The Gospel of Us Read Online Free PDF Page A

whole crowd settling like one restless animal. More lights came up on the stage and finally the Mayor appeared, looking even more shaken than usual. When he spoke to us, it was like he was only halfway there.
    ‘The Company Man will now make his… announce ment. Please listen very carefully to what he has to say. Thank you, and…’
    He trailed off and just stood there, looking out at us all. Then he walked away. Nothing more, just walked away, shaking his head.
    When the Company Man appeared, some of the chanting began again but it soon ebbed away. There was something in the way he looked over a crowd that made you want to quieten down, to listen. Like what he said would mean something for everyone – not necessarily in the words he used, but in how the shadows of those words might fall.
     
    ‘Thank you. Thank you,’ he said, though no onewas cheering. ‘I am glad to see so many of you here this evening – so many of you undeterred by the unfortunate events of this afternoon. Let us be clear. What we were all witness to was an act of pure cowardice. An act of terrorism. Perpetrated, the criminals will say , in your name. But why? Why did these people try to silence us? I will tell you. Because these people, who say they are acting in your name, are afraid. That is why. And what are they afraid of? What can be so terrible that they will murder, maim and kill? They are afraid, my friends, of the very word I was using when we were so rudely interrupted. They are afraid of the future. But I know this town better than that. I know what you are made of, and I know that where they are cowardly you are brave. Where they are cruel you are kind and where they have fear, you have hope!’
    From somewhere a few cheers. They might have been at the prod of the security’s guns, but maybe not. Because you had to give it to the Company Man, he could speak. Oh yes, he could speak alright. He looked over us again, waited for the cheers to fade, then continued.
     
    ‘Every age has had its enemies of progress. And in every age, these people have eventually been defeated. So I am here today to assure you that in our age, in our time, in our town, the enemies of progress, the enemies of the future, the enemies of enterprise shall be defeated. What, you may ask, makes me so confident? Because I know this town. This is a town ready for change. This is a town ready to embrace the bold new vision I bring before you today.
    ‘And this is what I really came to speak to you about. Hope. Hope for a better future for all of us. We all know though, that however high we might hoist its sail, Hope will only ever take us so far without the winds of hard work and sacrifice to drive it.
    ‘So this is also what I came to talk to you about today. Sacrifice. You and the generations before you have worked hard for this town. You have delved into the belly of the earth to bring forth steel, you have carved into the mountain’s side to bring forth coal and you have harvested the sea at your doorstep to bring forth fish. Now after all those years of hardwork, what I am proposing is that we allow the town to work hard for you instead. How? With the brave new vision of the future we call “The Passover Project”. It is with great pleasure that I can reveal to you today that what we began with the construction of the M4 Passover road, ICU will bring to perfection with a new Passover Project. A great new road leading this town into a glorious future. A road that will increase the speed of transport links in this area by over sixty per cent.
    ‘This road, like the first Passover, will be built over this town. It will bring work, it will bring jobs and it will bring investment. The promise of this Passover is our hope. So what then is our sacrifice? Only the same sacrifice this town has already borne so nobly in the past. Those living in the path of the Passover will have the opportunity to leave their old homes and move into new dwellings, purpose-built by