May “The Jackal” be our Wake Up Call

May "The Jackal" be our Wake Up Call

By: Susan Deborah Schiller

May "The Jackal" be our wake up call. While the Jackal exists on an extreme end of the evil spectrum, his sociopathic strategies are the same as those on the low end. He depends on our "niceness" and our lack of knowledge of his strategies to inflict pain on growing numbers of people. We can't change him, but we can wake up and choose to put an end to domestic, national, and international violence. It begins in our own families – the backbone of society.

It begins with waking up and realizing it's not the Muslims, the Christians, or the Jews who are the enemies. The enemy is us. It's not the Protestants or the Catholics, the Fundamentalists or the Evangelicals. It's us. It's not the Blacks, the Whites, or the Reds and Yellows. It's us. It's not the Republicans or the Democrats. It's us. It's not Male or Female. It's us.

Who can we change. Them, or us? The core of US is our oneness with our Creator. In our diversity evil would have us split and divide, like a man or woman with multiple personality disorder. Each part struggling to be in front and in control.

There is one cure for dissociation, I believe, and it's Love 'n Truth. The hardest feat of all. It's Love… learning to love ourselves enough to TRUST our Creator so that the Truth will shatter all the illusions that create fear. So we hide behind our various "personalities". Our masks. And we create "we versus them" perspectives… all because we want security and freedom.

But it will never happen until we identify the REAL enemy, and the enemy is us… because we allow the Jackals to exist, to operate, to kill, steal, and destroy. We hide and pretend they don't exist. When victims run to us, we discount their stories. We tell them to go see a shrink. We try to forget the victims exist. You may not know what I'm talking about. It's okay, but please check out "Understanding Sociopaths & Abuse Tactics" – it's becoming an epidemic among Christians and not many people understand what to do about it, so it grows. The good guys don't hide… and "The Jackal" is a movie that says everything I just said above, but a lot better!

"The good guys don't hide," said one of the heroines  of "The Jackal" as she dashed off to chase a monster who was systematically murdering FBI agents. Major Valentina was a well-respected agent known for her bravery, and although she saves the lives of two FBI agents giving her life is not enough to stop the serial killer.

The Jackal was known for his many diverse identities and ruthless actions. No one in the Federal Bureau of Investigation could comprehend the level of pure evil and sophisticated terror this enemy was capable of, but the Russian maffia was well aware when they paid him tens of millions of dollars for the job.

Richard Gere plays the role of Declan Mulqueen, and he's the only man alive who has seen the Jackal and is intimately aware of his strategies and methods, despite the fact that they are the same every time. Gere is the only one who fully appreciates the danger, while the government experts underestimate their enemy.

Sidney Portier plays FBI Deputy Director, Carter Preston. He doesn't trust Gere, a known Irish revolutionary, but as agent after agent is killed, the part Gere plays becomes more and more significant as he is the only one who can predict the Jackal's next moves.

At one point Portier says to Gere, "This is a manhunt." But in reality, a sociopath of that level has lost their humanity a long time ago. The Jackal, played by Bruce Willis, can appear to be any kind of character he wishes from a gay Washington business man to a sloppy delivery man to a wealthy yayht owner.

The Jackal taunts Gere repeatedly in the movie with the phrase, "You can't protect your women." It's meant to be a PERSONAL gibe, as the Jackal was responsible for the shooting of Declan's pregnant wife and the death of their baby.

There is only one element the Jackal has not accounted for, and that is the power of love. Declan's wife, Isabella (played by Mathilda May), had withdrawn from the bloody Irish wars, married a quiet American man, and was settled in a quiet, secluded life. She wanted to forget her traumatic past and all the grief.

But with the return of her true love (Declan), she must choose to remain withdrawn or to put her life on the line to protect him. In the meantime, Isabella has evacuated her home, along with her family, and Major Valentina and two other FBI agents move in, knowing the Jackal will be showing up to kill the family, as a result of an FBI leak.

The agents were easy targets to kill, one-by-one, with Isabella bleeding to death and the Jackal sitting by her side to say once again, "Tell Declan he can't protect his women."

