NOTICE

70 R.J. GODLEWSKI/INERT
REDISCOVERY
Music, I’m told, is the universal language. I
just know that it still represents many dialects. For
example, by temperament I’m a 1960’s/1970’s rock
‘n’ roller. There’s just ‘something’ about the
driving force behind tunes from the J. Geils Band
that propel me to new heights of activity, for
instance. Yet, as I write these very words I am
being surrounded by the mystical sound of the
Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo De Silos’
Gregorian chant. I find that their ageless
“medieval plainsong” soothes me and aids in my
own art of the written word.
What this says of me, of course, is that I’m
not rigid and fixed in my mannerisms. In other
words, I’m a complicated individual that cannot be
defined through stereotypes. I find this to be quite
apropos – being a proponent of fighting terrorism
requires one to be at once both compassionately
loving and viciously decisive. The sheepdog that
can thump his hind legs against the floor when his
ears are scratched but sink his canine teeth into a
foe much larger than himself when the need arises.
You cannot be a simpleton to wage war
effectively. Neither can you afford to remain
predicable or live according to established
patterns. This is the fundamental reason that
classroom education leaves much to be desired. I
personally know of ‘Straight A’ students who fail
miserably within the real world environment. Why
did they do so well in school yet collapse into
insignificance when challenged? Because their