Cynicism and Self Promotion

One of the finest things to come out of the 90’s was a television series entitled "The X-Files." Its creator Chris Carter is a genius and a master storyteller. Like most brilliant writers he writes on many levels simultaneously and appears at times to be engaged in prophecy. In the final episode of the series when his hero, Fox Mulder, is on trial for his life and is given an opportunity to speak to his accusers Mulder basically asserts that a large group of liars working in concert has no reason to fear the truth. Further, that true evil is a product of that same kind of alliance rather than the deviousness of a single malevolent entity. One can almost imagine that Carter was looking into a crystal ball at the world of social unrest and politics in the Age of Obama.

I believe that lies are like airborne bacteria passing from person to person. In the presence of fear or exaggerated self interest they attach to the cells of the psych rupturing and deforming the perception until fact cannot be divided from fallacy. We saw this with the health care bill as a preponderance of lies were slathered over reality until distortion became truth. The same is happening with the financial reform bill. A couple of days ago Mitch McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader, stood in the well of the Senate and insisted that Obama is giving the American people a bill that will force them to endlessly bail banks out of their self induced implosions. This is a damn lie, and he knows it is a lie. Smiling and winking at Main Street, pretending to be a defender and friend of the people, this hyena is working hard to protect Wall Street. The bankers and other greed merchants do not like the democratic reform bill because it will reign in some of their more predatory practices and force them to create a fund to cover the cost of their failure. It is not perfect but it is better than the deregulate and hope for the best strategy the Republicans favor.

In this milieu of lies upon lies upon lies the image of America’s first African American President has been thoroughly tarnished and trampled. Obama has been made to appear as a dangerous interloper, even an alien, to such an extent that a fair number of Republicans believe that he is the Anti-Christ.

I wish someone would explain this conundrum to me. In the self proclaimed best of all Christian countries a comparatively large number of "good" Christians believe every bit of stupidity spoon fed to them by an army of self promoting, cynical gasbags. Thus disempowered, they courageously stand together in packs shouting at the hungry, the homeless, the sick and the dying, "I’ve got mine. Screw you." Where does the Anti-Christ fit in? It seems to me the patina of lies, the liars working in concert and the alliance of hoodwinked, crap-fed sheep have rendered him superfluous - unemployed like everybody else.

In my religion we believe that the Goddess gives each of us the gifts we request when we are born. Those who can heal, heal. Those who can feed, feed. Those who can tend the Goddess’ most vulnerable and precious creatures, the nonhumans, tend. Those like me who can serve the Earth, serve. We are charged with offering our gifts humbly, lovingly, joyfully, freely and to the extent that we are able, impeccably. There is no Anti-Goddess. If we take a leak on our ancient and sacred faith it is down to us - our responsibility.