Sergio Vieira Del Mello's targeted, violent, orchestrated UN-on-duty death in Iraq came 450 years after Michael Servetus was burned alive at the stake for his own defiance, having written his 'Christianismi Restitutio' in 1553 which was a polemic work of ideas that cost Michael Servetus his life. The signing executioner way back then, was Servetus' old colleague, and one time flatmate John Calvin - yep, the very same Calvin of religious-fervour-fame. Calvin was a 'failed' humanitarian, but found he had a great capacity to be mean and horrible and thus became the tight fisted, tight-butted zealot reformer of the damning kind...that similar tight-butted people in churches still hymn to.
A little bit of trivia: John Calvin was French, and his real name was Jean Chauvin....as in, yep..you guessed it, the very same guy the term Chauvinistic derived from...thus his failed humanitarianism no doubt.
Michael Servetus born in North East Spain in 1511, when the early 16th century was the a cauldron of the medieval world, the Renaissance, the Inquisition, the New World, and the modern world bubbled & boiled. It was at the height of Charles the Fifth's Holy Roman Empire which spanned from Spain to the Balkans, from the Mediterranean to the Baltic Sea.
It was also 50 years of the Gutenberg's movable type printing press, which Michael Servetus utilized, whereupon his words galvanized (not calvinized) his fate.
450 years on...and Sergio Vieira De Mello, a humanitarian, who practised his philosophy on the ground, delivering humaniarian aid to refugees and other shell shocked human beings the world over, was devoted to serving the not just the people, but the United Nations, earnestly and performed the most astonishing duties in the most devasted places and people from his multi-titled United Nation's posts until he was 'specifically asked by Condolezza Rice and George Bush Jr. to go to Iraq'.
Disheartening to see the old over played out familiar scene where there is a Judas charmingly inviting with curling index fingers enticing the sheep to their slaughter.
In both, now historic cases, [which everyone truly should learn about these men's lives, and all they managed to accomplish despite the politics of their times], the moral within both cases were of course tackled and forcibly removed, so as to let the the lessor's horrible agendas not be further weakened or challenged by intelligent, literal, compassionate men who possessed a rare indefatigable courage.
Both were just a smidge outside the ruling majority cast. Servetus was Spanish in a Teutonic world, and Sergio Vieira de Mello was Brazillian in a European Clique. Both of first rate minds, both inaccurately perceived from second rate cultures, both were exceedingly charming which contributed to their achieving so much in their short lives. Both men's work and life was centred in Geneva. Both were mulit-lingual - more so than the rest of the going day. Both men had vision, both men lived outside convention and conformity, both men had reason in lieu of religion, both men sought to get their message out. Both men will largely go unknown.
Thus others lacking human qualities, similar attributes, or any capacity for good, had their opposites extinguished.
Extinguished they were.
But not before some efforts were made.
But almost always destroyed or buried quickly those efforts so as to not really make it into any history books or young minds lest any upcoming generation get any fancy ideas and want to take high roads and lead lives of integrity, relevance and seek to personify philosophical views.
...though I get the sense the 'threatened-lack' have increased in numbers, and won weeding out any semblance of triumphant human courage from ever popping up....
at least until the year 2453.
There might be a rare glimpse or sightings of hope then, before another courageous life is cut short in their prime.
Post script:The Poetic Justice of our knowing about the advancements in medicine and theology Servetus made is entirely due to the irony that John Calvin keeping one singular book of Michael Servetus - and burning all the rest. Had Calvin not done so, we might never have come to know Michael Servetus at all. At least the man could recognize sacrilege when he saw it.
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