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Word Gems exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers
Kairissi. I think you like Peggy Carter – especially in that starch-white blouse of hers, you really like that. Elenchus. (small smile) Do I? K. It’s impolite to drool. E. (smiling) And what about you? – would you, like a little girl in a candy shop, have reached for the merchandise?
K. Only in the interest of science. E. Uh-huh. K. So, this is quite a story for these two. Is it true love? E. We’ll need to talk about this. It’s probably correct to say that most of the women in the world would be in love with Steve.
K. And likely something similar on the other side of aisle toward Peggy. E. It reminds me of a line from Rudolph Valentino, the extremely handsome movie-star in the 1920s: “I am the canvas upon which women paint their dreams of love.” K. I guess there’s a lot of that going around. E. But let’s take this a step at a time. Steve Rogers is a great man. The actor Chris Evens, who played Steve, said in an interview, sort of in a reverent tone, “Captain America is everything that I would hope to be as a man.”
E. And I love this scene where Cap stands down, and brings down, this jet! K. It's something else. But, Peggy, too, is no slouch: not just attractive, she's smart, able, brave in battle, founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. – maybe these two belong together.
E. Maybe, but I think we’d need more verification. K. I like Steve because he was virtuous even as a scrawny kid, getting beat up all the time, but he wouldn’t back down.
E. And that "grenade" scene was really something.
K. (sighing) He was a hero well before he got the beautiful chest. And let's not forget that Steve was not the only one to run toward the grenade!
E. Yes. Absolutely. These two are of one courageous heart. K. No doubt they admired each other. E. And I think it’s clear that Peggy admired him from the start, even as "the scrawny kid"; she probably had feelings for him. But, for our purposes here, I think we need to ask the question, would Peggy have wanted to marry “the scrawny kid” with asthma?
K. Well, it's complicated, isn’t it. In our world we have all these “domestic business-contract” issues, and “Mary” is not unmindful of the fact that any potential husband needs to be able to lead and take care of a family.
E. That does put it in a different light. And there's a certain sadness to this kind of assessment, I would say - because, what if, in your heart of hearts, you really were authentically drawn to the "five foot two" young man, but "Mary's" practical side would not allow him to "pass the interview"?
K. That is very problematic, and, if Mary actually did that, defying her deeper feminine sensibilities, then, I will just say, in the coming years, after having allowed herself to be chosen by a "handsome but empty suit," she's going to have some serious hell and **** to pay in her "3 AM" confessions.
E. I would like for us to hold this thought and to return to it, but to allow a digression about Steve. There’s something I’d like to say that doesn’t really fit into our conversation here, but it’s an important point and, if I don’t talk about it now, I don’t think I’ll have opportunity again. K. Please, Ellus, you have the microphone. E. Steve Rogers is not just brave and courageous – he’s not like a Greek warrior in the Iliad, an Achilles, who’s all in for “kleos,” for glory and reputation. Steve is a thoughtful and virtuous man. He’s on record to say, “Even when I was a kid, I always wanted to do the right thing.” K. And when Dr. Erskine asked him “So, you want to kill Nazis, do you?” this virtuous young man responded with, “I don’t want to kill anyone. I just don’t like bullies.”
E. He is a true hero with a hero’s heart. He wants to use whatever gifts and abilities he possesses to safeguard the civil rights of all people. K. This is what makes Captain America so irresistibly attractive. E. Quite right. But in the Marvel movies series, we witness an evolution of Steve’s outlook concerning life and duty. K. I see that. In World War II, it was all much simpler. Hitler was a clear target, a madman trying to enslave the world, and the quest to stop him was easily construed as something righteous, you might say, a well justified “holy war.”
