The path of sorrow. A thousand steps.

“A sorrow doesn’t come suddenly,

There are a thousand steps to take

before you get there.

But now ..

sorrow climbs up our front steps,

as big as Texas, and we didn’t see it coming,

even though it had been making its way 

straight for us all along.”

September 1934

Out of the Dust - by Karen Hesse

There are a “thousand steps to take” before you get to the edge of anything. A precipice. An abyss.  

The path to sorrow is rarely seen .. except by Prophets .. hardly ever by the “leaders” and the politicians that lay in place the stepping-stones to help you arrive there. Stones that are laid in darkness. - fem-v

How very often .. seemingly without warning .. events unfold with unexpected speed .. the steps to arrive there already happened - but few saw them for what they were or where they were leading 🙏 

In recent days .. recent years .. there has been an unfolding of events that are DEEPLY troubling.

I am made to wonder .. how history repeats itself.

Is the world again on the edge of some dark abyss? 

How did we get there?           

Darkness is very complex.      

The following are but a few grains of sand found along the path of sorrow that leads to a fall.

Events are still unfolding ..

OMG - Tyranny 

Tyranny: cruel, unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control.

O – overreaching .. overbearing .. oppressive 

M – megalomania .. malevolent .. misinformed 

G – greedy .. grabbing .. governments

BEWARE and Be aware:

Governments grow .. mostly fed by power .. and corruption 

That power is intended to blind & bind those they “govern”

The words of Lord Acton - nineteenth-century English historian: 

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence & not authority, 

still more when you super-add the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority."

It is important to note:

“Having authority is not necessarily the same as leading.” - Niven Postma

Sometimes only one step .. a mere nudge .. is all that is needed to become TRYANNY

1)

Tyranny in the Ukraine .. once a free country

In recent days we have watched yet another global TYRANT, Vladimir Putin, exert himself. 

Wage war on an independent nation for no reason .. other than power.  

Unopposed power

Corrupt power

Bent on EVIL

Be assured “where there is an evil will, there is an evil way”

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” - John Stuart Mill 

“In the physical realm, power is greedy. Never satisfied.

In the spiritual realm “evil is greedy. Never satisfied.” - fem-v

Some media portray this unfolding of evil like a video game. 

It is not. It is a WAR. In all wars .. people DIE. 

.. Including innocents & children ..

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” – Plato 

“War does not determine who is right — only who is left.”

"All war is a result of man's inability to think-rightly and to act rightly.

Right-thinking produces right actions and good outcomes.

Wrong-thinking produces wrong actions and poor outcomes. 

This principle is as sure as gravity." - fem-v

A concluding thought .. 

Please pray for wisdom for President Zolensky (he is a true leader) Pray for provisions & protection for Ukraine’s citizen-warriors .. and for the sparing of innocents. Pray for an expedient & peaceful resolution.

Thanks to NATO countries & other countries who in various ways are slowly making movements to support & help Ukraine in this SENSELESS war.

Though one should never mistake movement for progress. That is like confusing freedom with being free. 

https://dmerharyana.org/countries-supporting-russia-ukraine/

Why sanctions on Russia aren’t targeting oil & gas 

(check out the map)

https://time.com/6151493/russia-oil-gas-embargo-sanctions-ukraine/

Why is oil called “liquid gold”?  .. “follow the money” the answer always lies in political corruption

“We need real sanctions .. an embargo on Russian gas and oil because every barrel of Russian oil and every cubic meter of Russian gas is now full of the blood of Ukrainians.“ - Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenco

That price seems too high for Europe & the rest of the world 

Added note .. 

In the following two examples of tyranny .. it is important to say:

There are degrees of CORRUPTION

There are degrees of TYRANNY 

There is NO intention to place events in Canada or America on par with the SENSELESS war / level of tyranny Putin is waging against Ukraine 

2)

Tyranny in Canada .. once a free country 

In recent weeks the world watched a Prime Minister turn into a TYRANT 

.. tyranny against an “invading army” of peaceful truckers .. seeking freedom: a “Freedom Convoy” 

.. tyranny and against citizens who supported the truckers - seeking relief from COVID mandates 

.. tyranny that included life-effecting threats & escalated into freezing assets .. beatings & arrests  

It is noteworthy: that a great “leader” like Trudeau .. was not man enough to even meet with the truckers .. to hear them out. (arrogance & weakness)

 "The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them." - Ralph Nichols 

Trudeau then exerted power to the extent of evoking a never-before-used Emergencies Act (2-17)

Which included .. 

“no need for court orders, banks can freeze personal accounts of ANYONE linked with the protests.”

Additionally .. Trudeau seized control of the police 

“We want to thank Gofundme for listening to our concerns as a City and a police service. The decision to withhold funding for these unlawful demonstrations is an important step and we call on all crowdfunding sites to follow.” – the Ottowa Police 

"This is about keeping Canadians SAFE, protecting people's jobs," said Mr. Trudeau 

In conclusion ..

I hope Canadians now feel “safe” 

Please know: I love Canada & Canadians. America is blessed to have a wonderful neighbor. 

