Dr. Daniel Ellsberg was a top US military analyst in the 1960s working under then Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Because of his very high security clearance, he had access to a top secret Pentagon study on the Vietnam War. After reading the study, it became clear that the government had lied and was currently lying to both Congress and the US public about the circumstances that led to the start of the war and the longterm goals for that war. There was also a high level coverup regarding the reporting of the number of casualties on both sides and the updates on US progress were deliberately misleading. Dr. Ellsberg was at the peak of his career but risked everything, even life in jail, to make copies of the report and send it to members of the Congress and several leading newspapers. Then President Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called Ellsberg the most dangerous man in the US and recordings of White House tapes show that Nixon was livid with Ellsberg and was out for serious revenge. Ellsberg was tried for treason, but was set free with a mistrial verdict because the Nixon government was found to be guilty of illegal breakins and wiretapping throughout the case. (This apparently set the standard for the Nixon administration's future ethics.)I love a story where one ordinary person understands their power and in doing so changes the world. The very, very sad part of this story is that even when the Pentagon Papers were published for the whole world to see, President Nixon was reelected by a landslide and the Vietnam War raged on for another 5 years.
Earth element energy is about finding your personal power. Earth energy is the slow, patient strength of a dandelion pushing its way up through a sidewalk to reach the sun. It is a sustainable strength that is in it for the long haul and is integrated into daily life. The Earth represents power that is grounded. When we see wrongdoing, it is Earth element that gives us the strength to speak up and take righteous action, no matter what the consequences.
