The Crusades is a book by Zoe Oldenbourg, Pantheon Books, New York, 1966 and among the topics is who are the Crusaders and why did they go the trip from France to Jerusalem? Many leaders of the Crusaders came from France but people came from all over Europe to Jerusalem, the question was why? In reality, the town was thousands of miles away, the land nearby is desert, there Is no natural trade route and for the most part the town was a minor holding to the group that was administering it. The only reason Jerusalem was important was for religious purposes – in Christianity – Jesus spent the last few years of his life around the town including dying on the cross and going to heaven; in Muslim – Muhammad was taken up to the heavens; in Judaism – the great temple of Solomon which held the Ark of the Covenant was built in the city. Given the connection to the great religions of our times, people have wanted to go to see, but not necessarily to live permanently. Given the town is not on a natural trading route and thus not a profitable income for its rulers, it was always considered a minor holding. But every once in a while the other religions would want control of the town for reasons of the spirit or the dream of having control of the town, but when that control was held the religion focused on its version to the exclusion of the others. Jerusalem was and is a tourist town and dependent on outside income to be sustainable with the great part due to donations from outside the country.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, if you own shares in companies your journeys may take you past the holdings of your company. These journeys can take you across the town or the country or around the world where ever the company drives its income from. The journeys can help you ensure the companies you invest are sustainable and will last a long time for the betterment of society. The Crusades were about a dream and sometimes dreams are fulfilled, sometimes dreams are best not done, but when you get to the destination the basics of profitability and sustainability are needed to ensure the dreams come to reality.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions