THE LONG WALK

RALPH WALDO EMERSON, THE REVERED MID-19TH CENTURY WRITER, OFTEN STEPPED INTO THE WOODS NEAR CONCORD MASSACHUSETTS FOR AN UNSPOILED WALK. HIS CAPACIOUS MIND FILLED TO OVERFLOWING WITH TRANSCENDENTAL IDEAS. THERE WAS NO SANITIZED BIKE TRAIL OR BLAZED PATH PAVED BY PUBLIC TAXES FOR HIS DISTINCT PLEASURES. EMERSON PENNED HIS THOUGHTS AFTER COMMUNING WITH NATURE, CHAMPIONING WHAT HE TERMED, THE "OVER SOUL," THE HIDDEN, ECSTATIC AND SACRED CENTER WITHIN EACH HUMAN BEING.

NIETZSCHE, THE NIHILISTIC, GERMAN PHILOSOPHER, FOLLOWED, EMERSON'S TRAIL WITH HIS CONCEPT OF THE "SUPERMAN." MUCH LATER, OVER THE SAME SOD, STOMPED THE HIPPIES, THE DROP-OUTS AND THE VISIONARIES FROM THE 60'S, 70'S AND EACH SUCCESSIVE DECADE UP TO THE PRESENT DAY.

BIKE TRAILS ARE THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT SPONSORED 'RAGE'. PUBLIC MONIES (FROM TAXES) ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE GOVERNMENT'S BUDGET TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN THESE SUPPOSEDLY IMPORTANT SPACES. FEMA, THE FEDERAL DISASTER AGENCY, EVEN HELPED CLEANUP ONE SUCH SERIES OF WALKING TRAILS AFTER A DEVASTATING STORM. ENTHUSIASTS ARE NOT ASKED TO DIVE INTO WILD, BUGGY OR SHADY UNDERGROWTH (FILLED WITH BIRDSONG) WHEN THEY FOLLOW A TRAIL IN CONTEMPORARY AMERICA. THESE SOLITARY HAVENS FOR THOUGHT, THESE UNNATURALLY LANDSCAPED SOURCES OF INSPIRATION THAT COULD BE TRANSMUTED INTO POETRY OR PROSE IMITATIVE OF AN EMERSON, SADLY, ARE NOT COMMONLY FREQUENTED IN 2006. MUSIC FESTIVALS, NASCAR RACES, MOVIE COMPLEXES, SPORTS VENUES, SHOPPING MALLS AND PLASMA SCREENS ARE OUR MAGNETS FOR ENORMOUS CROWDS I SUSPECT THEY WERE NOT AS CROWDED AS POPULAR, PUBLIC GATHERINGS IN EMERSON'S TIME EITHER.

DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR CORZINE OF THE BANKRUPT STATE OF NEW JERSEY THINKS LEADERSHIP IS TELLING THE PEOPLE HOW THINGS ARE. WRONG. LEADERSHIP PROVIDES A VISION FOR THE FUTURE. IT HAS REVEALED ITSELF THROUGH THE WORDS AND ACTIONS OF PAST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTS, ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND RONALD REAGAN. RALPH WALDO EMERSON ALSO LED BY HIS EXAMPLE OF INTROSPECTION WHILE MEANDERING THROUGH THE WOODS AND WILD PLACES OF EARLY AMERICA. HIS WAS THE VANGUARD OF THE NON-CONFORMIST AND CONTRARIAN MOVEMENT. HIS SECRET PASSWORD WAS "THINKING," A SOLITARY PAST-TIME, RARELY DISCOVERED AND PAST ITS PRIME TIME TODAY. .