>>11
Do you remember the original SFBE? Do you not remember what kind of man was he?
He joins figures like Napoleon, Temujin, Caesar and Alexander in history, while he was here he changed the world and when he went things would never be the same again. He had this presence, when he walked into a room everyone would listen, even those that rejected him, but when people wouldn't cooperate he led by example, he became a trailblazer and the skeptics had to follow or be left behind. But he wasn't a man to hold a grudge, some of his most competent lieutenants were those who were his biggest political enemies in the beginning, that was the kind of person he was, he had no inner circle, he didn't need one, placed a lot of trust in people and they were loyal friends but when it came to his great vision he would ask of you to do accomplish some great task and you would do it by any means necessary, even if he had no reason to trust you he would spot your talent, you would be plucked from the ranks and there would be a place for you in his grand scheme as well as a share in his triumphs, should an obstacle present itself and you report your failure back to him, soon enough you'd be returning to your duties with a fresh mind to solving the problem. You did not have the same sense of dread with other leaders, as long as you were honest in your duties, there was no more of the bickering, none of the resentment, the petty power struggles, it all ended in the few months it took for him to rise to power.
*sigh* I remember all this now. I remember what we have lost. And for what?
As the years rolled by, SFBE's achievements became normalized, people wanted to return to the old ways. Not SFBE, no, he had too much spirit, too much energy, he appeared exuberant, to some a liability.
In the end it isn't the cretins, thugs, some tyrant or some great evil that destroys us and what we love, the law of nature is no fault of our own, it is external, the challenge we must surpass and come to accept. No. We destroy what we love, when we are no longer desperate and no longer have any motivation and come to believe our values and ideals are pointless empty platitudes even as we enjoy their fruits. We drove SFBE away.
Before he left he looked at us with a stern face as though he was about to cry, another one of his emotional pleas bordering on manic outburst, yet he remained stoic and said only "remember", I thought he was trying too hard to be edgy, but I understand now. I finally understand. He knew if he tried to explain we would reject him without thought, his message could only be understood when we realized what we have lost. He knew that we had become slovenly and decadent, the effects of this would catch up to us and it was only in this way that we would learn our great error. He was asking us to remember the golden age, when we were discovering how to make our hopes a reality, when anything was possible, the mornings we awoke with only anticipation in our thoughts, the nights we slept without fear or regret, he was reminding us that instead of coasting on his success we can put down our burdens, procrastination and banal negativity, reminding us we can get our priorities straight, apply ourselves, learn from mistakes and focus on our objectives rather than our haters. We told him we can do without him, and we were right, he did not wish to trample on this hope despite the malice we had shown, after all we were his children, our success was his legacy, he was merely reminding us that at one point we did need him, and he was right also.