Taken Prisoner

**Leo Volont** · 02-03-2006 12:15 PM

I had a dream I was back in the Army when suddenly we were all caught up in a Civil War, and different Regiments were taking different sides. My Unit was decided to stay loyal to the Government, and I really had no doubt but that the Government Forces would soon have the Rebellion under control. My Platoon was deploying and I was riding in the back of the truck, and I took my mind and attention off of things for a moment and when I looked up, some of the Rebels had pulled up behind and had their rifles pointed into my vehicle and at myself, and my gun was not at the ready. I felt really demoralized. If I had been doing my job right then I would have seen them coming and would had been able to lay down enough fire to either destroy them or at least enough to keep them back. Instead, well, they had the drop on us and the only sensible thing to do was to surrender. Indeed, we were sort of lucky. In the usual ambush, the tactic is to simply lay down a blanket of fire, and to consider taking prisoners only afterward, as those who managed to dive into a hole here and there would poke white flags up out of their cover. So, taking my platoon's surrender was something of a curtesy... though probably not unheard of in such Civil Conflicts where one is not anxious to provoke drastic responses.

But my next thoughts and reactions surprised me. I thought that perhaps being taken prisoner was at least preferrable to what the alternative would have been, that is, having to have killed those other soldiers. I was thinking that the feeling of demoralized defeat was better than feeling the anguish of having blood on my hands. I know, earlier in my life, I would not have thought of that. This reluctance to violence is of relatively recent development.

Later in the dream, our captures put us in the charge of Atomic Powered Automatons -- little robots with weapons attached. It seems the Rebels needed to go off and be about their business and needed to leave us with these machines. When I asked about having to get up to get and prepare food or going to the latrine, the Rebels told me that the machines would not allow me to move. But when they left, I found that the Robots were much more accomodating, and that the Rebels had lied to me... probably just for the enjoyment of seeing my anxiety. But the Atomic Automatons allowed a great deal of freedom as long as they could ascertain that we were not in the process of attempting to escape.

And at no time did I doubt that the Government Forces would eventually resolve this Rebellion and that this confinement would come to an end.

**squirm** · 02-03-2006 05:30 PM

Too much cheese before bed?

**djaio** · 02-04-2006 01:05 AM

pffft everyone knows rebels are always the good guys.

**Distant Clone** · 02-04-2006 06:24 AM

I'm surprised to see Leo actually start a Dream Interpretation thread. I've given it some consideration. While I don't have a novel or essay, here goes.

You seem really calm, but I'm going to label this an anxiety dream. I see a separation between you and the rest of the world. The world is in trouble, divided and fighting. It is not perfect, possibly crying out for help. You could be doing your job by helping to pacify the events, but you are not. You are isolated and withdrawn. Without you, things will still work themselves out, but it may take awhile. Especially since the robots signify advanced technology, and the future. Get involved now and you will not be waiting for the government to rescue you. It is a reminder for you to continue helping.

**Leo Volont** · 02-04-2006 07:40 AM

Originally posted by djaio
pffft everyone knows rebels are always the good guys.

That does seem to be the direction of most modern media. It is a celebration of Barbarism. However, a study of history will show that Civilization correlates to Goodness, Light, and happiness, whereas Barbarism brings on the Dark Ages and with all the concommittant plagues, pillagings and economies of slavery.

When looking at a Media that glorifies Barbarism while villianizing Civilization, we need to wonder what their agenda is.

We can look at History and see that of the 20 Civilizations that have preceeded our own, all of them fell into Dark Age Barbarism only when their Government Infrastructures grew weak. When Modern Conservative preach a doctrine supposing that Governments are responsible for all known Evils, they are being disingenuous at best. All facts are quite to the contrary. A Civilizations greatest strength resides in a Government strong enough to collect taxes in order to support a social infrastructure secure enough to withstand Barbarism's predatory impulses.

