He Never Got There!

"Moses Smashing the Tablets of the Law" by Rembrandt

Today with outcomes assessments all the rage, students and teachers are evaluated not by the quality so much as the quantity of what they’ve learned. Under this way of thinking Moses would have left the earth feeling his project, leading the Jews to The Promised Land, had failed. If you look at the bible as narrative, Moses facing the obstacles of his people’s lack of faith (worshipping the Golden Calf) and the fury with which he smashes the Ten Commandments to the ground are brilliant literary devices. Moses having a vision and then seeing it fulfilled would be too simple and not really in the realm of experience. Yes Gandhi saw India liberated from the British and Mandela saw the end of Apartheid. But most peoples’ experience is a little like that of Martin Luther King who was cut down before he could see the miracle. And therein lies the human element. Not everyone has a dream, but it's the rare prophet who sees his vision become real in his lifetime. On a smaller level, everyone has things they want and believe in and if you’re one of those people it may be helpful to realize that these very projects, perhaps camouflaged in different attire, are inadvertently carried on by children, friends and all those who continue the march to your putative promised land and within whom your memory continues to reside, when you're no longer here to light the spark.