God & Uncle Sam
“God & Uncle Sam”
Mysticism has its appeal. It offers simple solutions to complex problems while demanding very little intellectual or emotional effort. If we remain in our mystical cocoons, our minds can be free to wander as they will, unrestrained by rational thought or accountability. You can’t be held accountable if you have no rational basis for what you think.
More often than not, there is a kind of logic to our logic-less thinking, based on “Otherworldly” reasoning. Sometimes that reasoning is religious. It can just easily be political. Or, it can take virtually any form, as long we are willing to abandon traditional modes of knowing, and, instead, pursue otherworldly forms. Then the sky opens wide and our thoughts can roam free, untethered by the musty, arcane rules that govern rational people.
Back in the seventies and eighties, I used to occasionally listen to a local religious radio station. Their programming ran the gamut from more traditional preachers to local, self-proclaimed prophets, offering mystical totems to solve your problems. A bit of cloth, a bar of magic soap, prepared by The Prophet, who would send you a powerful totem for a meager donation of twenty dollars. If you didn’t have the twenty, The Prophet would suggest that you write your prayer request on a piece of paper, put it in your bible, and when you were flush with a crisp new twenty, send it, thus, unleashing God’s mystical power. “Don’t let that blessing get away!” “Name it!” “Claim it!” “And obtain it.” he’d shout. But, only after the twenty arrived.
Think of it as a way of building your faith, using God’s layaway plan.
This is not a problem of religion, as some might think. It is just as true in politics. “Free money!” “Free college tuition!” “Free healthcare.” “Free food.” “You can have your cake, and eat it, too, while keeping taxes low, and zero inflation!” But only in politics. How is that possible? It isn’t. However, with enough faith, all things are possible. All you have to do is vote correctly, and Uncle Sam will be your new spiritual guru, your prayer intercessor between God and The Godless State. If this seems “Oxymoronic,” it certainly is, with a special emphasis on the last few syllables of that word.
The one sure ingredient, in all such devilish scams, is the same; “Ignorance.” Ignorance, like misguided prayer, makes all things possible. Just believe and send Uncle Sam your money. It will cost a helluva lot more than a crisp new twenty, though. It always does. All that’s necessary is that you think as little as possible, and never, but never, listen to the devil, who will cause you to doubt your faith.
“How can you tell who the devils really are?”
All who disagree.
Remember, faith, minus fact, minus logic and reason, these are the keys to this “Political” kingdom.
Now, clear your mind, and it can all be yours for the asking. But only after you've made the mandatory donation.
Of course, it’s not really a donation, if it’s mandatory.
But that’s only true if you think about it.
If not, all things are possible.
Mark Magula
Mysticism has its appeal. It offers simple solutions to complex problems while demanding very little intellectual or emotional effort. If we remain in our mystical cocoons, our minds can be free to wander as they will, unrestrained by rational thought or accountability. You can’t be held accountable if you have no rational basis for what you think.
More often than not, there is a kind of logic to our logic-less thinking, based on “Otherworldly” reasoning. Sometimes that reasoning is religious. It can just easily be political. Or, it can take virtually any form, as long we are willing to abandon traditional modes of knowing, and, instead, pursue otherworldly forms. Then the sky opens wide and our thoughts can roam free, untethered by the musty, arcane rules that govern rational people.
Back in the seventies and eighties, I used to occasionally listen to a local religious radio station. Their programming ran the gamut from more traditional preachers to local, self-proclaimed prophets, offering mystical totems to solve your problems. A bit of cloth, a bar of magic soap, prepared by The Prophet, who would send you a powerful totem for a meager donation of twenty dollars. If you didn’t have the twenty, The Prophet would suggest that you write your prayer request on a piece of paper, put it in your bible, and when you were flush with a crisp new twenty, send it, thus, unleashing God’s mystical power. “Don’t let that blessing get away!” “Name it!” “Claim it!” “And obtain it.” he’d shout. But, only after the twenty arrived.
Think of it as a way of building your faith, using God’s layaway plan.
This is not a problem of religion, as some might think. It is just as true in politics. “Free money!” “Free college tuition!” “Free healthcare.” “Free food.” “You can have your cake, and eat it, too, while keeping taxes low, and zero inflation!” But only in politics. How is that possible? It isn’t. However, with enough faith, all things are possible. All you have to do is vote correctly, and Uncle Sam will be your new spiritual guru, your prayer intercessor between God and The Godless State. If this seems “Oxymoronic,” it certainly is, with a special emphasis on the last few syllables of that word.
The one sure ingredient, in all such devilish scams, is the same; “Ignorance.” Ignorance, like misguided prayer, makes all things possible. Just believe and send Uncle Sam your money. It will cost a helluva lot more than a crisp new twenty, though. It always does. All that’s necessary is that you think as little as possible, and never, but never, listen to the devil, who will cause you to doubt your faith.
“How can you tell who the devils really are?”
All who disagree.
Remember, faith, minus fact, minus logic and reason, these are the keys to this “Political” kingdom.
Now, clear your mind, and it can all be yours for the asking. But only after you've made the mandatory donation.
Of course, it’s not really a donation, if it’s mandatory.
But that’s only true if you think about it.
If not, all things are possible.
Mark Magula