There are always true stories.  They are everywhere, maybe in parts in time and place, but for as long as people interact, there will be stories. They may come round and round in different tempo, but they have been told and will be told again. And sometimes they just happen and there is no one there to tell. But they exist.

And just at the universe is soooo big, and the atom so small, so it is with  Machiavellian tales. We read and marvel of the machinations of the Borgia family, political deals, manipulated news coverage. History book stuff, mini-series stuff, exposes of betrayals of country and family. But on the atom level, there is no big to-do. So I guess we have to handle it, to go on, to file our protest and take strength from the fact that we have done just that – stood up for ourselves.

And perhaps that is the most hopeful story of all – that everyday, somewhere, someone is saying I will not be pushed down and trampled without struggling to our feet and  saying, “Ok, we maintain our dignity.”