Chapter 1

Underpaid teachers cry themselves to sleep at night, wondering why they are struggling to raise the performance of indifferent students. Worried about bills, they know they can make more money managing a boutique in a large shopping mall somewhere. Under appreciated, subjected to violence, and scrutinized by a suspicious populace, the teacher works harder to avoid lawsuits than provide excellence in education.

It is widely accepted that the foundation of a strong democracy is to have an educated electorate. That belief is based on the idea that educated men and women can reason through the pros and cons of diverse alternatives to identify solutions to problems that are optimal. Individuals, accepting the responsibilities of their role in establishing rule through representation, will reason about which candidate can best represent their perspectives on the problem.

Picking a representative becomes a matter of identifying the candidate who shares their particular perspective on a problem. This sounds like a simple act that only requires that a person with one set of views to select another person with the same set of views to represent them. Achieving a strong democracy would be so simple if two people existed that shared the same perspectives on all of the important problems. Still, an educated person could reason through the alternatives and select the candidate that best represents the majority of views or, at least, those views that are held most dear.

Clearly, it is true that an educated person is more capable of reasoning through a problem than an uneducated person. The real question is whether an educated electorate is more likely to reason through the issues put forth than an ignorant electorate? That is an easy question. Ask any lover of reason if there is a stronger force in life than passion.

Individuals of great education and reasoning ability can argue two points of view for years without resolution. As debates progress, it becomes easy for the participants to become wedded to a perspective with the consequence that counterpoints are ignored, discounted, or labeled as outright false. Reason retreats under the power and fury of emotion.

If the education of the electorate is not the ultimate foundation for a strong democracy, then what is? Emotion clearly doesn’t support democracy. Hero worship can lead directly to a dictatorship in which faults, flaws, and criminal acts are ignored by supporters because of the rose colored glasses they wear. Millions still worship the leadership provided by Stalin, and Hitler still has his fans.

The greatest foundation of a strong democracy is that representatives must defend their position periodically, and do so in an open forum. The positions, interests, and character of the candidates are exposed to the electorate. Those who better represent their interests can replace candidates that stop promoting the interests of those they represent. Corruption, incompetence, arrogance, and deceit can be exposed, and the individuals replaced. It is in this manner that true power resides in the electorate.

If an educated electorate is not the foundation for a strong democracy, then what is value of education with respect to a democracy? Education does not serve democracy best by creating an educated electorate, but by providing a much larger pool of candidates to serve as representatives. Shrinking the pool of candidates leads to a restriction of choice and that reduces the power that resides in the electorate. Such actions can spiral out of control leading to the establishment of a monarchy.

The establishment of a larger pool of candidate representatives is not the only value of education regarding democracy. Educated people put forth the solutions about which the representatives argue. Reducing the pool of educated people reduces the quality of the solutions that can be put forth. The ultimate result is a spiral towards mediocrity.

The teacher, looking up in frustration while grading poorly written papers submitted by bored students, should remember their importance in the grand scheme of a strong democracy. Mark what is wrong, teach the correction, and expect improvement. In this way, the teacher carries the burden of the future on their shoulders. Unlike Ajax who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, few know the names of the greatest of these heroes and heroines.

The aging thinker who sets pencil to paper to frame a new idea may wonder why they bother. Most likely, only a handful of like minded people shall ever know of the work done that night. Set the pencil to paper, frame the idea, and send it forth for others to consider. One day, the ideas developed at night become the subject of debate during the day. The thinker shares the teacher’s burden for the future on their shoulders. Only a handful of these heroes and heroines shall be remembered.

Utopia may not exist, but it is a goal worth trying to achieve. Without the teacher or the thinker, Utopia can’t even survive as a dream. The naked man sitting next to a fire cooking food for the first time could be our grandchild rather than our grandsire. Consider this, the teacher and the thinker have more power in a strong democracy by their actions, rather than by their votes.

Oscar and Georgia stepped into the administration office at the Druid College. He set down the duffel bag that contained their clothes. Most of the contents within it belonged to Georgia since he only had two red robes packed away. He wore his cloak and the pockets were full of his personal possessions, including a pistol. The woman at the desk looked up at him, recognizing that he was a Druid, and asked, “How may I help you?”

