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appeared on the screens behind Inali, shattering into pieces as they hit the edges of the screens. Inali let out a loud laugh through the wireless microphone attached to his face, as he stretched his arms out and raised them above his neck.
    “Good morning, beautiful people!” Inali yelled as the suspenseful music climaxed into a rhythmic techno beat behind his voice. The crowd laughed at his greeting and cheered louder. Inali laughed again for a few seconds, and the music and cheering faded a bit as he began to speak.
    “Good morning, good morning. I wanted to thank all of you for being here, on this beautiful, beautiful morning, to come together to become empowered and energized in our lives, on this wonderful day that we have been given. We have much to celebrate today, and many things to talk about. But as always, let us open our service with a minute of silence to reflect on the positive things that have happened in our lives in the last week, and summon our Power to send out blessings to everyone who is making this service possible this morning. Close your eyes with me and reflect,” Inali said, stretching his arms out again, pulling his chin to his chest and shaking his head. The auditorium grew silent.
    At the end of the minute the silence was broken, as always, with the first few notes of the South African anthem fading in. Inali took his place at the center of the stage as the anthem’s introduction began to play.
    “Folks, please stand with me and let us join together as we sing Die Stem, ” Inali said reflectively, as a light appeared to the west side of the stage, revealing a young lady with a microphone.
    Die Stem van Sud Afrika, translated “The Call of South Africa, ” had been considered the national anthem of South Africa alongside Nkosi Sikelel, ever since apartheid officially ended a little over a year ago in 1994. The name of practicing “Blue” was actually pulled from the first lines of Die Stem though, so the commissioners usually championed the singing of Die Stem over the other well-known anthem.
    The introduction ended, and the woman on the stage began to deeply and passionately sing out the lyrics as the auditorium filled with voices singing along:
    Ringing out from our Blue heavens,
    from our deep seas breaking ‘round,
    Over everlasting mountains,
    Where the echoing crags resound,
    From our plains where creaking wagons
    Cut their trails into the earth
    Calls the spirit of our country
    Of the land that gave us birth.
    Anytha sang along to the first verse, and slowly let her lips lose the song as the verses went on. She began to look around her at the congregants in the rows, singing passionately of their country and their dedication to its prosperity. She looked upon the unwavering faces of her parents, who sang as loudly as possible beside her. She looked upon the faces of all the people around her and met no sets of eyes. Not one eye in the auditorium was focused anywhere but on the flag. She seemed to be the only pair of wandering eyes in the entire auditorium.
    As the anthem ended, the spotlight landed on Commissioner Inali in the middle of the stage. And his soliloquy began.
    “I want everyone to close their eyes and breathe with me. Go ahead, nobody is going to be looking at you,” Inali said, causing a short chuckle to ripple through the seats.
    “Now, I want you to think of the most powerful experience that you have ever had. I want you to turn your eyes into your head and search for the most emotion you have ever felt. A time when tears fell, and either darkness or light overtook you. For some of you, it might be a near-death experience. For some of you, it may have been a miracle. For some of you, it may have been the birth of a child, or falling in love. For some of you, it may have been landing your dream job. Find the moment when Power overtook you. Find the moment that you felt the most powerful. Recall that moment, and recall what you felt,” Inali said in a rhythmic,