizing. He regularly puts people down. He mocked a crippled guy for crying out loud. His depravity is documented. He is un-apologetically evil. Yet many are under the dangerously mistaken supposition that either (A) He will impose moral legislation and thereby he will save America from hell or (B) voting to keep a progressive out of the white house means that somehow we will save America from hell. Only God saves folks, and to consciously elect an evil person to office to stop the progressive agenda is oh so clearly doing what is evil that good may result. And the irony is, good won't result.
Some so-called evangelicals who plan to vote for Donald Trump simply haven't paid attention. They'll vote for a duck if it has an "R" in front of its name. The rest, who say they will vote for Trump simply because he claims he will support the conservative agenda and put conservative judges on the supreme court are much worse. They have said "Let us do evil to bring about good". This is a man who has doubled down on evil statements like "we should go after their families" and has suggested that he'd have sex with his own daughter because she's hot. He's used bankruptcy law, whimsically, as a business tool. He has publicly made misogynistic comments and then laughed them off instead of apologizing. He regularly puts people down. He mocked a crippled guy for crying out loud. His depravity is documented. He is un-apologetically evil. Yet many are under the dangerously mistaken supposition that either (A) He will impose moral legislation and thereby he will save America from hell or (B) voting to keep a progressive out of the white house means that somehow we will save America from hell. Only God saves folks, and to consciously elect an evil person to office to stop the progressive agenda is oh so clearly doing what is evil that good may result. And the irony is, good won't result.
On Voting Libertarian
Now, I'm not necessarily a libertarian, but the libertarian party platform rightly points out that the government does not have the constitutional authority to impose moral behavior on its citizens. A citizen may do anything so long as it does not deprive another citizen of life, liberty or property. That is the full extent of the law, according to our constitution. Its framers, moral and intelligent men, were very careful to craft it that way. The "evangelicals" talk out of both sides of their mouths when they scream for constitutional, limited government and then demand that we amend the constitution to define what marriage is. To force the government to unify the country under our beliefs, however righteous, or even practical, they may be, is no different, in principle, than the various utopian visions that have been advanced by communists and populist despots throughout modern history. Furthermore, in principle, it's no different than Sharia. The difference is only what, specifically, the government is forcing all of its people to be. The Moral Majority agenda, while benign compared to other faith-based sociopolitical movements, is the very definition of fascism as set forth by Mussolini, plain and simple. Look it up.
The framers, who were mostly Christians (some were Deists), knew that the very act of building a system of government on Christian principles required that it not force those principles on its people, except to prevent behavior that suppresses the God-given rights of others. They knew that it is not a moral function of government to make people behave morally, in the same way that God himself did not simply force Adam and Eve to stay away from the Tree of Carnal Knowledge. When it comes to living rightly, the chain of command prescribed by the Bible doesn't have the government in it at all, so why do i care whether or not the government condones it? I thank God that i live in a country whose laws don't collide violently with my ability to do so.
The framers, who were mostly Christians (some were Deists), knew that the very act of building a system of government on Christian principles required that it not force those principles on its people, except to prevent behavior that suppresses the God-given rights of others. They knew that it is not a moral function of government to make people behave morally, in the same way that God himself did not simply force Adam and Eve to stay away from the Tree of Carnal Knowledge. When it comes to living rightly, the chain of command prescribed by the Bible doesn't have the government in it at all, so why do i care whether or not the government condones it? I thank God that i live in a country whose laws don't collide violently with my ability to do so.
It is really simple. With the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I choose to submit myself to God's authority and my family chooses to submit themselves to mine. In other words, it's my and my wife's job to make sure our kids learn to behave morally in an immoral society, not the government's. It does not take a village. It takes parents. And as for others in America, well, I will share the gospel with them as I strive to put my own sin to death, but I will not demand that the government try and do so of them.
The Panache
Let me be clear. I love America. I love pledging allegiance to its flag. I cherish, honor and respect all that is good about the legacy of this country. But, should Hillary Clinton be elected president and should she then shout "Ha Ha!" and reveal herself to be the sinister hell witch that conservative media has painted her to be, and should she put progressive activist judges on the supreme court, and should our economy melt down because of excessive social spending, should drugs and prostitution and gambling and (gasp) gay marriage all be legalized and should all of the horrible things that the Fox News fear mongers pound their fists and warn us about come true and America sink into the Ocean (it won't, by the way), I will never ever regret my decision to not vote for Trump. Why? Because it's the right thing to do. But why? Because it's the right thing to do. Period.
There is only one name under heaven by which we are saved and it certainly isn't "Trump". It isn't "Ballot Box" either. Pray for America, Church, but vote your conscience. That's what I'm going to do. And whatever happens, when I enter Christ's fair courts, and, lowly bowed, sweep with doffed casque the heavens' threshold blue, one thing will be left, that, void of stain or smudge, i bear away from this life. My white plume.
There is only one name under heaven by which we are saved and it certainly isn't "Trump". It isn't "Ballot Box" either. Pray for America, Church, but vote your conscience. That's what I'm going to do. And whatever happens, when I enter Christ's fair courts, and, lowly bowed, sweep with doffed casque the heavens' threshold blue, one thing will be left, that, void of stain or smudge, i bear away from this life. My white plume.