You know, we must all be aware that there are a great many people who suppose that if all law and order and moral structures were to be suspended, that they suppose they could do better for themselves in the consequent chaos. Indeed, it is the assumption of every Tory, Republican and Libertarian that if all Civilization was tossed aside and everything was made a chaotic free-for-all that they would themselves become the Kings of the Mountain... that in the predatory struggle to determine who would be the fittest, that it would be themselves who would win out. They think that Barbarism pays better than Civilization.

Of course, they are stupid for thinking so. History reveals that the first victims of Barbarism are the very groups who open the City Gates. In the French Revolution, the Bloody Reign of Terror concentrated mostly on those very Nobles who first lead the the Assembly against the King. The Russian, Chinese, and I am sure all other Revolutions have likewise eaten and engorged themselves upon the Intellectual Elites who have paved the way for the Chaos by undermining the Civilization that had been the only thing that stood between them and the barbaric brutes who would think nothing of slaughtering them for nothing more than their golden candlesticks.

So, you need to wonder what a creative artist is thinking who makes a Rebel into a Hero. He would probably think differently after he is himself murdered when making a withdraw at an ATM. But after glorifying these Rebels, one need not feel sorry for them when they get only what they deserve. If they foster the Wild Beasts, then let them be the ones who are eaten by them.

**Leo Volont** · 02-04-2006 09:11 AM

Originally posted by DistantClone
I'm surprised to see Leo actually start a Dream Interpretation thread. I've given it some consideration. While I don't have a novel or essay, here goes.

You seem really calm, but I'm going to label this an anxiety dream. I see a separation between you and the rest of the world. The world is in trouble, divided and fighting. It is not perfect, possibly crying out for help. You could be doing your job by helping to pacify the events, but you are not. You are isolated and withdrawn. Without you, things will still work themselves out, but it may take awhile. Especially since the robots signify advanced technology, and the future. Get involved now and you will not be waiting for the government to rescue you. It is a reminder for you to continue helping.

Distant Clone,

Hey, that's pretty good.

There was an extra detail in the dream. When they got the drop on me with their rifles and machine guns, I knew I gingerly had to surrender my own rifle slowly and unambiguously. Then, it was with some anxiety that I even surrendered my 'ankle' gun. I did not want them to find it later and give me a difficult time about it. This would indicate that I had become totally helpless in the face of circumstances -- surrendering both my official role and responsibilities as well as my own secret and personal potentials.

But your advice that I could somehow break free from these restraints are nowhere indicated in this dream. yes, my earlier anxieties were exaggerated, as the Rebel was teasing me about how restrictive the Atomic Robots would be. But although the Atomic Robots allowed a great deal of personal freedom, they would be most effective at maintaining my status as an imprisoned non-combatant.

But most importantly, you failed to consider the most important emotional ephiphany within this dream, that I was relieved that I would rather be taken prisoner than to have been put into the position of killing people, even in my own defense and in a 'good cause'. You know, maybe sometimes it is better to let the whole world go to hell than to unleash one's own personal 'dogs of war'. It reminds me of years ago when the announcment came on the news that Princess Di had been in that accident. My heart just sank, and I hoped that she would be alright. It is by our spontaneous emotions that we know who we are. I suddenly knew that I could be empathetic. The cold intellectual found a trace of humanity. Now, it is the same in this dream. In my youth where I would have been totally the Hero, wishing to either Kill or to Die... now, I was honestly relieved that I would not have to take any part in the whole bloody mess.

But, yes, it may be an Anxiety Dream. After all, I dreamt of having been caught unaware and unprepared. As I have said many a time, Studies show that people who have Anxiety Dreams are typically those people who have the least to be anxious about. So, consider, could I actually ever be caught unaware and unprepared? Well, frankly, no. I WAS in the Army and I was decorated many times. I was a model Troop. I AM a model Troop. If the situation were ever to really come up, I would see the Rebel Vehicle coming up, and I would lay down a field of fire that would drop them dead in their tracks before they know what hit them. But, yes, I now know that I would regret the necessity.

**djaio** · 02-04-2006 10:56 PM

oh leo, you're so silly.

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