Mix public piety with public policy and reasonable people worry. Bush's frequent mention of God, his moralistic "good vs. evil," or his simplistic "you're with us or against us," is now a major concern worldwide.
Many wonder if the imminent attack on Iraq is simply a show of imperial might or is the start of another Christian crusade? Is Bush the new Saladin?
This piety cum policy mixture stirs memories of James G. Watt, the born-again Christian appointed Secretary of the Interior by President Reagan. A joke (or was it?) made the rounds in those days that Watt had no interest in protecting our forests, water and air, or our national monuments from the ravages of commercialism because the Second Coming was at hand. So why waste all that money.
Does anyone still question why we have separation of church and state? Today we have our version of "The Burning Bush" only it's not God in the bush speaking to Moses, it's now "Bush" speaking to the un-born-again.
"March with me to Baghdad and with war we'll bring democracy and peace," the Bush says. "And by conquering Iraq we'll solve the Israeli-Palestine question too, trust me."
Our Bush is a man on a mission. You can tell it in his walk…or strut. Has he been chosen from above to deck Saddam, the evil one? Is Armageddon at hand? The rapture? The millennium?
I'm a product of Catholic parochial schools. The nuns and brothers didn't tell us much about the final battle, the beast and the anti-Christ. Ask me about the poor souls in Purgatory or those suffering hopelessly in Limbo and I can wax eloquently.
In the biblical account, Armageddon is the final battle where Christ destroys the anti-Christ and rules the world in perfect peace for the next thousand years.
Is this the prophesy of our Burning Bush? Is his war to bring peace, the final battle? Many are afraid he believes this. All over the world they're coming out of their homes and into the streets to protest.
