A time to Kill

American Rhetoric: Movie Speech
"A Time to Kill" (1996)

Jake Tyler Brigance's Closing Argument
Audio mp3 delivered by Matthew McConaughey

Brigance: I had a great summation all worked out, full of some sharp lawyering. But I'm not going to read it. I'm hear to apologize. I am young and I am inexperienced. But you cannot hold Carl Lee Hailey responsible for my shortcomings. You see, in all this legal maneuvering something has gotten lost, and that something is the truth.
Now, it is incumbent upon us lawyers not to just talk about the truth, but to actually seek it, to find it, to live it. My teacher taught me that. Let's take Dr. Bass, for example. Now, obviously I would have never knowingly put a convicted felon on the stand -- I hope you can believe that. But what is the truth? That he is a disgraced liar? And what if I told you that the woman he was accused of raping was 17, he was 23, that she later became his wife, bore his child and is still married to the man today. Does that make his testimony more or less true?
What is it in us that seeks the truth? Is it our minds or is it our hearts?
I set out to prove a black man could receive a fair trial in the south, that we are all equal in the eyes of the law. That's not the truth, because the eyes of the law are human eyes -- yours and mine -- and until we can see each other as equals, justice is never going to be evenhanded. It will remain nothing more than a reflection of our own prejudices, so until that day we have a duty under God to seek the truth, not with our eyes and not with our minds where fear and hate turn commonality into prejudice, but with our hearts -- where we don't know better.
Now I wanna tell you a story. I'm gonna ask ya'all to close your eyes while I tell you this story. I want you to listen to me. I want you to listen to yourselves. Go ahead. Close your eyes, please.
This is a story about a little girl walking home from the grocery store one sunny afternoon. I want you to picture this little girl. Suddenly a truck races up. Two men jump out and grab her. They drag her into a nearby field and they tie her up, and they rip her clothes from her body. Now they climb on, first one then the other, raping her, shattering everything innocent and pure in a fog of drunken breath and sweat. And when they're done, after they killed her tiny womb, murdered any chance for her to bear children, to have life beyond her own, they decide to use her for target practice. So they start throwing full beer cans at her. They throw 'em so hard that it tears the flesh all the way to her bones. Then they urinate on her.
Now comes the hanging. They have a rope; they tie a noose. Imagine the noose pulling tight around her neck and a sudden blinding jerk. She's pulled into the air and her feet and legs go kicking and they don't find the ground. The hanging branch isn't strong enough. It snaps and she falls back to the earth. So they pick her up, throw her in the back of the truck, and drive out to Foggy Creek Bridge and pitch her over the edge. And she drops some 30 feet down to the creek bottom below.
Can you see her? Her raped, beaten, broken body left to die.
Can you see her? I want you to picture that little girl.
Now imagine she's white.
The defense rests your honor.


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Harmonic Relationships

Harmony is the state recognized by a great philosophers as the immediate prerequisite of beauty. A compound is deemed beautiful only when it parts are in harmonious combination. The world is called beautiful because all must act in conformity with its true nature; and acting according to its own nature is that true harmony which resonates with our deepest heart. All beauty, therefore, is harmony manifesting its own intrinsic nature in the world of form.

The universe is made up of successive gradations of life, these gradations range from matter ( which is the least degree of beauty) to spirit (which is the greatest degree of beauty). In mankind, their superior nature is the ultimate. It therefore follows that our highest nature most readily recognizes beauty, a harmonic ratio with the presence of our soul. What mankind calls evil is therefore in common with matter, merely the least degree of good, presupposing likewise, the least degree of harmony and beauty. Thus evil is really the least harmonious combination of elements combined in the least harmonic way. Therefore harmony is the manifestation of the expression of the Will of creation.

One day while meditating upon harmony, Pythagoras chanced pass a shop were workmen pounding out a piece of metal upon an anvil. By noting the variances in pitch made by the sounds of the large hammers and those made by the smaller, he carefully estimated the harmonies and discords resulting from combinations of the sounds, and there he gained his first clue to the musical intervals of the diatonic scale.

To Pythagoras music was one of the dependencies of the divine, and its harmonies were inflexibly controlled by mathematical proportions. Through the study of harmony he discovered the mathematics of the universe. He divided the creation and it’s parts into a vast number of planes or spheres, to each of which he assigned time, a harmonic interval, a number, a name, a color, and form. He then proceeded to prove the accuracy of his deductions by demonstrating them upon all the different planes of intelligence. From the common agreement of these diversified methods of prove he established the indisputable existence of certain natural laws.
Having once established harmony as an exact science, Pythagoras applied his newly found law of harmonic intervals to all the phenomena of nature, even going so far as to demonstrate the harmonic relationship of the planets, constellations, and elements to each other. A notable example are the grouping of elements according to harmonic ratios. While making a list of the elements in the ascending order of their own atomic weights, John A Newlands discovered that within every eighth element there was a distinct repetition of properties. This discovery is known as the law of operatives in modern chemistry.

