William Redman Carter: Chapter 26

Posted: February 06, 2006 - 12:01:51 am



"So you're going to become Dr. Carter?" Eddie asked while watching his brother

pack up his books.

William looked over at his little brother. The boy was turning into a good

looking young man. His short black hair, piercing grey eyes, and subdued Native

American features gave him an exotic look. William knew that it wouldn't be long

before the girls started following his brother around town. Pulling the roll of

tape over the top of the box, he answered, "Yes, if I ever manage to get out of

here and write my Dissertation."

The young man bent over and put his hand on his back while holding his other arm

as if supporting himself with a cane. Trying to sound like an old man, he said,

"My Winnebago is acting up. What should I do?"

"I'd get a dictionary if I were you. It's lumbago, not Winnebago," William

answered with a grin. He picked up the box and added it to the pile of boxes by

his desk.

Eddie straightened up and smiled at his big brother. He went over to the couch

and took a seat while he said, "It's been fun hanging with you this week. I

don't get to see you very often."

"I know. When we move to Arizona we'll get a lot more time together."

"You bet. Dad and I have been out to your new place a couple of times. Pop even

went out there with us once. There are lots of good rocks on your place."

William didn't need to ask which father to whom his brother referred. Eddie

called Ed, Dad, and Leroy, Pop. Dan was the lucky recipient of the informal,

Pappy. Dan complained, but actually appreciated that Eddie had taken to him like

a father. Of course, Eddie usually called him Pappy with one eye scrunched and

his lips twisted as if he were Popeye. He replied, "It's good to know that you'd

come out there for the rocks at the very least."

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. I'm just teasing you."

Eddie relaxed in his chair and watched as William opened his file cabinet.

Looking at all of the papers within the drawer, Eddie asked, "Did you read all

of those papers?"

"Yes."

"Wow. You're going to win a Nobel Prize just like Pop and Daddy John," Eddie

said. He spent hours in the library looking at the two medallions displayed in

the trophy case that Kelly had installed there. He was quiet for a moment and

then asked, "Why didn't they make a big deal out of Daddy John's Nobel Prize?"

"Daddy John and Daddy Leroy earned their Nobel Prizes in different ways. Daddy

John felt like he was serving the Goddess when he did his research on the Fusion

Well and couldn't really take too much credit. He didn't even tell the family

when he won it. Mommy Kelly heard about it on the television. She sure was mad

at him for not telling the family.

"On the other hand, Daddy Leroy earned his through years of hard work and

thoughtful study. I was so proud of him when he went up there to receive the

prize. You were there, but you weren't more than six years old at the time."

Eddie remembered the event very clearly. He nodded and said, "I remember that.

Pop had this real funny expression on his face."

William laughed his agreement. Leroy had been so happy that his smile went from

ear to ear. At the same time, he was so overwhelmed by the honor that there were

tears in his eyes. Remembering that moment reminded him of what Kelly had

observed. He said, "Mommy Kelly said that Leroy proved two things that day. The

first was that science for the sake of humanity was more honorable than science

for the sake of money. The second thing Leroy proved was that a man who reached

for the stars was capable of catching them when supported by a loving family."

"Mom Kelly is almost as philosophical as dad."

"You're distinguishing the mothers by name?"

Eddie shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Do you realize how hard it is to come

up with four different names for mothers?"

"You're smart. I'm sure that you came up with a good half-dozen words that mean

mother."

Eddie grinned at the comment that he was smart and said, "I tried giving them

each a different name like I did with the fathers. It went well until I called

Mom Claire, Mammy. Apparently that is not a good thing to say to a black woman.

Dad and Pops came down hard on me for that one. I decided it was just easier to

call them all Mom."

He could understand why Claire would object to being called Mammy. He asked,

"Did you figure out why they were upset?"

"Yes. I didn't realize that it was an insult to black women. I heard the term in

one of the old black and white movies that dad has and thought it was just

another way to refer to a mother. The movie didn't use it in an insulting

manner."

