Question: In the book Bridge Across Jordan, you write of the Garden of Gethsemane. My question is, where was your inspiration taken from, in this writing, and at what point to you know that you have come to that point in time of your life, that you have done all that you can, to contribute to the existence of mankind, before you depart from this Earth?

LaRouche: Well, as Christ says in there: The cup. If the cup is presented, accept it. You don't choose a time of departure. I have no plans to choose a time of departure. But, I am concerned with what I do in the meantime! And, that's the way I look at it.

But, for us, you know, we're looking at cases, like the case of Christ, or the case of Jeanne d'Arc, for example, another case of that type; you look at people, who, unlike Hamlet, when faced with sticking to their mission, or betraying it, or running away from it, decide that they would rather die, then, than lose the significance of their life for time to come.

That's the true sense of immortality. It's the sense, you have a mortal life; it has a beginning and an end, and there is no open-ended clause on permanent life. Therefore, if you understand your own self-interest, what you have to worry about, is what you choose to spend your life on. Because, it's the permanent effect of that expenditure, which is the meaning of your life for all humanity. That is your identity. That's an adult sense of identity, and people who have not yet reached that sense of identity simply have not yet reached full adulthood--at least moral and intellectual adulthood.

So, it's a "real big deal," as they say. It's simply sense. But, if people don't have that sense, then that sense of self is something outside them, and they look at somebody who has that sense of identity, and they say, "I see what they're saying. I hear what they're saying. But, I don't feel that myself, inside myself." So, it's a feeling of being outside that sense of identity. And, this is really, what is called "alienation."

Now, my concern is, is that you shouldn't feel alienated! Enjoy life. I enjoy life richly. I have no intention of parting from it. I enjoy it immensely, and I want you to enjoy it, too!

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