I have been following and posting about on the Conserpiracy forum (now closed) the political campaign of would-be US senator Augustus Sol Invictus for some
months now.
His recent defeat in the Libertarian primary election in
Florida has stirred up some very painful memories; I have seen something like
this campaign before. It is a very different story involving very different
people, but there are a few familiar elements. There is also a big coincidence
in the case.
I was involved with an Islamic political opposition
movement a while back. I remember that the leaders referred to themselves by
the titles they hoped to attain once they had overthrown an oppressive regime;
they behaved as though they already occupied the positions that they were
campaigning to achieve.
I remember the excitement when the main leader started to
levitate; the members, supporters and followers were uplifted too. They felt
part of something big and inspiring; they had goals and a mission to work for.
The members called each other brother and sister.
The mood was very positive, euphoric even; victory seemed
just around the corner. I remember the press releases, the statements, the
attention, the publicity, the interviews and articles, the committees, the
meetings and the conferences and speeches.
I remember the demonstrations in various capital cities and the concerts
with famous artists, all very colourful with flags, flowers and stirring music…volunteers worked round the clock getting it all organised.
At the time, it seemed like the start of something very
big. Looking back, I can see that the first year of campaigning was as good as
it got.
Many peripheral supporters expected immediate and dramatic results; when this did not happen, they lost interest, energy and enthusiasm, drifted away and got on with their lives instead. The organisation became cult-like; ideology was more important than efficiency; people were expected to obey the leaders’ orders without question: even very constructive criticism that would have helped the cause was considered a crime. The members were continually told, “We must make sacrifices.” Many of the best people became disillusioned and left; others gave their lives for nothing.
This opposition movement is dying a very slow, lingering
death. That is a whole other story though.
I slowly detached myself by degrees once I realised that
the organisation was not what I had believed it was and that the leaders were
their own worst enemies. I also received
some crushing blows and felt betrayed by people I had trusted, people I
expected to look after my interests.
To get back to Augustus Invictus, while a defeat at the
start of one person’s political career may be more of a small setback or minor
molehill than a major disaster, it can certainly feel like one. Defeat can be
devastating if victory had seemed certain. It is all very well for Rudyard
Kipling to say that triumph and disaster are imposters who should be treated
just the same: this is much easier said than done.
In black, paranoid moments, I wonder whether there might
be something to the theory that sinister forces are at work in our lives,
implanting ideas and arranging events to build us up and raise false hopes,
only to make it all come crashing down so that they can feed off the resulting
negative emotions. I have written about such scenarios and how to deal with
them in a long article about injury and revenge.
Another paranoid proposition is
that by wanting something very much, you activate forces that stop you getting
it.
While looking for more relevant images and information
about Sol Invictus, sun worship, lions, sunbursts etc. for my thread on the
Conserpiracy site, I saw something that made me realise that the name and
designation of one of the opposition leaders have sun worshipping associations.
There is also a lion and a sunburst in the case. What a coincidence; at the
time I knew almost nothing about such things.
Everything is connected and unseen influences really are
at work in our lives.
