You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.
~ Aristotle
A while back, one Roman General by the name of J. Caesar decided (according to some ancient historians) to utter that Latin phrase: “Alea iacta est” (“The die is cast”) when he defied the Roman Senate and he decided to march his 13th Legion across a shallow river, named the Rubicon along the northern border of Italy. The rest of the story is ancient history.
Fast forward to today’s present history, we all find ourselves faced with our own personal challenges of “crossing of the Rubicon” when dealing with COVID-19 aka, “the Wuhan Virus”.
A reasonable balance must be struck between our physical well-being and our economic well-being on our individual and on our collective national levels. Time and tide wait for no one me Bucko! We are not made to remain “stagnant” for any reasonable period of time. We cannot continue to hunker down in our own personal caves and wait for the proverbial “all clear” that will never sound.
If we continue to wait, we should just as well start putting coins inside our mouths or over our eyelids in order to pay our toll on Charon’s Ferry. Our journey over the River Styx might be a nice safe trip since by that period of waiting – we would all be dead.
Every life is ESSENTIAL as well as what we do is for our livelihoods and our families is ESSENTIAL. There is no “Sophie’s Choice” my friends.
A decent and civilized society has always been judged by how well they care for their most vulnerable members; the young, the old, and the sick.
The vibrant and the strong folks (heroes in the book of Gumshoe) have always possessed the courage to go out and keep our way of life possible. They “crossed the Rubicon” repeatedly regardless of the risks. Think of the pioneering spirit that is part of our American DNA. Think of all of the folks who have never stopped working regardless of the risks during this “lockdown”. They have undoubtedly kept our society functional and viable. God bless and keep every one of them!
Freedom has never been free as the saying goes. Life has never been risk-free and never will be my fellow sojourners. The die must be cast as we ford the Rubicon – Damn the torpedoes!
Well, kind readers, that’s all from Gumshoe for now. Remember to love the ones who love you and to especially love the ones you don’t.
One of my favourites is …
“The quote “So let it be written, so let it be done.” comes from Cecil B. De Mille’s The Ten Commandments, and is spoken by Yul Brinner (playing Pharaoh Rameses II) to his chief architect Baka (played by Vincent Price).”
And now I like to think of this too Danny!
“Alea iacta est” (“The die is cast”) ! Thank you so much for this! Truly provoking!
Thanks Paula for your comment and the movie trivia. Life does imitate art as form follows function.
Oh I forgot to give you one of my go-quotes: “Make it so!” Captain Picard, Star Trek
I love this Danny. I Too am a big history buff.
Dear Soul of mine, we both know the need for balance and especially now and that we experienced in the past.
Yes my sweet Linnie. Our pasts have defined us to a degree as we find validation in our present and “blessed” hope and assurance in our future.
Thank you for this, Danny! First of all, I love all history, especially ancient, and more recently, when it is recorded accurately. I digress. You are correct. There is always a balance between safety and freedom, but we must begin to take the risk of allowing some semblance of normalcy. Otherwise, we will lose the latter. If we do, the country will change in a way many of us do not want to experience.💖
Thanks Darlene for your astute observation. Change is always inevitable in all societies and cultures in the evolution of time. Hopefully, (and God-willing) we won’t sacrifice our long-held and cherished American ideals once we emerge from this dark pandemic tunnel. A “new normal” for sure without a lost of individual liberty will be in the balance.
Thanks Mike for taking the time to read my posting and for your comment that is appreciated. I will look forward to your next “toothpaste chronicle” posting – there is plenty left to be squeezed out!
I like your common sense writing Danny. You say what needs to be said clearly.
As you said, nothing is without risk. Life always teeters on death as well
Our lives and deaths are in One’s hand anyway, no matter what we do. Very nice article.
Thanks for your comment Laurie. We are masters of our fate to a large degree. Situations don’t define us, we define the situation and act! Prayer seeking Divine guidance will always guide our steps.
Well said as always Danny. It’s high time for our country to get back to work and let Americans do what we do best (when our freedoms are not abridged) – use good old-fashioned common sense and
make things happen!