Oscar said, “I’m here to go to school.”

“Okay,” she replied with a significant pause between syllables. The woman studied the red robe and pursed her lips as she thought about what he had said. Finally, she said, “Let me get someone to take you to a room. You can wait anywhere here in the lobby.”

While she talked on the phone, Oscar and Georgia looked around the administration building. It was a spectacular building that provided a very relaxed atmosphere. Footsteps didn’t echo like in normal large areas. There were no sounds that created a distraction. The colors were subdued, but totally natural. The walls were covered with paintings and photographs of natural scenes including jungles, deserts, waterfalls, plains, and woodland scenes. Animals of all shapes and sizes were captured in color prints.

Near the entrance was a large photograph of John Carter. Oscar stepped over a few steps to study the photograph. Georgia went with him. He looked at the picture and said, “What a great man.”

“Did you ever meet him?”

Oscar shook his head and replied, “No, I never did. I read a biography about him, though. He did so much for the world.”

“He paid a very high price for his service to the Gods and Goddesses.” The voice from behind interrupted their discussion.

Oscar turned and looked at the Brown Robed man standing there. He nodded and said, “I am Oscar Meyers and my wife to be is Georgia Wilson.”

The man nodded at both of them, but looked primarily at Oscar. He had expected a last minute student, but not that he would be a Druid. He said, “I am Oliver Brown.”

Oscar replied, “It is a pleasure to meet the Grand Druid.”

Oliver smiled as he examined Oscar. It always amazed him when he met a new Druid just how pure their heart was. Ever since beginning his service, he could not tolerate watching television or leaving the College for extended periods of time. There was just too much hate in this world. He said, “The pleasure is mine. You have a pure heart, despite the actions that you’ve been forced to take.”

Oscar shrugged and replied, “I never hated the terrorists, only what they did. The innocents require protection from the strong. The good require protection from those who would do evil. The terrorists have a misguided moral sense that enables them to kill the innocent ones.”

“Come with me and I’ll get you established in a room. The rest of the students will arrive tomorrow.” Oliver thought about this situation and how it needed to be handled. No one had anticipated that a Druid would actually be studying here. The expectations had been that the students would become Druids upon graduation. After thinking about it for a minute, he said, “I’ll take you to your room now.”

After picking up the duffel bag, Oscar rejoined Georgia. They followed Oliver through a hallway and then into the building that housed the first year dorms. Oliver turned and said, “We don’t have any furnished faculty apartments available at the moment. I’m afraid that you’ll have to stay in the first year dorm. I hope that isn’t a problem for you.”

“I expect we’ll be living there from now on,” replied Oscar with a good-natured wink in the direction of Georgia.

“We?” asked Oliver.

“Sure, Georgia and me,” replied Oscar. Georgia, standing beside Oscar, realized that a problem was looming on the horizon.

Oliver looked over at her and asked, “Have you a degree already?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“I’m afraid that represents a problem for us,” said Oliver as he resumed walked along. The rules were rather clear that new students should not have permanent commitments to others. The stress of living naked with others could seriously harm them. He had been willing to make an exception for a Druid since he had assumed they would have made sure that no harm could come from it. It made him wonder if Oscar understood all of the implications of becoming a student here.

“Why?” asked Oscar puzzled by the fact that his fiancee might want to live with him in his dorm was a problem. He couldn’t imagine other Druids having the kind of prudish morality that would frown on that. He said, “It won’t harm anyone if we live together in a dorm room. I go to classes and she does what ever she chooses to do.”

Oliver frowned as he realized the other Druid had no idea of what to expect. “It’s not that simple. There’s a lot that you don’t know. I suggest we get you settled into a room for now and then discuss it over some coffee.”

Oscar and Georgia stared in horror at Oliver as the Grand Druid explained the program at the College. He was shocked to learn that the whole first year class would be naked and living in mixed dorms. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Georgia enough to stay true to her, but he was a man with needs who would be surrounded by temptation all of the time.

Shaking his head, Oscar said, “I don’t understand how the Two- Sided One could insist that I come here.”

Thinking about the temptation that Oscar would be under, Georgia said, “Three days in that environment and I’d be begging guys to have their way with me. After a week, I’d be looking at the women if I hadn’t had relief by then.”