E. But when Steve woke up from “the ice” 70 years later, things had changed. He said, “They say we won the war, but they didn’t say what we lost.” The “bad guys” were no longer so easily identified. Now we find the country, and the world, on the verge of a new wave of totalitarianism, but the perpetrators, those who do all they can to reduce human civil liberties, wear tailored suits and appear on tv, with big sloppy grins, posing as benefactors. K. Steve is a very idealistic person. But he is not a jingoist, someone who fights for his country as a mindless nationalist, "my country, right or wrong" – not at all. He’s a humanitarian and would help anyone, anywhere. E. But now the enemies of society hide behind a false-front of respectability, censorship, fake-news, and all manner of Machiavellian tactic; and a dumbed-down populace, bought off with socialism’s poisoned candy, loves to have it so, all of which makes it very difficult to “fight” this kind of darkness directly.
K. How does this virtuous man, who "always wanted to do the right thing," operate in a new world wherein "the right thing" is very murky, not easy to label, and hard to negotiate? E. In a sense, Steve Rogers becomes a symbol of "Every Thoughtful And Virtuous Person" today. And that's another reason why so many millions admire him. K. I would like to say, as well that, during times of universal deceit, when the very fabric of civilization is in process of unraveling, a different kind of heroism is required. George Orwell perceived the issue clearly:
E. Yes... "staying human." That's not so easy. When all that we've known is under attack we're tempted to resort to using evil to fight evil. And that's when you destroy yourself... K. ... when you lose your own humanity. And that's a problem because there's no point in preserving a cherished way of life if we lose ourselves in the quest. E. This is what Cap was saying when he landed in the 21st century: "They say we won the war, but they didn't say what we lost."
K. But, we need not waste a moment's effort on a petty lust for revenge or retribution. There's a natural justice built into the nature of things, and if there's none to be found in this world, another one is coming up fast wherein all enemies of society will find themselves in a rat-infested sewer pit. E. I don't know if it will come to this, but - we have to be prepared for a new Dark Age. We almost fell into it with the super-science of Hitler's regime. They had best scientists in the world, and it's amazing that they didn't succeed, they came very close. But the forces of evil are chaffing for another chance, and, this time, they might win what they think they want.
K. We are grateful that, no matter how dark things get here, Summerland is but one missed heartbeat away for us. E. And once we get our heads straight, we'll want to live a life of service and duty there, just as Steve and Peggy aspired to do.
E. But we won't be wearing superhero uniforms, and there won't be threats to our persons. However, from what I've learned, not everyone serves over there, and, even among those who do, many do so for selfish reasons.
Editor's note: concerning "superhero uniforms," see Caroline Larsen's report from the other side regarding the godlike appearance of well-advanced Twin Soul couples, part of the ruling class of the universe. There’s good parallel between what happened to Steve and our own awesome potential. Dr. Erskine chose the scrawny young man for what he was on the deep-within. “The serum”, the doctor explained, “amplifies everything that’s inside; the good becomes great, bad becomes worse.” So it will be with us, though we don’t need the serum. When we cross over, if we decide to live the sacred progressive life of service and self-improvement, our abilities will multiply rapidly; however, if we choose an egocentric mindset, we will lose that little good we might harbor, and, as Spirit Guide Abu warns, we will “sink and sink” into darkness, until we’ve had enough of self-inflicted suffering.
K. We've talked about this problem elsewhere, but it's good to understand that there's plenty of room for "heroes" in the "real world," those who serve with a true selfless spirit of altruism. E. Thank you, Kriss, but shall we get back to the love affair of Peggy and Steve? What do you think? - are they Twins?
K. Well, as you say, we'd need more information. E. Give me your best sense. K. If I had to guess - I think it would have to be no. E. And why? K. Both of them are really good people, the best, and no doubt they are attracted to each other's virtues. And that's good, but, the question remains, would they love each other "not for a reason," as Elizabeth asked. My best sense is that these two are a perfected "John and Mary." They exhibit the highest ideals and always seek for the best. All that acknowledged and commended, however, I don't see any hint of the "utter familiarity" or "soulmate, myself" in them. I can't detect a particle of what Reuben professed about Mattie, "by God, she reminds me of me." And without that sense of "coming home," you're in big trouble, headed for existential crisis, and have no prayer of making it through the "terrors of living eternally."
K. There is something very attractive about the stalwart spirit fighting for truth - you can see it in the eyes, both of them; even in the actors' eyes, as they've been swept along by high-minded roles.
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