“Gateway to the Apocalypse”1

We have a President who has openly stated that he believes that he is doing God’s bidding (and therefore anything he does is blessed, which renders him incapable of making a mistake)—this is clearly the description of a megalomaniac. He made this megalomania of his very clear before we went ahead and voted him into office a second time, to give him a second go at bringing on the Apocalypse, which must only have strengthened his belief that his every act is simply the manifestation of God’s will.

It is an indication of the depth of our own collective insanity that when our leaders deliberately act to hasten the arrival of the Apocalypse, and even tell us they’re doing exactly that, we all just continue to go along our merry happy-idiot ways. If we have wondered why Bush shows no hint of anguish over the cost in lives of his actions, it is no doubt because he believes he is not responsible; God is responsible, and by definition, God can do no wrong.

Meanwhile, on the legal front, the President rejects Republican-sponsored legislation “that would prohibit cruel, degrading or inhumane treatment of prisoners as…an undue restriction of his powers.” Since when did an American President ever have the power to order someone tortured? Where is that codified in law? It certainly is not to be found in the Constitution. (Gee, W, “King George” is an epithet, not an appellation!)

As I mull such things over, I find myself nearly at a loss to respond in any logical way, because what’s the point of addressing such illogic as if it had some meaning or substance? We find ourselves with leaders whose stated intent is to bring on the destruction of this world, in the belief that (a) this is what God wants them to do, and (b) this will allow them to witness the Second Coming in their lifetime—of what use is logic in the face of such abject insanity? These leaders believe that they alone should have absolute power over the lives of all, to imprison anyone without due process and to torture and kill them at will, and further, most frighteningly, they believe they have the wisdom to make these choices.

The current administration has made a mockery of both Christianity and democracy, and they use “freedom” as a meaningless trademark. How “free” are we when any person, citizen or not, can be imprisoned indefinitely, without evidence or due process? How “Christian” are we when we torture anyone, innocent or guilty? Such actions are not based upon “Christianity” in any sense of the doctrine—there is absolutely nothing that we know about Christ and his teachings that would condone what’s being done by the Bush Administration.

Remember the derision that greeted those who were “good Germans” during Hitler’s regime? Are we beginning to have a bit more sympathy for their plight? As long as we allow the Bush administration to continue business as usual, we are step-by-step, drawing ever closer to taking the cloak of “good Germans” upon ourselves.

“Gateway to the Apocalypse”? Thanks, but I’d prefer “Stairway to Heaven”…
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¹ from “The Christian Paradox,” by Bill McKibben. Harper’s Magazine, August 2005: “…the pastor, urging his flock to support the administration, declared that ‘the war between America and Iraq is the gateway to the Apocalypse.’[House Speaker Tom] DeLay rose to speak, not only to the congregation but to 225 Christian TV and radio stations. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, ‘what has been spoken here tonight is the truth of God.’ ”