Soundings of A Cretan Eye / I / Aye

In the introduction to the epic poem and magnum opus, "The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel", by the philosopher-poet-author-statesman-teacher, Nikos Kazantzakis, his translator, Kimon Friar, explains Kazantzakis' elan vital:

Odysseus is the “man of many turns,” which for Homer probably meant the much-traveled man, for his enemies the man of chameleon duplicity, unstable and unscrupulous, and for his friends the resourceful and versatile man, ready for all emergencies. He is cruel yet compassionate, modest yet boastful, cunning yet straightforward, heavy-handed yet gentle, affectionate yet harsh, aristocratic yet public-spirited, sensual yet ascetic, a man of mixed motives in a constant state of ethical tension. Only such a complex and contradictory character could hope to give the Greeks, from ancient days to the present, a sufficiently satisfying pattern of their lives and aspirations, and this is why his myth is no less living today than it was almost three thousand years ago. Only one of the twelve Olympian deities had a character equally complex—she who in Homer was Odysseus’ constant companion and protector, and for whom the Athenians named their city as a tribute to both their involved temperaments: Athena. Kazantzakis and Odysseus are creatures of double vision, of the third inner eye, or the “Cretan Glance” which, caught between two conflicting currents—one ever ascending toward composition, toward life, toward immortality, and the other ever descending toward decomposition, toward matter, toward death—glimpses the ideal synthesis and yearns for its almost impossible embodiment in life and work.

COTUS: "See Something. Say Something"

Those authorities in whom we have invested the public trust have issued the following carefully wrought plan to prevent widespread death and disaster in the future:

They have told us this: "If you see something. Say something."

We are saying that we are seeing that the Congress of the United States refuses to prevent the mass slaughter of innocents by its action of voting down measures to decrease the possibility of suspected terrorists from purchasing assault weapons and ammunition for the express purpose of killing American citizens, any bystanders, and first responders.

We are of the opinion that the first responders to these bloodlettings are not alone in their befuddlement and anger over the asinine, greedy, self-serving behavior of our elected officials.

WE THE PEOPLE URGE ALL FIRST RESPONDERS COME TOGETHER WITH THE VAST MAJORITY OF FREEDOM-LOVING AMERICANS IN REVILING THE POLITICALLY CORRUPT, MORALLY BANKRUPT GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES WHO HAVE DEMONSTRATED BY THEIR VOTING PREFERENCES THEIR BASE INHUMANITY, THEIR CONSISTENT AND TOTAL LACK OF JUDGEMENT, THEIR LACK OF COMPASSION FOR THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS, THEIR UTTER LACK OF COMMON SENSE, AND THEIR ABRASIVE AND ABUSIVE DERELICTION OF DUTY.