Oscar muttered, “You would be tempted, but I can’t even imagine how I’ll react.”

Trying not to smile at her comment, Oliver said, “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Having delivered the bad news, Oliver watched the couple look at each other. His heart went out to them as he wondered what Oscar would decide to do. He took a sip of coffee waiting for some kind of reaction. Looking at Georgia, it was easy to see that she had a heart nearly as pure as a Druid did. Even the bad news had not created any shadows over her heart. There was hope that a solution might occur to one of them.

Georgia set down her cup a little harder than she intended with the consequence that a little coffee spilled onto the table. Ignoring the spill, she said, “Let me summarize one side of the situation knowing that you will be going to school here. First, you will be tempted while living here surrounded by young naked women. Second, I will not be living with you to provide relief when the temptations become too strong. Third, you will succumb to temptation regardless of how much you love me. Fourth, that will bother you because you love me more than life itself. Final point, you can’t live without me in your life for six years.”

Oscar replied, “True on all counts.”

Taking a moment to wipe up the spill with a napkin, she considered what she was going to say next. Finally, she said, “Let me summarize from a different perspective. First, I know that you will be tempted while living here surrounded by young naked women. Second, I accept that I will not be able to live with you while you are a student. Third, I can accept that you will succumb to temptation because I know how much you love me. Fourth, I will not be jealous because I know that you love me more than life itself. Final point, I can’t live without you in my life for six years.”

Thinking about what she said, he knew that to argue those points would be futile. She loved him and if he questioned her honesty about this, he would be questioning her love for him. He said, “I guess.”

Her eyes flicked over at him at the implied doubt. She said, “You know better than that.”

“Okay. You’re right on all counts,” replied Oscar although it hurt him to say it.

Oliver listened to her summary impressed with her ability to get to the heart of the matter. He said, “I guess that is both sides of the story.”

“Not at all,” replied Georgia as she looked over at the Grand Druid. She smiled at him and said, “There is still your perspective. First, you can’t change the rules for the entire class. Second, you can’t make an exception for Oscar or myself as that undermines the rest of the class. Third, you can’t allow harm to come to Oscar or myself. Final point, you won’t enjoy coming between the two of us.”

There was a flavor of a threat in the final point, but everything she had said was correct. He replied, “That is true.”

Oscar nodded and said, “There has to be a compromise in there somewhere.”

An idea started to come to Oliver, but it was too early to tell them about it. Standing up, he said, “Excuse me for a minute.”

Oscar and Georgia sat at the table drinking coffee and talking about the difficulties of the upcoming time. While Georgia was keeping her spirits, Oscar was getting depressed. He couldn’t imagine being kept from Georgia for more than just a few days at a time.

Oliver returned to the table with a very large grin on his face. Sitting down, he said, “Have I got a solution for you.”

Wondering what he could have come up with that quickly, Georgia said, “Please, tell us.”

Turning to Georgia, he said, “Ed Biggers has a place across the road from us, but he doesn’t use it. I just got off the phone and he said that you could live there for the next six years. I can employ you in the administration building while you are here.”

She smiled at the idea of being able to stay nearby. Looking over at Oscar, she asked, “What about Oscar?”

“He will be a student here, but I insist that he does not let any of the other students know that he is already a Druid until after the first year. We can let him leave the campus on occasion since he doesn’t require the constant supervision of our regular students. During the first year, I’m sure that a weekly scheduled time could be arranged for the weekends. If he happens to go across the street to your place, I don’t see where that would be a problem,” replied Oliver with a large smile.

Oscar wasn’t smiling nearly as much as Georgia. Hiding the fact that he was Druid for a year seemed excessive, but that wasn’t his real problem. He said, “That puts me here through most of the week with all those naked women.”

Pleased that things weren’t nearly as bad as they could have been, Georgia said, “The up side is that you’ll be able to enjoy a few of those naked women.”

“What about you?” asked Oscar afraid that he would be hurting her feelings by sleeping around. He wasn’t interested in some of the wilder forms of sexual activity that so many Druids favored. He felt that he could only love one woman at a time. That didn’t keep him from being a man whose cock would react when presented with an attractive woman.