THE LONDON SERIES

Benjamin Franklin: "Money has never made a man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more on wants."

On a recent trip to London this last month with my family I had the ironic opportunity to, in the same day, attend Hamilton at the Victoria Theatre and view the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. I quickly realized there couldn’t be two more diametrically opposed touristy excursions in a single day. The idea of the jewels seemed harmless enough yet, heavily guarded in the walls of a stone castle and displayed under bulletproof glass, side-by-side with the dungeons, torture chambers and the remnants of exotic animal cages from the royal menagerie, I smelled the rancid musk of a spoiled opulence wafting through the summer air, overpowering any sense of awe the keepers were attempting to conjure from the exhibit. I guess I hadn’t thought much about it before, but the jewels shined a reflective light on how easily we can find ourselves in an ignorant compliance, especially when born into a land where conformity to an institutionalized celestial totalitarianism dressed in pomp and circumstance was commonplace. Crowns were laden with thousands of encrusted diamonds and pearls, golden swords and staffs were bedazzled in jewels, attempting to blind one’s eyes to the hypocrisy of it all, forcing heads down and knees bent to the light of their radiating glare. I wasn’t impressed more than enlightened by this incredible show of wealth and power. There was no question who authorized all of this. Of course, suppression and dominance to this degree could be granted by no other than God himself. On the walls were a multitude of quotes reinforcing the divine rights of kings, the orbs, set under crosses, reminding the masses how the kingdoms of this world provide us a glimpse into the kingdom of God, all shielding the viewer from focusing any unwanted energy on the shame of disparity that accompanies all material extravagance. Robes of the Lord, laced in gold, provided the proper garments to clothe the anointed ones, labeling them servants of the kingdom, and providers of salvation. How nice it must be to live in a world where your leader holds divine power. Turns out, Hamilton didn’t think so. Neither did any of the founding fathers, who rose up, by their own efforts, in a quest for freedom from this monarchical tyranny and intentional separation of church and state. The opposite path to freedom is conformity to divine rule. Although paradoxically, we find, as we work with our own two hands together towards freedom, the divine emerges. Let us not return to the days where we’re tricked into thinking this exorbitant decadence will provide anything but suffering, famine, and death. Let us not forget that those who claim to wield the heavens are not on our side, they are on the side of the gods, and like gods, they will not hesitate to punish those unwilling to conform. As Hamilton said, let’s instead, “raise a glass to freedom!”

If you enjoyed this new meditation on the deeper meaning of the game, you’ll love my other work on the BENEFITS OF BROKENNESS!! Check it out here: www.theartofwarandbaseball.com