Saturday, October 10, 2009

THE SKEPTACLE



Since the days of cave paintings, indentations on clay tablets, and the quill pen, the skeptic was there. Through the invention of the ball point pen, typewriter, and now the ubiquitous computer, the skeptic is still around. The skeptic sees the big picture, approaching each subject from all sides at once and takes no prisoners in a virtual tell-all exposé. Somebody has always been there to remind others that things are not necessarily what they seem, and that tradition lives on.

There is always a story behind a story, if you are willing and able to dig in order to get there. And if you apply your gut instincts (not forgetting to wear your thinking cap), what unfolds before you is nothing less than what might be called a "skeptacle." The skeptacle reveals inner workings, hidden motivations, masquerading agendas – things that run deeper and wider than most suspect.

Ah, but suppose we apply our magnifying glass not to the quirky fringes, but to the staid and tefloned status quo? How fiendishly delightful if, instead of watching Houdini debunk the Spiritualists of yore, we could all enjoy The Skeptic calling to account those supposed untouchables in positions of power and influence who, day-by-day get away with unquestioned, unexamined lies and outrageous nonsense! Indeed, such a prospect would be titillating and a healthy antidote to the cynicism of today.

Stay tuned, not for the ghost writer-in-the-sky that lopes along in the footsteps of Drew Pearson or Jack Anderson. Tough times call for even tougher journalistic sleuths – someone along the lines of a Robert Langdon, who comes close to upsetting the Capital City's applecart in Dan Brown's latest novel, The Lost Symbol. Like Langdon, The Skeptic is no nattering nabob but rather a tattling treacler of tropism, patiently mapping the way forward.

© 2009 by J.D. Suss (a/k/a Bro. Jack, O4B)