Revolution of Faith and the Last Refuge of Scoundrels

During a conversation with my father, the topic of capital punishment came up because of the recent execution in Oklahoma, in which the condemned suffered a heart attack during his botched execution. My father and I did not argue over whether he deserved it or not, or whether or not it was cruel and unusual punishment. Those are the easy arguments and it is an area I don’t want to cover. What my father did say, however, was something that I had not heard in a long time.

He was going on about how condemned prisoners find God or claim that they have been saved in the end, and then he used an old euphemism that I had not heard in a long time. He stated that, “Prayer or finding God is the last refuge of scoundrels.”

I laughed at that statement because I have said the same thing about politicians that wrap themselves in the flag or speak about God when it is advantageous to do so.

My disdain for the politicians and world leaders is so deep that I can’t even think of them being on their knees or humbled enough to say they are ‘sorry’ when stuff gets bad.

When I was a kid one of my favorite stories was ‘Bartholomew and the Oobleck‘ by Dr. Seuss.

In the story, a ruler named Derwin was king over a small place called Didd. Didd itself is truly a metaphor for the United States and I am sure Seuss wrote it to demonstrate how rulers sometime give in to human frailties and fallibility. It also demonstrated that in the end even people in high places should be humble enough to admit that they are wrong.

For the longest time I had thought of how the Kingdom of Didd was subjected to the agenda of a ruler who one day wanted to have full spectrum control of the entire planet.

King Derwin was so adamant about it that he ordered his wizards to geoengineer the kingdom. He started with the sky, wanting to control the weather.

The children’s story should be a warning, or at least a modern parable of truth, concerning where we stand now as a people who have been overcome by: our artificially sustained fear of terrorism in the aftermath of attacks on our soil; long term war; and more wars that are rumored to be brewing both home and abroad.

Dr. Seuss waxed a bit conspiratorial in his own right, with the Oobleck book. I believe that he was basically relating the story that sometimes the plagues and horrors that attack a kingdom are carefully planned by someone with a great deal of power. Someone with enough power to convince others that what is happening will benefit the whole and not the few.

When these plans go horribly out of control, there are a few “Paul Reveres” who go from door to door warning other people of the consequences. They try to explain why the powerful may be out of control and that something needs to be done to stop them.

Those people are discredited by the power structure and by those who would find it deplorable to do anything to offend the King.

Before I put that cart before the horse I would like to relate the story of King Derwin, Bartholomew Cubbins, and a little thing called Oobleck.

King Derwin, was a great ruler of the Kingdom of Didd, and one day decides that he wants control of the skies above his kingdom. He calls his magicians together and orders them to create something that will demonstrate that he has ultimate power.

They devise Oobleck, a green viscous liquid that drops from clouds like rain. At first Derwin loves the creation. He loves the fact that he now has control of the skies. But Bartholomew Cubbins realizes that the King’s plan has gone completely awry. Oobleck turns out to be a toxic substance that gets into farm machinery, and covers people and animals, stopping them cold in their tracks.

When Cubbins tells the King that Oobleck is dangerous and that it will eventually destroy the kingdom, Derwin becomes enraged, and therefore dangerous. Because even though he sees that people of his kingdom are dying, he struts around his castle beating his chest and saying that Oobleck is good, and he assumes that because he wants Oobleck to continue falling his subjects must want it too, regardless of the loss of life, the loss of productivity, and the loss of the kingdom’s farms and businesses.

The King could not see that what he wanted so badly, what he had managed to devise, was actually a monster devouring his kingdom.

In the meantime, Bartholomew Cubbins runs through town telling people that a biological and environmental terror is falling from the sky. He runs to the royal bell ringer to sound the alarm. But the bell is covered in Oobleck and the bell won’t ring. The Royal Trumpeter has his fingers and lips glued to his trumpet and a snotty glop of green Oobleck finds its way into his horn and silences him.

Then Bartholomew runs from door to door, but in some cases it’s too late. Weary people are positioned like statues dripping with the gooey substance, unable to move. It is as if they are dead. Oobleck is a biological threat and actions of the King created this ecological catastrophe.

The people accepted Oobleck, some even showed their support of the King by eating it and those who did eventually became sick. Eventually the panic set in and what was once embraced became a nuisance. What was once supported left people with a huge amount of loss. They were all hopelessly caught in the goo and didn’t listen to the messenger warning them of the dangers.

