The Kenizzites are hidden away in a hard-to-reach corner of the land of Canaan, but they are essential to its governance and to the cohesion of its peoples. The reclusive tribe is able to hold its position within the power structure because its elders were the chief architects of its foundational policies. Their underpinning is tradition, and the input of their wisdom is considered vital at every crossroad. Nothing happens without their approval.

They are the pride of the land, and they imagine themselves to be above any partisan issue. In their estimation, they are driven by principles, whereas they owe their distinction not to ideas, but to the myth generated by their favor within the loose coalition of tribes calling themselves Canaan. To their credit, they understand that to contend for status is to war against their image in the minds of their kinsmen. To justify and maintain their position in the alliance, therefore, they serve as statesmen and diplomats among those who support the coalition and as henchmen for those who do not.

Mission is everything. They do not envision an outcome or an end to the Canaanite agenda, nor do they really care about results; but they serve the concept of destiny, nonetheless. Demands of their position keep them busy, and they take great pleasure in pontificating about a future. Not knowing the end, themselves, they are nonetheless fascinated about how the tribes will manage to get along once these newcomers from across the way are rooted out. Portents and principles will come after process, in their view; so they accept the tasks before them, lending  their hearts and minds to expedience. They are comforted in their shortsightedness because they understand that the fervor of reactionaries contributes to their status among the tribes.

As the power behind the throne, so to speak, the Kenizzites determine which acts should be undertaken and which should be discouraged. Rhetoric is their means of marshaling allegiance of the intransigent. They pay close attention to the language they loose among their kinsmen, as to its echoes within the response to their weaponized words.

Take a simple thing, like a box. They understand that, in constructing a narrative to achieve a particular result, the box can become a variety of things at key moments, as expedience might require: a box is a simple container, a suspect package, a crate full of evidence, a carton, casket—  any number of things serving any number of purposes, and they embellish whatever characterization turns minds to the job at hand.

Vaults are figments of the imagination. Given the blow torch, hey are what you make them to be in gullible minds. Word choice matters, but only for their effects. Nuances focus energy, harnessing motivation; and if a  syntax does not telegraph, amplify, and achieve their intent among the coalition, other usages must be found. Word choices are critical because they can sound warnings and raise challenges among such as are reluctant to follow the agenda of leadership. Left to fester, unwise words could lead to adverse outcomes, threatening their niche in world order.

You may ask, "Why go to all this trouble? Why not drop it all and have at it?" It's a fair-enough question in a spontaneous environment, but such a thing is rare. The actions of people are patterned, habitual. They will dream while they think they are acting and act when they imagine themselves to be dreaming. For this reason, opportunities arise in the miasma of ordinary existence. One should be ready to take advantage of the moments one has engineered.

The ravenous hunger that drives the spirits of Kenizzites locks them in a feeding frenzy. They want more, and they will find ways to use what's at hand to satisfy their emptiness, laying field to field till there is no room: until the agenda of the alliance has no rivals without and meets no resistance within. If any element in their lives is left to its own devices, it can be expected to seek control of its daily affairs, depriving the masters of their due. That is natural, but it cannot be allowed. There is no peace in diversity. The only answer to conflicted agendas is an uneasy alliance that is closely policed.

Is a successful society easy-going, or tough-minded? Is it amenable to compromise, or is it unbending? Is it monolithic, or permissive and therefore factionalized? Such discussion might have a place in times of peace, but those times are unknown among the nations. When the time comes for confrontation, it's simply a matter of us and them. When the sword is pulled from its scabbard, nothing else matters much; but fanfare can multiply expectations on both sides; and clever overature an occasionally win wars without the bother of battle. How sweet, the battle won by a word!

Kenizzites are not known for their love of discussion, but everyone knows they've covered the bases, and their say is therefore persuasive. They are in the business of creating the infrastructure of fantasy, and they are keen in their hunt to find the means to accomplish their ends; however, in order to prevail as events unfold, the country must function in the interim, and the Kenizzites do everything they can think of to strengthen the core of the alliance. Twisting comfortably in the grip of their dual function, they are determined to avoid any nonsense. One way or another, they will see to it that the Canaanites have their way and come out on top! Better to hold on than to hold back. The momentum is everything.

Whether the context is business, sports, personal relationships, the quiet pleasures of the tent or of a hunter's blind, the Kenizzite will do what it takes to reach their nebulous objectives. One thing is certain: if others have possession of what they fancy, the Kenizzite duty is to remain relentlessly alert for ways of attaining it. They might smile and make nice, but they are all hands.