"I like Daddy Ed's old movies," William said. The visits to the house in Arizona

always included a number of hours watching old movies with his father on the

couch. Some of the films, by modern standards, were totally politically

incorrect and contained content that would be considered racist, sexist, and

overly religious. They could show a black saying, 'Massa, ' and men giving

cheesy pickup lines to their secretaries, but the film couldn't have a kiss that

lasted too long. He commented, "There are lots of things in those old movies

that wouldn't ever appear in a modern film."

"I made him promise to leave you the old westerns while I get the Sci-fi," Eddie

said with a wink. He knew how much William enjoyed the old grade B sci-fi

movies.

"You hate Sci-fi," William replied.

"I don't hate them. I just love Westerns even more. There are enough old

Westerns out there that you don't have to watch Sci- Fi."

For the rest of the time that William packed for his trip, he and Eddie

discussed various cowboy actors. For the most part they agreed, but William had

always been partial to John Wayne while Eddie liked Clint Eastwood. It was the

kind of conversation that two brothers who didn't see each other very often

might have. William felt bad that he didn't have more time to spend with his

little brother.

Their conversation came to an end when Tim came home. William watched Eddie and

Tim get out the radio controlled cars. After finishing his packing, he picked up

a box of his papers and carried it to the Hugger. It took several round trips to

get all of the books and papers into the back of the Hugger. He arrived back in

the house in time to hear his father say, "That's a real wicked course you've

laid out there. Are you sure that the cars can go through some of those arches?"

"You bet," Eddie answered. He had set up the gates with one of the cars in

place. Looking out the corner of his eye, he knew that William wasn't going to

pass up this chance to play.

Ed leaned over and examined the starting line. Raising an eyebrow, he said,

"You've got four cars set out here. There's you, Tim, and me. We are all ready

to play. Who's the fourth one for?"

"Oh, I set that one out just in case someone wanted to play a little before

going off to the wilds of Arkansas to write," Eddie answered. Shaking his head,

he added, "Of course, William would never consider playing with us after looking

at this course. He'd never be able to get through all of the traps we've put

here."

Tim grinned when he realized what Eddie was doing and said, "I don't think that

William is good enough to run this course."

Laughing at the obvious attempt to sucker him into playing, William said, "Just

one run and then I have to pack my clothes."

It was two hours later that Lucy came home and found the four of them seated

tailor fashion on the floor guiding their cars through an extremely complex

obstacle course. She fought to suppress a laugh upon seeing the identical

expressions of concentration on their faces as they maneuvered their cars. Each

of them had the tip of their tongue out as they worked the controls. She had

teased William that he should invent a tongue controlled car because he moved

his tongue in the same way he moved the little lever on the radio controller.

Trying to sound like a mother who has just returned home in time to catch the

kids trying to shave the cat, she said, "Boys!"

Her outburst caused Tim to lose his concentration and his car ran into William's

car. The pair of them brought down the stack of blocks that had been the gate

through which they were to guide their cars. Ed and Eddie both tried to take

their cars over the pile created by the collision. Their two cars collided and

brought down more blocks. All four of them groaned at the situation.

Ed sat back and, after glancing at Lucy, said, "I don't think we're getting out

of this one."

"I thought you were going to let William pack today."

William solemnly nodded his head with wide eyes and said, "I tell you, it was a

conspiracy against me. I didn't stand a chance."

Lucy laughed at the expression on Ed's face and replied, "Right."

William glanced over at Lucy and winked. He had warned her that they were going

to end up playing with the radio controlled cars after Tim came home from

school. He replied, "I've got all of the books and papers loaded in the Hugger.

All I've got to do is pack my clothes and I'm ready to leave."

"That's not all you have to do. I've got bags and bags of stuff for the kitchen,

bathroom, and bedroom out in my car. You need to load that into your Hugger,

too."