Cubbins has no choice but to rebuke the King and demands that he apologize for what he has done. He demands that Oobleck be stopped and that if it continues to rain down, the King will face the same fate as the people. Eventually Derwin himself is overcome by the Oobleck and loses his ability to govern. As the curtain is about to fall on the King, Seuss writes:

“There he sat Old King Derwin, proud and mighty ruler of the Kingdom of Didd, trembling, shaking, helpless as a baby.”

Cubbins finally told the King that he should say he was sorry and that he should humble himself and realize he made a mistake. The King refused until the Oobleck got so deep he was about to drown in it. It was then he metaphorically found god and said that he was sorry.

I guess it goes without saying that this little story can be used as a metaphor for what his happening today.

The only problem is that I really have a less-than-bright view of a leader who sees things crumbling and yet does not have the humility to say ‘I am sorry’ or even find prayer or anything to remedy anything.

Even if they do decide to head off to church and confess, are they sincere and is there any kind of absolution for the immorality and criminality that continues to go unabated in government?

Which brings me back to what my dad said about how prayer is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

I was reading an interesting article about Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has recently traveled to a monastery in Valaam. On an island far from the mainland, the Valaam monastery is one of the Russian Orthodox Church’s holiest and most isolated sites. Many people are speculating that Putin is there because he wishes to confess his sins and to prepare himself spiritually for war. Many see the war as inevitable, and if does break out, there is the ever present threat of World War III looming, and a possible Armageddon scenario.

Is Putin looking for God’s blessing in his endeavor to fight his enemies and does the scoundrel euphemism apply in this situation?

I know that we have been taught to pray for our enemies, but a prayer offered for the deaths of others in war – isn’t that a curse? Isn’t that the last refuge of a scoundrel?

Is there ever a leader that would pray for guidance, humility and the ability to admit that the selfish moves of extreme power are far from the justice that we have been taught exists under the watchful eye of a creator that blesses the United States of America?

We are somehow working are way back to being satisfied with the war hawk neo-Con attitudes that brought us into the problems of the past. These are problems that we embraced against our better judgment, out of fear.

With no apologies, this dangerous philosophy grows again, like a cancer, and Americans are pitted against both their own good intentions and the more selfish intentions of a government that continues in its overreach.

We should never stop longing and working for justice, but vengeful payers are certainly the last refuge of a scoundrel. Speaking for God or claiming that actions of torture and death against our enemies is something that is blessed or approved of by God is also suspect.

I know some people out there will say that being passive gets nothing done, but being hypocritical and not appealing to civil authorities to correct the problems here in our own back yard is also pointless.

We can fight all the wars we want if it makes us feel good, but in the past winning wars and vanquishing powerful enemies was true victory. Now it is merely a prolonged exercise in futility. We are not even thinking about the consequences of what it is doing to the morale of those who are losing loved ones and having to shoulder the burden of fighting the battles of others.

It is now far beyond the realm of reality to assume that there could be a world where other interests of the United States could be served. Is there even a chance that we could appeal to the conspiracy of men and women that are “leading us” to create a way by which neutral issues could be addressed and viable and fair solutions could be reached?

All things that benefit this country will now take a back seat to the world order that our leaders have chosen to construct. The leaders of this world they desire find it necessary, and in some cases even consider it a mandate from God, to wage war in order to provide resources for the new order. They tamper with the environment, confiscate land and resources from those that are less powerful, and organize campaigns to malign and marginalize those who wish to stand up and demand accountability.

Is it within some divine or patriotic mandate that we foot the bill for the European Union to fight some made-up Russian threat? I am sure the generals believe that under the direction of some perceived creator, ramping up the military spending for war after war guarantees victory and that this does not have any repercussions.

We are told that being the target of choice is because of deep-seated patriotism and a belief in God.

And yet the President of Russia is going to a monastery to pray and confess his sins?

While I am far from being any kind of great religious example, I can smell a conspiracy against justice and the exploitation of people with faith from a mile away.

The revolution of faith and truth seems to be deteriorating as political paranoia and megalomania persist and the omnipotence of a creator is being replaced with the false omnipotence of empire.

The so-called leaders stand between the world and extinction, choosing with their most unsavory methods to put us close to the edge of that extinction.

Power has its limits, and it is time we start saying so. It is time that we stop making excuses for criminal behavior by saying, “our enemies do it, so why don’t we do it?”

The psychopaths always seem to find a way to be forgiven. They always seem to endear themselves to us. They always seem to say that they have made peace with God by making war with others.

Certainly, the last refuge of a scoundrel.