Declaration of Principles -- Spoilers for Paragon of Animals

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: Jennifer Tifft <jgtifft at sybase.com>
Date: 5 Feb 1998 13:09:18 -0700
Lines: 118

Here be spoilers for Paragon of Animals

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Interesting episode -- lots of food for thought. 

I was particularly struck with the implication that Byron
(and Co.) not only believes himself to be better than
'mundanes' but 'above' them, possibly to the point of 
not really considering them to be 'real people'. Very
scary. Lyta, on the other hand, conveyed the idea that
while she recognizes that she is different from the 
non-telepathic humans, she still considers herself to
be human/of the same people. 

This attitude is an interesting contrast to the solidarity
of the Declaration of Principles as written by G'Kar and
signed by the Alliance -- 

I was sufficiently impressed by that document that I sat 
down with my vcr & pause button & transcribed it. I thought
people here would be interested in having the text available
to talk about. 

Declaration of Principles -- Interstellar Alliance

The Universe speaks in many languages,
but only one voice.
The language is not Narn, or Human, or Centauri,
  or Gaim or Minbari.
It speaks in the language of hope
It speaks in the language of trust
It speaks in the language of strength
  and the language of compassion
It is the language of the heart
  and the language of the soul
But always, it is the same voice
It is the voice of our ancestors, 
  speaking through us,
And the voice of our inheritors,
  waiting to be born
It is the small, still voice that says:
We are one 
  No matter the blood
  No matter the skin
  No matter the world
  No matter the star
We are one
  No matter the pain
  No matter the darkness
  No matter the loss
  No matter the fear
We are one, here, gathered together in common cause.
We agree to recognize this singular truth
  and this singular rule:
That we must be kind to one another
  because each voice enriches us and ennobles us
  and each voice lost diminishes us
We are the voice of the Universe,
  the soul of creation,
  the fire that will light the way to a better future
We are one
We are One.


-- The Paragon of Animals, J. Michael Straczynski 
No infringement of copywrite is intended with this 
transcription. Spelling & punctuation are approximate.
I'm pretty sure I got all the words right, but corrections
would be appreciated.

And, while I'm transcribing stuff -- the text of the 
message that Franklin is writing to the parents of the
Ranger who died bringing the word of the Enfilli's plight:

Your son served with honor
and died bringing us news that
may help us to save the lives if
thirty (?) thousands of people,
people he did not know, but
whose lives mattered more to
him than his own

Corrections would certainly be appreciated on this one.
I can't really make out the first word on the fourth line
on the monitor.

Anyway, like I said, I'm impressed with this episode, 
and it will be very interesting to see how it works out.

Take care,
Jennifer Tifft

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 5 Feb 1998 23:43:13 -0700
Lines: 20

> No matter the pain
>  No matter the darkness
>  No matter the loss
>  No matter the fear
>We are one, here, gathered together in common cause.
>We agree to recognize this singular truth
>  and this singular rule:

Just a typographical correction: this should be, at the midway point,

No matter the fear:
We are one.
Here, gathered together in common cause,
We agree...(etc)

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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