"Bags and bags?"

"Yes, bags and bags."

"Have I told you lately that I'm goo-goo over you?" William asked.

"Every day. Morning, noon, and night."

A puzzled look came over Eddie's face. He asked, "Goo-goo?"

"That means madly, deeply, and truly interested," answered William with a wink

at Lucy. The word had come to mean so much more than that to the two of them.

Lucy waited for Eddie's response. Instead of what she expected, he said, "I

thought that was gaga."

William hugged his little brother and said, "You just might be right."

The interaction between the brothers brought smiles to the faces of Ed and Lucy.

Ed was happy that the two brothers got along so well. He was worried that with

Eddie being the youngest, that he would be left behind by his older and more

talented siblings. Eddie adored his older brother and thought he was the

smartest person in the world. Beth and John were a little more distant from

their brother, but they were also almost ten years older and busy with their

careers.

Enjoying the attention, Eddie said, "I'll help you load the car."

William stood and said, "Come on, Eddie. I'm sure that working together, we'll

be done before you know it."

When the pair had left the house, Lucy said, "William really loves Eddie. He's

such a good kid."

"Yeah, William's something else," Ed said knowing that she was actually

referring to Eddie, but he felt the description applied equally well to all of

the Carter kids.

Lucy laughed and said, "I'm not the best judge of that. I'm goo- goo over him."

"Let me guess, Doug was the one who invented that term."

Surprised, Lucy answered, "How did you know?"

"I know the young man. He's a good one. William was lucky to find him," answered

Ed. They had several discussions since their first meeting and Ed had come to

like the young man very much. The one thing that impressed him the most about

Doug was that he had that same sense of protectiveness towards his country that

Ed had towards his town.

"He's coming over for dinner. He wanted to say goodbye to William before he left

for Arkansas."

It was a large crowd that gathered around the dinner table. Ed and Doug were

seated across from each other, a configuration that was sure to produce

considerable discussion over the meal. William and Lucy sat side by side, as did

the pairs of bodyguards. Tim sat next to Cole feeling honored that the Druid

would pay attention to him. Ken and Lisa looked around the table having a sense

of family. They viewed William to be their son more than their employer. They

were sad to see him leaving for three months.

Ed sat back after finishing his meal and asked, "So Doug, why haven't you gone

into politics?"

"There are better ways to affect the country than being a leader."

Knowing at least one answer to the question, Ed asked, "What's one way?"

"Sometimes a good follower is important. The country needs people who can get

the job done. Sometimes a good adviser is needed. The right word in the right

ear at the right time can make sure that the right job gets done. Sometimes, a

good teacher is important. There are times when you need to train the followers

so that they can do what is needed. I figure I can be a little of each," Doug

answered. He sat back and took a sip of his iced tea watching the reaction of

the Druid seated across from him.

"Good followers. It is too easy to forget about them," Ed said. He sighed as he

thought about it and the attitude that many leaders had towards their followers.

Druids tended to be good advisers and teachers, but horrible followers. Oliver,

the Grand Druid, often referred to leading Druids as herding cats. John hadn't

even attempted to lead them.

"Yes, that's true. I've heard some of the leaders of our country say some pretty

nasty things about the people who gave them power. They refer to the electorate

by names like the masses, the little people, and dupes. Of course, without good

followers there wouldn't be anyone to make their dreams a reality," Doug said.

"I agree."

Doug said, "I've been thinking a lot about this subject over the past few

months. I'm about to complete my Master's degree and have been thinking about

going towards a Doctorate. I thought a good subject would be about when the

followers stop following."

"Interesting. What would be your historical case study?" William asked while

leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. He rested his head on his

clasped hands and focused on Doug.

"I was thinking of the fall of communism in the Soviet Union. Think about it.

