Messiah Without Miracles
The 12 November issue of Adam Wilson’s blog at The Olympian begins with, “If you want a pick-me-up do not read the latest state revenue report. It’s a smorgasbord of negative numbers.” Then he continues with a list of lowered collections for Washington State tax revenues. I am sure he speaks for the majority when he expresses his concern over State monies. Not long ago, I would have thought the majority of people were more concerned with their own financial condition than they were with the State, but now I am having second thoughts.
You can see almost anything you want on YouTube. Most of us have seen the video of the Obama supporter who was elated with the election results because now she does not have to worry about how she is going to pay for her gas and her mortgage.
Someone forwarded a story to my email. Whether it is true or not, it makes a good point: A second grade teacher wanted to help her students understand the election process. So she held a class election. Two students were nominated. One tried to express ways he was going to help make class better. The other promised ice cream. When asked how she was going to give everyone ice cream, she said she did not know. Regardless, the girl who promised ice cream won by a landslide.
Obama promised ice cream the same way as FDR and Lyndon Johnson did. He won by a landslide. Already the media has been prepping us to lower our expectations. They have been telling us he cannot deliver the miracles he promised - even though it was the media who reinforced those promises in our minds before the election. Don’t expect them to hold him accountable about this, either. Chris Matthews has echoed the feeling of the media operatives when he said, “It is my job to make Obama successful.”
Obama won the race on flowery speeches. He is an articulate man. This does not mean he is a wise man. Nor does this mean he will be able to seduce our enemies with the same skill as he displayed with the electorate. But it was beautiful: all those Scripture-like quotes that gave the illusion of the Second Coming of Christ - and the promise of ice cream.
Last week a lady came into my store and began talking about how wonderful she felt just after the election. She was a Christian woman and she was seduced by the false messiah. She told me how she had never before seen our nation so united, rejoicing together and how we all felt like we were a part of each other and a part of something big. I pointed out there was a losing side and they might not feel the same unity. “Oh sure,” she replied. “I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about the way I felt, and my friends and the images on the television.”
Ice cream wins over hard work and self-discipline. So we are back to worrying, along with Adam Wilson, how the State is going to supply all our needs when the coffers are not as full as they used to be.