Pythagoras determines that the laws of harmony were determined not by the sense perceptions of the human body but by reason and mathematics. However, he recognized the profound effect of music upon the senses and emotions, he did not hesitate to influence the mind and the body with what he termed, "musical medicine"

There was a story of a young man in Pythagoras time who, with broken heart, decided to burn the house of his girlfriend. A flutist was playing nearby which, in Pythagoras eyes was exciting the young man is frenzy. Pythagoras asked the flutist to change the music to reflect harmonics, slow and rhythmic music and with this the young man abandoned his frenzy and returned home.
Many ancient Greeks were known to have used music, and therefore harmony, to cure disease. Pythagoras himself cured many ailments of the spirit, soul and body and mind. Having certain specially prepared musical compositions played in the presence of the sufferer or by personally reciting short selections from such early poets as Hesiod and Homer. In his university at Crotona it was customary for the Pythagoreans to open and close the day with songs – those in the morning calculated to clear the mind from sleep an inspired to the activities of the days; those in the evening of modes soothing, relaxing and conducive to rest.

It is highly probable that the Greek initiates of the mysteries, gained their knowledge of the philosophic and therapeutic aspects of music from the Egyptians, who, in turn, considered Hermes, the founder of the arts. According to one legend this God constructed the first lyre by stretching strings across the world. While the early Chinese, Hindus, Persians, the Egyptians, Israelites, and Greeks employed both vocal and instrumental music in religious ceremonies. Although it is said that Pythagoras was not a musician, he was a philosopher, and he knew from his work the correlation between harmony, the universe and humanity. He learned this divine theory music from the priests of various mystery schools into which he had been accepted.
Plato depreciated the notion that music was intended solely to create cheerful and agreeable emotions, maintaining rather “it should evoke a love of all that is noble, a rejection of all that is mean, and that nothing could be more strongly influence man's innermost feelings and melody, harmony and rhythm.”
The Greek initiates also recognized a fundamental relationship between the individual, the heavens, and harmony. They used the seven sacred vowels, and so words became sacred. Pythagoreans believed that “everything which existed had a voice and all creatures were eternally singing the praise of the creator. Man fails to hear these divine melodies because he is enmeshed in the illusion of material existence. When he liberates himself from the bondage of the lower world with its sense limitations, the music of the spheres, will again be audible as it was in the golden age. Harmony recognizes harmony, and when the human soul regains its true state it will not only hear the celestial choir but will also join with it in an everlasting anthem of praise to that eternal good.”

The Greek mysteries included in their doctrines the magnificent concept of the relationship existing between music and form applied to elements. Architecture, for example, was considered comparable to musical notes, or as having a musical counterpart. Consequently when a building was erected in which a number of these elements were combined, the structure was then likened to a musical chord, which was harmonic when it fully satisfied the mathematical requirements of harmonic intervals. The realization of this analogy between sound and form led Goethe to declare that “architecture is crystallized music.”

In constructing their temples of initiation, the early priests frequently demonstrated their superior knowledge of the principles underlying the phenomena known as vibration. A considerable part of the mystery rituals consisted of invocations and intonements, for which purpose special sound chambers were constructed. A word whispered in one of these compartments was so intensified that the reverberations made the entire building sway and be filled with a deafening roar. The very wood and stone used in the erection of the sacred buildings eventually became so thoroughly permeated with the sound vibrations of these religious ceremonies that when struck they would reproduce the same tones thus revealing that harmony becomes impressed into substances through ritual.

Every element in nature has its individual keynote. If these elements are combined in a composite structure the result is a chord that, if sounded, will disintegrate the compound back into its integral parts. Likewise each individual has a keynote that, if sounded, will destroy him or her. The story of the walls of Jericho falling when the “trumpets of Israel” was sounded is undoubtedly intended to set forth the significance of individual keynote or vibration.
Since light is the basic physical manifestation of life, bathing all creation in its radiance, it is highly important to realize, in part at least, the nature of these divine substance. That which is called White is actually a rate of vibration causing certain reactions upon the optic nerve. Few realize how they are imprisoned by the limitations of the sense perceptions. Not only is a very great deal more to light than anyone has ever seen but there are also unknown forms of light which no optical equipment will ever register. There are unnumbered colors which cannot be seen, as well as sounds which cannot be heard, odors which cannot be smelt, flavors which cannot be tasted, and substances which cannot be felt. Man is thus surrounded by a supersensible universe of which he knows nothing because the centers of sense perceptions within himself have not been developed sufficiently to respond to the cycle a rates of vibration of which that universe is composed.

