See the eagle over the mountain, wheeling down, blotting out the sun. The pale man with the white beard chained to the rock winces as the talons anchor upon his thighs, the bird of prey perching upon its daily bread— a man unforgiven for his trespasses. The head cocks, its blank murderous eye reflecting the cold will of its lordly bidder, then the curved beak begins to jab, stabbing at his guts, digging for the liver. All day the pale man on the mountain writhes in agony unrelenting as the bald eagle, that stately emblem of authority, disembowels him, gingerly, delicately, excruciatingly, relishing its daylong feast, fiber by fiber, meting out the decreed punishment for this heretic, this bringer and starter of fires. Only at close of day when the sun wearies of this grisly theatre does the eagle, sated from its bloody orgy, retreat through the reddened sky, leaving the wrecked man to heal in darkness, the liver regenerating overnight until his torso, that accursed cornucopia of organ meat, is replenished by dawn, just in time for the next feeding. So it goes. Day in, day out, for in matters of power— whether you are the founding mortals tasting forbidden fruit, a luciferous angel refusing to serve, or a firebrand publishing state secrets— disobedience ever remains the supreme crime. Far below this mountain, in the polished halls of privilege, the servants of the state, identifying as journalists, scurry about freely. Flushed with their proximity to power, they fete and self-decorate at correspondents’ dinners, backslapping over their professional integrity, descrying the jailed dissidents of official enemies. Yet they never mention the pale man, never glance up, never ask why a publisher is chained up on their mountain. And why should they, these stenographers of empire? They know their role, just as a gimp knows how to submit, a courtesan how to please, and a goon how to obey. Why sabotage their high standing when the accredited have declared the pale man guilty of espionage? Why sleep poorly Over a traitor’s chains? No need to shirk from mirrors, for they have dutifully internalized, as festooned lackeys do, that this “journalist” (rabbit ears required) is a criminal, a pawn of hostile states, an abettor of lawbreakers, a threat to national security, a bail jumper, a sexual delinquent! Why should these handmaidens of the court worry and risk disrepute? They are too busy caterwauling the imprisonments and injustices by the latest enemy. Too busy doomsdayering unironically over impending threats to press freedom. Too busy fussing with the ruling orthodoxies of the day. Too busy to consider that up there on the mountain, beyond their vision, beyond the fireglow of hearths, a Titan of their trade is chained to the rock.
To learn about Julian Assange’s case, see
#FreeJulianAssange!
Sounds pretty real to me, no myths here....