WHAT WOULD JOHN ROURKE DO?

John Thomas Rourke, the SURVIVALIST, sits on a boulder outside the Retreat; a thin cigar hangs loosely between his fingers.  The wind is blowing but with so many objects surrounding him, it’s hard to tell exactly from which direction it originates.  It flows around the rocks and through the canopy of trees above and around him, whispering, and then loudly gusting to a roar.

            Although the sky is filled with a scattering of clouds, Rourke can still make out the sun’s slow descent.  The evening chill will soon follow.  Alone, he contemplates the state of the world. The days of savage wild men and cannibals may be long gone for the most part but other evils still remain. The taste for power has never been stronger.  Some take and hold power through brute strength, some through financial wealth, and some through control of the media. 

            Safe homes are filled with women and children hiding from abusive family members who use their power to control their lives.  They have no money of their own, may not speak the local language, and are kept isolated from the community.  They live in fear of physical abuse but are not even aware of the psychological damage done to them.  For some, the cycle continues.  For some, they are able to break away and find help.  Rourke thinks of Natalia and of her uncle’s intercession in her abusive marriage. He wonders if good people still exist.

            Money is power.  It buys material things that keep families afloat.  It buys influence.  Money buys people, their hearts and souls.  Money is a drug that some people can never get enough of.  Money buys political support and influential jobs.  Money buys love.

            He wonders why is there such diversity among reports of news.  Shouldn’t they all be telling us the facts instead of swaying the story to fit in with a particular agenda by adding or subtracting to the original, or with the insertion of additional comments? Why do you only hear good things about certain persons or companies on particular news outlets whereas another venue may have an entirely different point of view?  It’s noticeable particularly when it concerns politicians.

            Talking screens have taken control over common sense. People we don’t really know tell us how to dress, what to eat, and what type of bathroom tissue to use.  The screens applaud the virtues of some and attempt to destroy those of others.  The masses stare at the screens and never see what is right in front of them.  The real world is in one dimension, the screen draws them into another, less complicated one.

            People hurt other people with no thought of the consequences.  They hurt with their words, their fists, their guns, or their vehicles.  They hurt people they don’t even know just to satisfy their anger or inability to cope with racial, religious, and philosophical differences.

            After all the world has been through, why do we still have wars?  In the end, no one really wins except the ones who supply the weapons.  The people who start them don’t get bloody.  They don’t even get dirty.  The soldiers get hurt and die.  The medical personnel get hurt and die.  The war correspondents get hurt and die.  The women and children get hurt and die.  Homes, schools, and hospitals get destroyed.  Civilizations crumble. For what?

            Rourke reminds himself that there are still good people in the world who love their country and respect law and order.  These people are trying to raise their children to have questioning minds and value the rights of all, not just those who hang on the farthest edges of the left and right.  Much is expected from these people to clear the excrement from the arena and do battle to save humanity from itself.         

            The sun has set and the temperature is dropping.  A nighttime hush has settled in and the creatures nearby have found their way back to the cave, their nest, or their burrow.  Rourke pulls out his battered Zippo from his jeans and lights his cigar.  He inhales and watches the smoke curl up into the air, contemplating the state of the world and what a mess it’s in.  Can life go on like this, he thinks?  Have we finally screwed up things beyond compare?  He stands up, stretches, and heads back inside, already thinking up ways to put things back in order. He won’t give up and neither should we.

Sharon

What Would John Rourke Do?

The final draft for the next book in the Survivalist series, “Operation Phoenix” is almost completed and, as usual, the Rourke gang has a lot of things that need to be taken care of.  Bad aliens, Illuminati, Neo-Nazis, crazy people, and scheming low down rotten politicians all have their fingers in the pot to bring the world and its inhabitants to its knees.  Could it be that John Rourke has finally met his match?

                Personally, John Rourke has suffered the loss of a son he never had the opportunity to hold in his arms, to smell his sweet baby smell, or to gaze into his eyes and begin to plan for his future.  His younger children have been sent far away for their own safety; who knows when and if they will be reunited.  Rourke’s wife, Emma, has become a distant stranger.  Sarah no longer needs him.  He has been thrust into new surroundings where his son, Michael, and his best friend, Paul, have proven themselves capable of running all operations without his participation. 

                The major governments of the world have no real leadership except the dictates of the New World Order.  The military no longer exists to protect the people and the populace, for the most part, carries on unaware or unconcerned of the radical changes occurring around the planet.  The President of the United States has canceled the Bill of Rights and tightened his grip on the news media.  The President as well as puppet leaders elsewhere are taking orders from ones much higher up in the chain of command; those higher up will soon control the world.

                John Rourke has survived and won many battles by his perseverance and sheer willpower.  By now he must feel like he is lacking in both.  We all get tired.  We all get discouraged.  We all want to pull that blanket up over our heads and let the storms pass us by.  There is nothing wrong with being discouraged by life’s happenings; there is a lot of bad stuff going on out there.  But we have to consider the consequences of doing nothing, of saying nothing. 

                We hope John Thomas Rourke will never give up; that he will continue to fight the good fight until the last breath leaves his body.  John Thomas Rourke is a fictional character who relies on the keystrokes of authors who plot his every action, his every emotion.  We, on the other hand, must travel the path that our hearts and minds lead us.  May we always try to follow the right path.  What kind of a world do we want for our children and our children’s children?

                What would John Rourke do?  Will John Rourke give up the fight?  Never!

Sharon