In 1960 Alexander King wrote a book titled, May This House Be Safe From Tigers. He got the title from a sign over the door of a friend's house in a large city. The friend explained that with the sign there he had never been bothered by tigers. I had an engraved sign made with the same message, placed it on my mantle, and sure enough, I've never been bothered by tigers.
The message of the sign is the operating principle of the political and religious leaders of the world. The three best examples of that principle at work are President George Bush, Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Pastor John Hagee.
The operating principle of the message is that you contrive, invent, fabricate a dire scenario, something really bad that's going to happen, that you have no evidence for, sufficient to scare the pants off of a large group of people, then you exploit their fear to get from them what you want.
George Bush contrived, invented and fabricated false evidence for weapons of mass destruction, terrorists and ties to terrorists in Iraq, none of which was true. He got his Iraq war, just as he wanted, and he was able to enrich himself and his friends in the military contracting and oil business. Worked like a charm. Got the price of oil raised by over $100 a barrel. He made a figurative sign that said, "May this house be safe from Saddam," and made up how to do that by attacking Iraq, and the people bought into it.
We can lump Wright and Hagee together. They'v e been able to scare the pants off of people by telling them they're going to hell by selectively using literally fantastic tales from a collection of ramblings by superstitious scribblers convinced they are hearing messages from a supernatural being.
They get up in front of large groups of people, ranting and raving, stomping around, telling the people how bad they are and what sinners they are. Then, they say that for 10% of the people's income, a tithe, they'll tell them how to avoid this dire thing, going to hell and burning in the eternal fires of damnation, that they have absolutely no evidence has ever happened to anyone. You have to admire these guys, it really takes balls to think up crap like that and expect people to believe it. And, inexplicably, they do. It works.
For this disgusting performance, talking people out of the money the people have earned by working for it so that they won't have to get a job and earn their own living, they want to be called Reverend and Pastor. What has Wright ever done that he should be revered for? At the end of their performance, the only tangible thing that can be found to have happened is the transfer of money from the pockets of the people to the pockets of these charlatans. Is that a reason for reverence?
Sure, there's no law against it. In fact, the Constitution protects them and doesn't even tax them for doing it. You and I have to work for our living and pay taxes on it, too. These guys don't have the moral fiber to do that, they've found a protected place in the system where they can safely encourage and exploit the fears of the people and live off of it. They're not prevented by law from doing this, but you'd think that there'd be the moral revulsion in them that would not allow them to do something this despicable. You'd be wrong.
The people are told to come back next week, to be told the same thing again, and told to give more money, that these guys use to live on because they're incapable of making their living like the people they're taking money from. Do you thing Wright and Hagee would go out and get a job to earn a living if they could? Of course not. It's just not in them to do that. They've found a bird nest on the ground.
If I'm going to be paying for some guy's living, I'm going to be the one telling him how to live his life, like getting a job, not the other way around. He's not going to be telling me how to live my life.
I have earned my living all my life and I hold in the lowest regard, the bottom of the barrel, people like Wright and Hagee who refuse to earn their living and prefer to live off of the earnings of other people. They are literally beneath contempt and yet they expect to be revered.
Tell you what I'm gonna do, for 10% of your income, I'll send you one of these signs, guaranteed to protect you from tigers, or Saddam (he's not really dead) or burning in hell, your choice, as long as you keep up your weekly payments.