I know I’m not alone .. without adjectives to describe the excessive & egregious exercise of power 

(links quoted - sited at the end of post)

3)

Tyranny in America – once a free country 

COVID mandates .. initially presented as short-term protective measures have clearly resulted in

.. a LOSS of freedom 

.. a great DISTORTION of “science” 

.. a further DIMINISHING of truth and

.. increased social & political DIVISION 

Government “leaders” seem hell-bent on holding on to their POWER and leveraging it for all its worth. Almost always self-interest .. that increasingly and consistently produce corrupt outcomes.

Add: the increasingly detrimental policies put in place under the administration of President Joe Biden which are bringing us to the edge of a proverbial cliff: 

.. energy independence has been reversed. As a result energy prices are soaring (oil - gas – electricity) 

.. do you know: even now .. America is buying oil from Russia? .. Do you know how much? 

.. I am made to wonder: why on God’s green earth are we not using our OWN oil & gas resources?   

.. INFLATION is soaring 

.. interest rates are increasing: the cost of money is rising .. the cost of credit is rising 

.. millions are not employed (sadly, many by choice) 

.. crime is soaring because criminals are very often not punished – they are inexplicably set free 

.. illegal immigrants are pouring over our borders .. those counted in 2021 “over 2 million” 

(I am made to wonder: how many were NOT counted?)

.. illegal immigrants are being cared for at GREAT tax-payer expense .. 60 million per WEEK – just for unaccompanied minors (for taxpayers in Texas - over a billion dollars last year) 

No borders = no country 

This is just a glimpse of the TYRANNY in America (since I live here I can speak firsthand.)

Concluding thoughts .. 

As clear as the sky is blue & the day is long.

The tyranny of wrong-minded “leaders” & the evil of money is the path to sorrow 
History repeatedly proves they will use any CATALYST to accomplish their AGENDA

TYRANNY is growing everywhere. In every nation & tribe on earth. BEWARE & Be aware.

Again: Government “leaders” seem hell-bent on holding on to their POWER and leveraging it for all its worth. Almost always for self-interest that increasingly and consistently produce corrupt outcomes

Unopposed power .. easily becomes corrupt power .. and corrupt power easily becomes evil.

With tyranny comes a spirit of CONFORMITY .. a mandate for agreement 

It seeks to conform you to: a kind of thinking that is bent on erasing FREEDOM 

“Evil” wears a mask. It hides in darkness. Only in the LIGHT can it be recognized. 

"Evil is unspectacular and always human,

and shares our bed and eats at our table."

• Auden’s tribute to Herman Melville
•  

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. 

God will not hold us guiltless. 

Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” 

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

Bonhoeffer was a pastor & theologian. He vocally opposed the dictatorial policies & evil actions of the Nazi Regime of Hitler. After losing his freedom to lecture or publish, he joined the German resistance movement .. discovery led to him being court-marshaled & sentenced to death. On April 9, 1945 Bonhoeffer was hanged at Flossenburg, a German concentration camp. He was 39 years old (just days before the American liberation) His last words: “This is the end for me, the beginning of life.”

“Be careful. This is a time of menace. You must look inside yourself and decide who you are and who you want to be. Character is not created in times like these. It is revealed. This is a trying time. A testing time. Be careful.” – A Great Reckoning – Louise Penny (Canadian author)

"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God .. Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Benjamin Franklin 

Anthem - Léonard Cohen 

Ah, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never free

We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The Birth betrayed
Yeah, and the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see

I can't run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
They're going to hear from me

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

“I have an almost complete disregard of precedent, and faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything new that might improve the past.” - Clara Barton

“Tyranny is usually tempered with assassination, and Democracy must be tempered with wisdom. In the absence of wisdom, it turns into a representation of collective folly.” (where we are now) - John Stuart Mackenzie

Links referencing Canada ..

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60383385

https://www.foxnews.com/media/canadian-truck-driver-beaten-by-police

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10460403/Justin-Trudeau-says-hes-isolation-COVID-days-skipping-Ottawa-secret-location.html

https://news.bitcoin.com/gofundme-shuts-down-truckers-freedom-convoy-fundraiser-move-highlights-the-importance-of-crypto-crowdfunding/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/22/canada-trudeau-emergencies-act-freedom-convoy/

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-truckers-canada-future-united-states

Links - USA

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/biden-energy-policies-inflation-oil-gas

https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/09/immigration-biden-migrants-minors-shelter/

Bonhoeffer

https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/dietrich-bonhoeffer/resistance-and-execution

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/defiant-theologian-dietrich-bonhoeffer-is-hanged

Beautiful art-image from .. 

https://www.duyhuynh.com/duy-huynh-artwork/

"In His Light" .. I write

All rights reserved:  Fay Marmalich-Vietmeier 

If my words make you think … Great ;~)

As “iron-sharpens-iron” … I enjoy bantering with other BEES … please know, your feedback is as “honey”

A glimpse of the “Bee” called “me” ;~)

My caring nature makes me an advocate. My curious nature makes me a “queen of questions” but gifted with the ability to listen ;~) I am a woman of deep faith, a blessed mother, a voracious reader, a blossoming writer, a grateful person, and a lover of beauty. I treasure family, true friendships & my loyal clients. A "student at heart, I love learning: in every human dimension. Enjoy traveling, good books, good movies, good wine gardening & golf. 

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