Twisters and Bullies and Isms, Oh My!

"Woe to him who unjustly gains wealth for his house 

to place his nest on high 

to escape from the reach of disaster." 

Habakkuk 2:9

There is a reason power get's misused. Corrupt people who exploit and steal to accumulate wealth unjustly, need a mechanism by which to protect that wealth and place it out of reach of those from whom they have stolen and who, quite rightly, want some justice.

To many among the exploited, it seems a good thing to create a powerful system which prohibits such behavior and which redistributes ill-gotten gains back to the people from whom it was exploited. This is the raison d’être for political systems like communism and socialism. For that matter, even capitalism in its pure form seeks to control the greedy through free-market trade and equal opportunity. The problem with any of these systems is that they are predicated on the idea that man, through any system can be made perfect, for perfect men are needed to sit in the seats of power in those systems in order to protect the integrity and intent of the system. John Dahlberg, Lord Acton, famously said, however, that "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

But power does not always corrupt. Men like George Washington have laid down great power willingly when their task was done, but power does attract the corruptible and so long as it does so, no system, however benign it intends to be, which creates great power as a way to prevent corruption, will long remain uncorrupted. No system that concentrates power in the hands of the few will long be able to accomplish its purpose of protecting the many. C.S. Lewis said this:

• "What is the good of drawing up, on paper, rules for social behaviour, if we know that, in fact, our greed, cowardice, ill temper, and self-conceit are going to prevent us from keeping them? I do not mean for a moment that we ought not to think and think hard, about improvements to our social and economic system. What I do mean is that all that thinking will be mere moonshine unless we realise that nothing but the courage and unselfishness of individuals is ever going to make any system work properly. It is easy enough to remove the particular kinds of graft or bullying that go on under the present system; but as long as men are twisters or bullies, they will find some new way of carrying on the old game under the new system. You cannot make men good by law and without good men you cannot have a good society. (C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity)

The most robust system of justice yet created on Earth has been the constitutional republic created by the founding fathers of the United States. In their wisdom, they placed the decision as to how long those who sat in government above us remain in office in the hands of the people governed. Our system, which decentralizes much power to state and local government that in other nations is concentrated in the central government has remained tough, resilient and prosperous for more than two centuries. Part of that success has been that throughout that time, we have, as a people, also focused on making men good through their association with their Creator.

In essence, America has two systems working in the interest of its people. The first is its limited government and the second is its faith in God. You will notice that as we have abandoned our faith, our system of government has become more repressive as the corruptible have climbed the ladders of influence to grab the power they need to protect their ill-gotten wealth. The corruptible have always done this.

We would like to end the domination of the men Lord Acton called "the great men", but because we live in a sinful world and sinners are relentlessly self-interested, we fight a battle that is in reality a steady and inevitable retreat. One day, the corruptible will get their hands on so much power that the historical fall and reset of nations will be impossible.

The Second Coming of Christ is not an invasion and occupation of this world; it is a rescue mission. Once it is accomplished and God's influence is entirely removed from this world, all these great men will fall upon one another and, in the attempt to attain ultimate power, the power of the gods that such men have always craved, they will destroy themselves and the planet along with them.

This is why Revelation speaks of a New Earth. This one cannot be entirely saved. The great conceit that we can "save the planet" is a vain hope. Only God can save the planet and He must do so by allowing the infection that has overtaken it to run its course, wipe the planet clean by fire and rebuild it again with the help of men and women who have no lust for power; no need to sit as Lords over their fellows; no reason to destroy themselves ever again.

© 2014 by Tom King

The Page, the Canvas, the Clay and the Silent Room

by Tom King © 2010

The really difficult thing for an artist or an artisan is to confront the blank medium of his or her chosen craft, whether it's the blank page, the unpainted canvas, the shapeless lump of clay or the silent room into which the music must be poured. Many of our greatest artists report that they face those empty voids with anxiety, frustration and sometimes downright terror.

I think this happens when the writer, painter, sculptor or musician comes to believe his art is somehow tied to his worth as a human being. There have, indeed, been some amazing works of art that have been wrought by tortured souls looking to validate their existence on this Earth – no doubt of that. I just have to wonder, though, whether these particular works of art are powerful because of their innate beautiful, or whether we simply can't take our eyes from them in the same way we cannot turn our eyes from the scene of a train wreck or plane crash.

There are works of “art” that come from these blank canvases and empty sheets of paper that, when read or viewed, have a powerful effect upon you. But if that effect is to sicken your soul so that you experience the twisted emotions, anger or misery of the artist, I rather wonder whether the piece is actually great or merely powerful. Greatness and power are not the same thing, though our post-modern culture has convinced itself that they are.

How many movies feature the word “powerful” in the list of descriptors on the poster. How much art or literature is called “powerful” and are therefore celebrated as “great”. Adolph Hitler's “Mein Kampf” is a powerful work of literature and though we are not prepared (yet) to call it a “great work” it could, by today's standards be considered “great”. The book did have a powerful impact on the world stage. The critics of the day did find the book worthy of admiration. I found a 30's era college literature book in a flea market once that included the complete text of Hitler's opus with laudatory comments regarding the book's “power”. The hideous import of the Fuhrer's masterpiece received little attention from the intelligentsia. It was the power of the thing that captivated and held them in thrall.

For me, the blank page represents an opportunity to draw attention to what is good in the world. Such writing is called “sentimental” and “maudlin” by the post-modernist critics.

For me, the blank canvas is a chance to find beauty in even mundane places. Such art is called “prosaic” and “predictable” by the critics.

For me, the silent room and the musical instrument in the hands of an artist are an open channel through which something good and free and fine and sweet may flow and lift us and carry us away. The critics dismiss such music as "pedestrian".

Art which lifts up goodness and honor and those great values can be powerful. On the other hand, art which is powerful may lift up evil and misery and corruption for the admiration of all. Such art should not be considered good to my way of thinking.

Politics is an art they say and I believe it holds true. A leader spends his time upon the world stage and works his or her art through the wielding of power – either power which has been bestowed upon him or her or power which has been seized or won. They say that such power corrupts. Well, I don't fully believe that. Corrupt power corrupts – yes! Power, sought, for its own sake, I maintain, is already corrupt. There are those among our leaders, who attempt in their time in the political arena, to create things of beauty and goodness using the power they have as a tool.

Once you have written your constitution, your law or created some great public work, you then have two choices. You can let go of that power, content that you have done well and let your work speak and act for itself. If that work was meant for good, it will have a power for good, long after you have faded into the background, ridden off into the sunset or settled gracefully into your rocking chair on the back porch.

Or you can cling to that power, even if it's only the vestiges of that power. You can fritter endlessly over your “legacy” and hover over your work long after it is done and you should have retired gracefully from the stage. Power corrupts indeed – especially if you don't know how to let it go.*

Just one man's opinion.....

Tom King

* I can think of 5 powerful men off the top of my head who are perfect examples of this – both ways.