Two Roads Diverged
“I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
This compact and insightful verse from Robert Frost’s The Road not Taken have etched a place in my soul, having first encountered it some 40 years ago. Ever since Al Gore won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize a few weeks ago my mind keeps wandering back to the 2000 Presidential election.
Before I trek forward let me be clear. I am not an Al Gore groupie. I am a member of no political party. I voted for a third party candidate in 2000. With the Electoral College and living in Texas I had that luxury. I was sickened by Gore’s play it safe campaign, listening to square headed “experts” instead of following his authentic gut. Ralph Nader didn’t cost Gore the election. Al Gore lost the election by not being himself. It should have never been close enough for the Supreme Court to jerry-rig.
I am thinking about the roads these two men of year 2000 infamy have taken. George Bush has unceasingly shown himself to be a man of immeasurable deception, fear mongering, and freedom busting. His self-imposed ostrich hole insulates him from candid perspectives giving birth to a man who is “dead certain.”
Robbed of the most powerful position on the planet and internationally disgraced, Al Gore had every reason and opportunity to become a bitter, disconsolate man. But he chose a different road.
“Winner” Bush is a man overwhelmingly scorned by the everyday global citizen. “Loser” Gore has won an Academy award and a Nobel Peace Prize.
Cosmic truth from the Tao Te Ching shouts from the rooftops.
“Whoever is stiff and inflexible
is a disciple of death.
Whoever is soft and yielding
is a disciple of life.
The hard and stiff will be broken.
The soft and supple will prevail.”
Hear now recent sentiments from each man.
Al Gore’s Nobel lecture December 10, 2007; “Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken if not premature. But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose.”
President Bush upon the December 3rd public disclosure of The 2007 National Intelligence Estimate, stating that Iran stopped nuclear weapons-related testing in 2003. “Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon.” Asked if he was maintaining his threat to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, Bush replied: “The best diplomacy, effective diplomacy, is one of which all options are on the table.”
“Two roads diverged in a wood…and that has made all the difference.”