Here you had a superpower with some of the most intelligent and capable people

in the world. Lot's of Americans underestimate the quality of Soviet Union

scientists, but they were among the best in the world. You had an educated

populace that was capable of executing any plan put before them, but they

didn't. The entire system fell because it wasn't working."

"I'd say that was a leadership failure," Lucy said.

"That's an easy way of explaining the fall. The problem is that I believe the

leaders wanted the right things and were leading the country in the right

direction. The structure within which they worked, worked against them. It

couldn't provide the motivation for the followers to work their hardest. The

structure assumed that followers would automatically do their best for the

betterment of all over the betterment of their own particular circumstance,"

Doug replied. He still wasn't sure if he had the best angle to take on the

subject, but it was the best that he had.

Ed took a sip of his iced tea and thought about the matter. There were elements

of truth in everything that Doug said, but it just wasn't a complete truth. He

leaned forward and asked, "Are you sure that they had the capacity to be good

followers?"

"Yes."

William shook his head and said, "I'm not sure that's the correct question to be

asking. Leaders work within a social structure that is comprised of other

leaders. The structure constrains any individual leader from taking their people

off into radical directions. The structure also constrains the followers so that

they don't try to change the structure and such that they are in a position to

follow. It is the structure that prevents complete anarchy from taking over.

"In order to make predictions about how groups of individuals act over time, it

is necessary to understand the structure within which they operate, the forces

the structure applies to them, and the forces that are applied to the structure.

I don't think that the Soviet Union is a good example of a failure of followers.

The structure nullified all attempts to change things."

Doug was silent as he pondered what William said. He asked, "What would be a

better example?"

"How about the overthrow of the British in India?"

"That gets into the whole Colonial thing," Doug answered with a dismissive wave

of his hand. He leaned forward and said, "The problem that I've been having is

that it is too easy to blame the leaders. The argument is that if a leader was

good, then he'd be able to motivate his people to do what was necessary. The

situation that I'm looking for is one where you had a charismatic leader, a

lofty goal, and a complete failure by the people to see it through to

completion."

Ed asked, "Why the interest?"

"Because I think our country is in a crisis of followership, if I could coin a

term that is the converse of leadership. The majority of Americans will not

follow their leaders, regardless of who the leader might be. They question

everything he says, they give up at the first sign of opposition, and they try

to warp what needs to be done into what they want to do. It doesn't matter if

the leader is Democrat or Republican or conservative or liberal. They are so

busy questioning everything our leaders say that they don't do anything,"

answered Doug with a concerned expression on his face.

"Seems to me that questioning our leaders is not a bad thing," Lucy said. Her

instructors at school had continually reinforced the idea that the government

was not to be trusted.

"Could you imagine an army where every soldier questioned every command that

came their way? When the order came to march, everyone would stand around

wanting to know where they were marching. They'd want to know every detail about

what was going to happen. At any sign of danger, they'd stop and argue if they

had been told lies. The expectation would be that their leaders would have to

have perfect information. Since that's not possible, they'd charge their leaders

with incompetence.

"Imagine what would happen when that army met a disciplined army that followed

commands without question. They'd be overwhelmed in a minute. Not a single

soldier would survive except as prisoners of war. Then imagine what they'd say

about their leadership. Of course their leaders are incompetent, they lost the

war. The fact that the army wasn't acting as a cohesive group because everyone

was so busy arguing with each other will be totally ignored. Each individual

will say that it wasn't their fault.

"The problem that I see is that as a nation, our people are just like that army.

We don't understand that there are disciplined nations out there that are

opposed to us for various reasons. Some may be legitimate, but most of their

reasons are just flat out fictions. We are under economic attack from every

quarter, the Far East, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. We have

fundamentalists that want to convert us to their brand of faith by force if

necessary," Doug said as he shook his head.

Ed grinned and commented, "You think the Druids aren't doing their jobs."

The suggestion that he was blaming the Druids for a failure surprised Doug. He

hadn't given it a thought. A slow grin spread over his face and he replied,

"Perhaps."

