The Journey of the Voice of Reason

There was nothing particularly significant about this day, but The Voice of Reason was compelled to go walking. So, in a straight line, the Voice of Reason began to march across the great plain at the edge of town toward the very beginning.

When the universe began there dwelt God and the Devil in the heavens in perfect harmony and love for each other. Both were unmade and in perfect balance until God decided to create the Earth. God so loved the Earth that the Devil became confused and jealous that God’s love was now focused on this new creation. The Devil then swore to destroy the Earth so as to win back God’s love.

The Devil was clever and, though God was wise, God was also vain and could not spot the scheme the Devil had hatched in plotting to destroy what God loved most. So the Devil created Man and gave unto God this creature as a gift to dwell on the Earth. But as Man was a gift to God, so did the Devil bestow unto man a marvelous gift – freedom.

God was outraged by the Devil’s hubris and berated the Devil for attempting to understand the ways of God, of life, and of creation. The Devil boldly came to the defense of Man and regarded their creation as just as worthy of praise as the Earth. God looked deep into the eyes of the Devil for the truth but found none. The answers were to be found on the Earth in a small garden through which there ran two rivers and where love and life grew in wondrous abundance.

As the sun began to creep below the horizon, the Voice of Reason stared out into the distance and contemplated infinity. By a tree overlooking a fathomless canyon of cloud and sky, The Voice of Reason laid down and began to dream.

The dreams of the Voice of Reason were fraught with trouble and doubt. Stricken with an unrelenting sense of impending doom, the Voice of Reason was forced to walk a narrow beam at either end of which was a crowd of people who had appeared to achieve a perfect balance. But the Voice of Reason could not join either crowd and could not finally rest without forcing the once perfect order out of balance and imparting that sense of impending doom on all those around. Fear gripped the Voice of Reason. Never able to rest, the Voice of Reason despaired and wept unabashedly until the coming of the true dawn.

God put the Devil to the test and descended to the garden in the form of a snake and gave to Man a mighty gift – knowledge. To man, God spoke and told the story of the creation of the heavens and the Earth and the presence in the universe of the Devil who was not to be trusted. Suddenly, Man was made afraid. Fear of the Devil entered Man’s heart along with the gratitude of the knowledge that God was there to watch over Man and guide Man away from the wickedness of the jealous Devil. But everything of Man has a second side – a by-product of the freedom granted them by the Devil since the very beginning.

There were several among men who questioned the very nature of any knowledge. So, two men met to settle the dispute of their heavenly inheritance each calling the other fool. The kin of the fallen man looked upon those of the man left standing and plotted their revenge.

“They will surely kill themselves before they can do the Earth any harm,” God thought, and looked upon the chaos that was created and said: “It is good.”

The Devil got word of God’s designs and appeared before Man in the form of a bush. Understanding the depth of love which the Devil had imprinted onto Man, the Devil taught man forgiveness and gave unto Man laws. With a way now of preserving Man from itself, they would grow in number. They would flourish and one day consume the Earth and they would do it with fire.

Fire was a useful gift whose benefits were immediately apparent to Man and, when let loose, its effect on the Earth could be devastating. Still, it needed to be controlled so as not to do similar harm to Man. God saw this and quickly understood how, properly harnessed, fire could be a scourge of Man as much as a boon.

With Man growing in numbers and spread upon the Earth, God garbled their words so over such vast distances they would not understand each other. God gave to Man politics and religion to ensure that borders would be coveted, controlled, and disputed, and the nature of their existence and their future ever misunderstood and questioned.

So, with fire Man forged lances and burned crops, forests and homes, ever mindful of the everlasting vendetta from time immemorial.

The Devil saw what tactics Man used to eliminate each other and what toll it took upon the Earth and saw the potential for even greater, more catastrophic destruction. The gifts that the Devil had bestowed upon Man had achieved their goal and the effects their wars had on their population were insignificant compared to the levy they imposed on the Earth.

The Devil gave to Man technology which Man used to great effect. Suddenly, what God had given to Man with the aim that they would destroy themselves they were now unwittingly using to destroy not only themselves but the Earth as well.

God now looked upon these latest gifts of the Devil with mixed feelings. The Devil looked at God, the Earth, and at Man and thought that maybe the grudge they had now long shared had at last begun to get away from them. Each step the Devil thought to have taken forward was also a step back. God’s plans were in similar peril. Time, they both thought, would eventually reveal a clear winner in this epic struggle.

For centuries the battle raged on. And through every great epoch stood the Voice of Reason. Amidst the cloud of smoke and the howling winds of pain and agony; under soot and fallout thundering above a maze of panic and desperation; embroiled in a dispute that was not theirs to begin with stood the Voice of Reason – a forgotten voice stifled by the screams of the howling mob.

The Voice of Reason, once again, made the journey across the plain. And, as the tops of the buildings of the town became visible, thundering over that plain came the sound of roaring and unrest. A large crowd, with all eyes fixed toward the main square, had gathered and filled the streets and the Voice of Reason looked upon this scene with curiosity.

The Voice of Reason tried to ask those among the crowd, noticing that all were dressed in blue clothing, the meaning of what was afoot but could receive no clear answers. The Voice of Reason continued to nudge a path through the crowd and with every step closer toward the main square the cheering grew louder. People began to dance and were elaborately dressed, screaming at the top of their lungs and the Voice of Reason listened carefully, attempting to make out what exactly the masses of blue were chanting:

“We are on the brink of a better world! Today is the day of change!”

The Voice of Reason continued to jostle through the crowd and eventually reached the main square. There, the chanting had faded away and was replaced by violent, threatening accusations. As though a line had been drawn across the square, the blue shirts came to a halt and stood toe to toe with a wall of red who shot similar insults back across the square.

The Voice of Reason, at full roar, demanded to know what had brought the town to arms. But, so consumed by their fury, the reds versus the blues paid no attention to the Voice of Reason’s pleadings. The Voice of Reason pushed a way through the wall of red and fled through the crowd away from the main square. Eventually, the blood-thirsty cries being hurled across the main square were replaced by the chants of hordes of people dancing and dressed elaborately in red. They too were so dizzy with their bloodlust and chanting that none of them paid any attention to the Voice of Reason.

“What a wonderful world! Let us rejoice and be glad!”

The Voice of Reason, swooning from the rioting in the town, eventually came to the edge of where the last of those wearing red stood looking on toward the main square. The Voice of Reason, with falling shoulders, walked on and gazed longingly toward the mountains at the far end of town and wept as the clouds swirled around their peaks. Looking back one last time, the Voice of Reason could see the first signs of smoke and flame beginning to rise and billow out from the main square. And, in the heavens, God and the Devil looked on ever mindful of what was at stake, awaiting an outcome, and always plotting new ways to tip the balance in their favour.