The only person the Jackal fears is the one who knows him and understands how evil works, but it takes a personal reason strong enough to pursue the Jackal and stop him.

No one had a reason strong enough, except Declan (Gere).

A personal "WHY" needs to be strong enough for any of us to fulfill our destiny in this dark world. As soon as we step up to fulfill that destiny – whether it's to write a book, design clothes, teach school, or whatever your dream is – your own person jackal will show up in the form of resistance and it's job is to kill you and everyone around you.

Declan was fighting for his family, for his way of life, when the Jackal first stopped him, and he ended up in federal prison. Both Declan and Isabella were effectively put out of commission for a season.

But when they come back together, watch out! True love prevails every time.

When all seems lost and the Jackal is getting away he taunts Declan one last time by taking a teenage girl hostage. He forces Declan to put down his weapon, and for the third time we hear evil's taunt, "You can't protect your women!" Just as the bullet is fired, Isabella appears from behind and shoots the Jackal. The Jackal's gun misfires, hitting Declan in the shoulder instead of the heart.

Once again, Gere's life is saved by a woman… the very woman the Jackal had thought he had taken out…. the same woman who had a choice whether to remain in seclusion or to come out of hiding to protect the one she loved.

True love prevails. We are witnessing the great reversal, as victims rise up to take down the predators.

It's the end of the movie and Portier and Gere are walking together. Portier plays his role as the deputy director Carter Preston well as the FBI takes all the credit, awarding Preston the honor of saving the President's wife and stopping an act of terrrorism while sending Declan (Gere) back to prison.

Portier laments to Gere that no one in the FBI understands what really happened, how the Jackal could get away with so much carnage. Gere replies, "All we know is he was evil. He's dead. He's gone. Nothing else matters."

After all that, the FBI is still clueless. And this is reality today.

The predators are becoming more sophisticated and our religious and political systems don't know how to eliminate the threats, and in fact, can barely manage the sociopaths that have infiltrated all levels of society.

It begins in our own homes. The family is the backbone of society. This is where we need to begin… ordinary wives and moms with the solutions given to us by our Bridegroom King, Jesus!

There are those of us, who like Richard Gere's character, Declan, and especially Isabella – who have seen evil face-to-face. We have lived with a sociopath. We understand sociopath's strategies and methods.

We nearly lost our lives. Some of us have lost our families. Some of us are dead. Many of the survivors are living quiet, secluded lives trying to get their lives back. Like Isabella, we just want to be able to sleep at night. We want to see beauty and truth in the world and enjoy the loving relationships we now have.

But Love is calling.

Evil fears those of us who see behind the masks, who can predict the next moves, who can STOP the attacks.

I want to answer the Call to come out from hiding, to sacrifice my desire for quiet and solitude, when needed… to NOT BE SILENT any longer.

But like Gere (Declan), I need the FBI (the church leaders) to listen to you and me. And so I will share my story in "On the Way Home". I will do my little part. Will you join me by reading?

It may seem like little things (reading and writing) but the difference between Now and Wonderful is Education. What if Declan had written a book about the Jackal and Preston had read it… maybe the story would have been a lot shorter and with less blood spilled. I know it's just a movie, but the movie explains it so well.

I'm telling my story and 100 other stories… until the tide changes. The Jackal doesn't fear the Church. The Church is the Jackal's prey. We need to turn this around, my friends! The good guys don't hide. God is using women, like Isabella, today – all over the world – in a surprise turnaround for evil.

What do YOU say? Do you have a personal 'why' – a reason big enough to sacrifice everything to fulfill your dream?

Choosing love today,

Sue

Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate her way out of hell to a rich and satisfying life. In her lifetime, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor –  to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in her favorite hot springs pool, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.

Copyright 2012, Susan Schiller, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. Permission is granted to copy, forward, or distribute this article for non-commercial use only, as long as this copyright byline and bio, in totality, is maintained in all duplications, copies, and link references.  For reprint permission for any commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.

Tagged as: Choosing Love Today, Deborah White Dove, Getting Your Life Back, Voice of the Bride, Writing a Life Story