Color has been the accepted natural language of which nations have couched there religions and philosophical doctrines. Each has subscribed to the ideology of the number 7. The number of primary colors as seven, corresponding to the seven realms, corresponding intern to the concepts of the seven candlesticks. Chakras are also numbered and colored to 7, and reveal the vibration of the thoughts which create them from highest down to lowest. Although in the West this has been interpreted as most spiritual to least spiritual, it is not really so. White is the pure form of spirit, red is the pure form of matter. Both contained the exact same subatomic particles the difference is only in the degree of vibration. The higher colors contain the rational the lower colors contain the irrational.

The correspondence of color and musical scales has been confirmed for centuries. As “C” is the bottom of the musical scale is made with courses waves of air, so is red at the bottom of the chromatic scale and made with the courses waves of luminous ether. But as one musical octave is finished another one commences and progresses with just twice as many vibrations as we used in the first optic, and so the same notes are repeated on a finer, and finer scale. In the same way when the scale of colors visible to the ordinary eye is completed at the violet, another octave of finer invisible colors, with just twice as many vibrations, will commence and progress on precisely the same law.

Thoughts are vibrations. Just as music and color correspond to a law of sacred mathematics so too does thought. Thoughts determine the reflective nature of the human heart, the personality. Within each human being there is the full-scale of thought possibility, both visible in the lower octaves and invisible in the higher. From the darkest and smallest vibration to the highest. What separates mankind from other forms is the freedom to translate vibrations of thought from one frequency to another at will. To move from darkness to light, to consider the effect and cause of vibration and therefore determine it’s frequency.

The diverse range of colors of the human condition give rise to the emotions. The lower vibration thoughts produce emotion is of the grossest form. Infatuation and resentment, attraction and repulsion, extremes of violence and peacefulness. All illnesses in the physical body is a consequence of vibrations of low frequency. Therefore, in contrast to the Western ideal of an antagonism between right and wrong as being a sure path to create a better world, the idealism of vibration will always suggest that good and evil are diametrically opposite positions on the one wave front, vibrating at a very low level of consciousness. The violence we see on the streets is just one side of a way if one which the opposite sits antiviolence protest. In other words, if the wave has peaks and troughs, and we try to polarize ourselves to a peak, we must by the sacred laws produce a corresponding trough. We are in this form, imprisoned because all we are doing is decorating the cell, we remain unconscious of the infinite possibility of a different way of reason.
Our society has taken to using drugs to induce a change in the State or condition of the human thought process, or vibration. But a violent person is a person whose thought process is not permanently held in one mode. They would automatically have it’s opposite, a diametrically opposite mode of behavior or thought, expressed in another form. Thus, the most violent amongst us is also the most peaceful. We wish to deny this fact, but on examination of even the most evil person there is the expression of that character in it’s opposite. The more we try to be one thing, one character, the more we must express it’s opposite.

Takes to it’s extreme, if the opposite behavior to the righteous peak of the wave is a trough of violence, and there is enough religious fanaticism or fear about that lower behavior, then schizophrenia will exist. It is a way of isolating the trough from the consciousness, to discard an expressed opposite and sustain the holy adherence to some extreme aspiration of character. A child confused between parents who do not collude in their understanding of each other will become split in this way, having the desire to be liked by both parents the child will split into two individuals –a peak and a trough, one liked by one parent, one by the other. It is, in this instance, a game of mirrors, reflecting the parents own judgments and aspirations.

No drug on earth which has the ambition of moving a person from one side of a counterpoint to the other can succeed because it is just moving everything from the left across to the right and breeds and renews itself by creating a new counterpoint between the extremes which all now exist on the right. This is the major criticism of philosophies religions, and psychologies which are fundamentally flawed in the attempt to create a world in which right exists in the absence of wrong. I have seen so many youth suicide because of this type of psychological treatment.
The more righteous a society or community becomes the more evil and dark will be its underbelly. Research can reveal that in times in history of the greatest scientific discovery there also existed at the exact same time the most persecution and condemnation of human rights. Consequently in our modern time we do not solve community or social problems through the condemnation of evil. The more righteous we become the more violence we breed. And so it becomes our mission to find a way to be in the world that does not create problems but sets about solving them. We seek harmony within ourselves, in our relationships and on a global level; between humanity the environment and resources so that life on earth becomes natural and sustainable. It is not a matter of economics; so many people think that those with the most money have the most power. This is not so. Those with the most love have the most power.
Harmony should become the greatest of human aspirations for the spiritual seeker. Harmony means the music of the soul. It means a healthy dynamic between people, a freedom of expression, the appreciation of beauty, art and music and it is the solace of inner tranquility, sustainable though all of the worst circumstances, it is called love.