William shook his head and said, "The Druids have wiped out organized crime,

systematic corruption, set up healthcare for everyone, provided emergency

relief, and solved the energy crisis. One day soon, a Druid is going to bring

peace to the Middle East. I'd say as a group that they've done more than anyone

for this country and for the world than any other group or government."

Doug shook his head in disagreement and said, "Before the Druids emerged as

powers, this country ran electricity and telephone from coast to coast.

Railroads, automobiles, and airplanes were invented that allowed people to move

from coast to coast in hours. Goods and materials could be traded over distances

that were once unimaginable.

"Refrigeration became commonplace and deaths from food poisoning dropped to

levels that wouldn't have been imagined by our great grandfathers. Water

treatment plants eliminated diseases that had plagued man from time immortal.

Medical advances occurred that changed killer diseases into mere nuisances.

People go into the hospital for chronic conditions now rather than mere

diseases.

"I would say that the assumption that things would not have improved without the

influence of the Druids is overstating the case just a little. The Druids have

made remarkable changes socially, but social changes had occurred before they

came on the scene. Social security was envisioned as a safety net for our

elderly. Welfare programs were put into place to help the impoverished.

Education became nationwide with laws to assure that every child received a

chance to be educated."

Smiling, William said, "Anyone would think that our government was doing its job

well if those things had been put into place."

"It has done well in the past. Now all of the actions that need to be taken are

halted before they can begin. We are suffering from a failure of followership,"

Doug replied.

Ed glanced over at William and said, "We come full circle without having

resolved anything."

William shook his head and said, "I agree with Doug on this issue. Not only is

this country in a crisis of followership, but so is the whole world. I don't

think we could wipe out Smallpox today like we did in the past. Individuals were

vaccinated even though the vaccine had the potential for rather bad consequences

for a small percentage of those who took it.

"Today, people won't accept the risks associated with the vaccine. Why? It would

be viewed as too risky even though the consequences of the disease are so

horrible. The chance to wipe out a horrible disease would never be taken."

Ed raised an eyebrow as he studied William and said, "That's a rather negative

assessment of your fellow human beings."

"Negative? I would prefer the term honest, accurate, or insightful," William

replied with a sigh. He looked away from his father and took a sip of his glass

of milk.

"I agree with William. I'm positive that it wouldn't work here in America. We've

had several new diseases crop up here and we've not reacted because a few people

protested the proposed actions," Lucy said. She was thinking of diseases like

AIDS and West Nile Virus.

Eddie had been silent through the whole discussion. With a smile on his face, he

asked, "So how are you going to change that, William?"

"How am I going to change it?" William asked wondering if he heard the question

correctly.

"Yes, how are you going to change it?"

William was honestly surprised that Eddie assumed that he would be the one to

correct the problem. He studied his empty plate for a minute as he thought about

the challenge Eddie had presented him. It seemed as if everyone at the table was

waiting to hear his answer. Unable to come up with one, he looked over at Eddie.

Shaking his head, he said, "It would be very difficult."

"So, you're the smartest person in the world. If anyone can fix the problem,

then it would have to be you," Eddie countered. He glanced at his father

catching the smile on his face.

"I would need to think about it."

Ed asked, "What is there to think about?"

"How I would go about fixing the problem, of course."

Doug smiled at the impossibility of the task and said, "You can't be serious,

William."

The expression on William's face was not one that Lucy had ever seen before. It

went beyond thoughtful interest in a question. She didn't know how to categorize

it, but she did know that the question interested him very much. She smiled and

said, "I'd say he's serious."

"Why would you say that?" Doug asked looking over at Lucy once he realized that

William was lost in thought. Doug couldn't imagine anyone even attempting to fix

the problem. He felt that he'd make a great contribution just by exposing the

situation as a problem.

Looking over at William with fondness, Lucy answered, "He's interested in the

question because he doesn't know the answer."