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This was one of the last things I wrote before 9/11.
Thus, He Is Damned
by William Rivers Pitt 8/30/01
"The demagogue is usually sly, a detractor of others, a professor of humility and disinterestedness, a great stickler for equality as respects all above him, a man who acts in corners and avoids open and manly expositions of his course, calls blackguards gentlemen, and gentlemen folks, appeals to passions and prejudices rather than to reason, and is in all respects a man of intrigue and deception, of sly cunning and management."
- James Fenimore Cooper
It is written in the Bible that the rock shall not hide, nor shall the dead tree give shelter, on the Day of Judgment. This is a piece of news that someone ought to give George W. Bush before those four horsemen take to their saddles.
I have been studying the Book of Luke lately. It contains many important truths that seem to have eluded the man in the White House, which is troubling when one remembers his wide and varied claims of devotion to the Christian faith.
I'm not sure what version of the Good Book Bush has been reading, but if it is anything like my copy, it is apparent that his lack of intellectual depth includes a deficit in the area of reading comprehension.
Take, for example, verse 15 of chapter 12: "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."
This seems to be the basis for the more folksy saying, "You can't take it with you." When you die, all you have is your soul, the actions of your life, and the memories those who live after you keep. All the cars and houses and bank accounts and money you may have accumulated do not make the trip to the Other Side.
By all reports, George gave himself to Jesus not long after he reportedly surrendered the bottle. It can be assumed that he was given Luke to read, so as to edify his newly minted soul. It would seem, though, that this passage left no impression upon him.
Had it done so, George would not be dedicating his entire administration to the advancement of the wealthy. Had Luke resonated within him., he would not have shattered Social Security and Medicare with a tax cut that gave billions of dollars to rich people who don't need the cash and who won't be able to take it with them through the eye of that needle.
Had Luke found a purchase, George would not be molding environmental policy in favor of polluters who don't wish to spend any profit on the safeguarding of our air and water, thus solidifying a bottom line to produce money that won't help a whit when they face their Maker. The same could be said for his energy plans, meant to swell the wallets of petroleum barons who have not evidenced a single iota of compassion for the people they gouge or the planet they rape.
There is more in Luke that Bush should have paid some attention to. Consider Luke chapter 3, verse 11: "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise."
It can be argued that this is the essence of Social Security. It is a safety net for citizens who, due to age or infirmity, are not able to enjoy the capitalist fruits those who are able to be productive enjoy. Social Security takes something from you and me and the fellow in the cubicle next door to make sure that those who have no cloak are sheltered, and to make sure that those who would otherwise go hungry can eat.
Medicare makes sure that the sick who cannot afford insurance are healed and cared for by marvels of modern medicine that put the healing power of Jesus in deep shade. Combined, these two programs provide a margin of safety for millions of Americans.
The fiscal program put forth by George W. Bush has all but destroyed this margin of safety. This is, for lack of a better word, an act of violence perpetrated against scores of our weakest and most needy citizens. If I came into your home and turned you out, stripped you of your coat so you had to face the cold wind and stole the food from your mouth, I would be arrested and imprisoned. This is what Bush has done.
That he has done this at all is bad enough. That the rich have been allowed to feast upon funds designed to protect the weak is worse by orders of magnitude. That he intends to use whatever is left to make weapons of war stretches the very definition of evil.
That he lied in order to achieve this nefarious goal is the worst truth of all.
Consider his campaign promises. Al Gore has borne the brunt of many Saturday night jokes about the phrase "lock box." This word was a GOP invention at the outset, meant to describe the place where Social Security funds would be protected, one which Bush seized upon in order to convince people that he was worth their trust. Simply put, he vowed and promised not to do what he is in the process of doing.
The Book of Revelations does not have happy words for liars. Consider verse 21, chapters 3-4: "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone."
It is a symbol of these dark and twisted times that George W. Bush has been able to finagle support from millions of decent American Christians, because they have been duped into believing that he is one of them. Bush is no Christian. He is a liar who smiles while depriving solace from the meek to fatten the gluttonous avarice of the rich.
It is said that there can be no peace without justice. If we are to achieve true justice in America today, those good and decent Christians must come to see George W. Bush for the lying thief he is. They must repudiate him, revile him, expose him as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
They must realize the truth espoused by Luke in chapter 4, verses 43-44: "A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles."
The lies of George W. Bush have revealed him to be that rotten tree which can bear no good fruit. What falls from his branches is poison that affects every American, Christian or otherwise. In his wake we are left neither with fig nor grape, but with thorns.
A lake of fire awaits him, if there is truth in the faith he so deceptively espouses. He has earned his fate. He is damned. Too many of us have not yet seen him for what he is. It is worthy for believer and non-believer to take a moment on bended knee and pray that the scales fall, at long last, from our eyes.
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