By Chris Walker

Could We Capture What Was

I am still at the same place
Again wishing upon a star
Hoping dreams come true
As I pondered where you are

Gazing as bright stars glow
Each one sparkling above
The same wishes I repeat
Whispered with words of love

Within every wish I whisper
Its your touch I still yearn
I am so lonely without you
Would my dream ever return

Every loving wish I conveyed
As the stars shone around
I'm wishing with all my heart
A love I lost can still be found

Hoping my wishes will travel
Where loving flames ignite
Could we capture what was
In reaching my dream tonight

A Vow of a Friend

I told you I'll be your friend
And I'll never break my vow
It's going to cause a lot of sorrow
But it's better than living a lie...

I would have to get used to it somehow
Hear you talk about the love you feel
While I sulk in the depths of my silence
Finding comfort in my cogent dreams...

I would tell myself I can make it
I can finish life's long race
I'll convince myself I am happy
With the thought that you're okay...

Your pain will be my pain
I would give without expecting
I'll be selfless, I'll be strong
I'll build bridges, be forgiving...

I would exalt the world's beauty
I'll drown myself in its wonder
I would look beyond my horizon
Find peace till the hurting's over...

But I guess, right now, what's important
Is that I'll keep my promise
I'll swear to God, I'll be here
When you call and when I'm needed...

I shall wish you all the best
Our borrowed life has to offer
I'll pray to God to keep you safe
And keep you warm in His shelter...

I shall let go of the pain and fear
And though not easy, I'll find life's meaning
My existence won't be spent on a love that's lost
It'll be spent on meaningful living...(by Zai)

somEthing AbOut yOU

Life is so unpredictable. Changes always come along, in big or small ways. I don't know what happened that this sudden change has turned my world upside down. I don't know exactly what it is, it just hit me, but there is something really special about you.

It might be all the things I see on the surface, the things that everyone notices and admires about you, qualities, capabilities and a wonderful smile obviously connected to a warm and loving heart; these things set you apart from everyone else. But it may also be the big things ... the person you really are that I hope to know more someday. And it might also be the little things ... the way you walk and all your actions. I receive so much joy just being able to see a smile in your eyes. If I ever figure out the magic that makes you so special, I'd probably find out that it's a combination of all these things. You are a rare combination of so many special things. You are really amazing.Inside of me there is a place where my sweetest dreams reside, where my highest hopes are kept alive, where my deepest feelings are felt and where my favorite memories are safe and warm.

I find that you're on my mind more often than any other thought. Sometimes I bring you there purposely just to make my day brighter. But more often, you surprise me and find your own ways into my thoughts. There are even times when I awaken, I realize that you've been a part of my dreams. Then during the day, when my imagination is free to run, it takes me into your arms and allows me to linger there knowing there's nothing I'd rather do. I know my thoughts are only reflecting the loving hopes of my heart because whenever they wander, they always take me to you.

Only the most special things in my world get to come inside my heart and stay. And now, I realize how deeply my life has been touched by you.

a TruE SouLmAte

Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you've never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more.You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can't wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it's like being young again. Colors seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn't exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day's work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there's no need for continuous conversation, but you find you're quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there's a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that's so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.

Friendz or Fate?

They had a mutual admiration for one another.She admired his sense of direction and the way he could make her laugh.He admired her wild & untamed spirit and the way she made him smile.

I suppose they could have made the perfect couple yet neither one wanted to risk moving the friendship into uncharted territory.She thought he was her best friend. There was nothing she had to hold back from his eyes or ears. He came to enjoy her blunt take on the world. Yet somehow, he noted, she has a childlike charm residing in her heart.He wasn't so sure of the relationship's definition. More than acquaintances, yet less than lovers he was sure of that.He noticed that she had come to enjoy his playful side, like a class clown in her life.

When the time eventually came to move forward as it so inevitably must, she shed a single tear as she watched him walk out of her life. She knew she had done the right thing to set him free to follow that sense of direction she admired so, yet she hoped that direction would end up with thier entwining paths.

A common fate or destiny as it were.She held him the dearest she has ever known and doubts if anyone will come that close to knowing who she really is ever again. /// by nelle, a friend.