A spokesman for religious fanaticism, Pat Robertson, has said of President Bush, “…I just think God’s blessing is on him. And you remember, I think the Chinese used to say, you know, it’s the blessing of heaven on the emperor. And I think the blessing of heaven is on Bush. It’s just the way it is.” (The Washington Post, October 21, 2004) Unfortunately, Bush agrees. A recent piece in the New York Times on President Bush displays the frightening portrait of a most powerful man who is entrenched in his prejudices and believes that his actions, no matter how absurd, reflect God’s will that he is doing on earth. An individual who is not too bright has conferred upon himself the role of redeemer of the western civilization. A religious fanatic is thus at the helm of the followers of the truth to face the doers of destruction and terrorism who profess a different kind of religious fanaticism.
Humanity has regressed to the Dark Ages armed with newly developed nuclear weapons. In the country Mr. Bush leads hatred and mistrust prevail over tolerance and solidarity. The emperor who has been blessed by God may be either winner (as seems likely) or looser (as desirable) in Tuesday’s election, but he should be happy because the damage has already been done.
Discrimination, always a source of injustice and resentment, is now practiced wholesale. The brutality of extremist groups in the Islamic world against people in the nations they visualize as demons incarnate, have unleashed the ire and revenge of their victims who mistrust all Islam subjects. Just a few leaders have imagined and proposed an Alliance of Civilizations to conduct the struggle against terrorism through legal channels, instead of a Clash of Civilizations as led by the enlightened Mr. Bush.
The diplomatic and juridical fabric of agreements and transactions intended to face conflicts in the global arena have also suffered the impact of the attitude of infallibility assumed by the powerful of the earth. Mr. Bush and his followers act by themselves convinced that they hold the truth and do not need anyone else, with total disregard for international commitments and institutions. Mr. Bush’s unwillingness to join efforts with the international community has eroded the usefulness of treaties on nuclear non proliferation, environmental protection, proscription of anti personal mines, and establishment of the International Criminal Court. The U.S. government has undertaken the task of interpreting the Geneva Conventions and the interpretation has resulted in prisoners being tortured and humiliated. President Bush has weakened the Organization of the United Nations.
Mankind is ready for either collapse or rescue. The United States is obviously in the same boat. The master democracy is threatened by lack of respect and protection for civic liberties; by the favorable treatment to the wealthy and to the corporations that feed them; by disregard for the poor; by education and health deficits; by the violation of the principle of separation of church and State through the financing of some peculiar faith based initiatives; by the violation of basic economic principles lowering taxes for those who have more and carrying impressive fiscal deficits.
The God I believe in can not possibly have inspired such total chaos.