The Revolutionary...

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A young student asked his teacher, "How does one follow the truth?"

The teacher replied, "When everything is filtered through our perception, WHAT is TRUTH? THAT is our dilemma."

The student looked confused, "Isn't all that is pure and good and loving truth?"

"That would depend," the teacher responded.

"Depend? Depend upon what," asked the student.

"In the rightness of one's perceptions," answered the teacher.

The student left that school deflated and dejected.

Years later, that student would lead a revolution seeking to set that country right. The primary demand of that revolution was to make everyone "Love one another"...requiring the most productive to share with the least, willingly and gladly, and to assure that no one had more than anyone else.

The revolution had popular support at the beginning, among the free and largely educated public, concerned over the seeming intractable inequalities between people and so, the group took power.

Once in control, they faced challenges they hadn't considered before. Those who had skill sets that were difficult and expensive to master, felt cheated to share equally and suffer losses over their inequitable contributions - "Why should I learn such skills, at my own expense, toil longer hours and accept greater responsibilities for no more compensation than the lowliest worker gets?" Workers wouldn't work extra hours without more compensation, that would've enriched them beyond their fellow workers - "Why should we work longer and harder for no benefit to us?"

Within the revolutionary committee there arose deep divisions between the pragmatists and the idealists, like himself. The idealists believed human nature simply had to evolve and be changed, while the pragmatists saw that nature as fixed.

Among the pragmatists arose the most ruthless and power hungry men and the idealists were swept from power and jailed, as the most ruthless opponents busied themselves forging a thugocracy.

The people were no longer free. They were also, no longer as good and decent, nor concerned with the inequalities, once so evident, when they were all free.

The one time student, turned idealistic revolutionary found himself facing the death penalty. Worse yet, the common people, who once loved him, now cheered his fate.

As he awaited his execution, he sought the answer to HOW this horror could've happened. HOW could his idealism and good intentions have come to this?

Lost within his thoughts, he could hear his old teacher's voice, "It'd depend upon the rightness of one's perceptions." Then he heard the teacher add, "Free people are never equal and when the people are made equal they are no longer free."

And so the once free people who cheered him for addressing the natural inequities between free people, now cheered his being hung.
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