Blessed by a Witch Hunter

While browsing the internet this weekend, reading the news, I came across an interesting article title: “Sarah Palin and the Thomas Muthee Witch Hunt”

I assumed the term “witch hunt” was a metaphor, as it is generally used in the news, until I read the article’s opening lines:

“Sarah Palin has been linked to a witch hunt. No, not a figurative witch hunt, the kind in which people are made to feel pressured and discriminated against. I’m talking about a real witch hunt, in which a woman is accused of witchcraft by someone seeking political power, and the woman is forced to flee her home in fear of her life.”

As the article explains, Pastor Thomas Muthee, in his effort to get control over the town of Kiambu, Kenya in order to start a church, started a witch hunt. Choosing a local woman who happened to be a fortune teller and, more importantly for Muthee, was a “close associate” with the leaders of the town, he accused her of being a sorceress that was cursing the town. As proof for these claims of witchcraft, he stated that there were three car accidents in the neighborhood near where this woman worked, “sure evidence” that she was a witch. As a result of these accusations, the local population went into panic and police were sent to arrest this unfortunate woman. When she was finally released from jail, she fled the town, and as a result for getting rid of this “demonic-spell” casting woman, Muthee had the support of the town and was able to establish his church.

If there is but one glaring message from our recent reading of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, and our study of the Salem witch trials (though there certainly is not just this one), it is the sheer horror and destruction that a witch hunt brings upon a community. I cannot begin to describe that sickness in my heart to hear that such a horrific accusation was used as an instrument for one to gain power. And yet again we see the reflections of Salem 1692 and how easily a community surrenders power to the accusers of such a witch hunt, and how such absurd claims were at that time also used to try to accomplish other goals.

So how does this Kenyan priest’s revival of one of the darkest chapters of American history have to do with the current vice president candidate on the republican ticket?

It just so happens that Muthee had visited Sarah Palin’s church, the Wasilla Assembly of God, during the time when she was running for governor and had prayed over her. He prayed to “bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus... Use her to turn this nation the other way around” and to keep her safe from “every form of witchcraft.”

What does Palin think of this incident? Check out this news clip.

Puritans and the Market Crisis

Well, the inevitable has happened.

I’m sure by now, you’ve all heard of what happened with the stock market.
For those of you stuck in a hole for the past week or so, here are two links; the first detailing events the led up to the chaos that recently unfolded, and the second, explaining what exactly happened. Actually, it might not be a bad idea to have a look at these articles, even if you have been watching the news.

Anyway, while browsing the news, a particular article caught my eye. Entitled “Lessons From the Puritans”, the article, by Cal Thomas, opens with the line: “ ‘Greed is good.’ (1987 film ‘Wall Street’).” Immediately following: “ ‘Whoever loves money, never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.’ (Ecclesiastes 5:10).”

Thus, Thomas critiques the current market crisis; not placing the blame on a particular government administration or lack of proper regulations, but rather upon the very ethics that sit at the heart of modern Western culture. He explains that it is the very way which our nation operates, with its obsession for material, or “worldly” goods that has ultimately caused the disaster that is the American economy. Thomas then quotes the puritan Thomas Watson:

“‘Blessedness . . . does not lie in the acquisition of worldly things. Happiness cannot by any art of chemistry be extracted here.’”

Indeed, in this “perilous time”, I cannot help but agree with Thomas’s point. However, I question whether such a noble perspective was truly the belief of the Puritans, or perhaps rather what we would prefer to believe the Puritan’s believed in. After all, while the Puritan’s viewed success and material fortune as a product of God’s will alone, they used these external signs as a means of determining who was among God’s elect. Therefore, in practice, the possession of material goods and worldly success still played a major role in Puritan societal status.

This seemingly contradictory element of Puritan society makes me wonder whether perhaps the desire for wealth and success is an inherent feature of all human society. However, whether it is or not, I believe the Puritans may still have much advice to offer. I believe that, while they may have harbored some flaws and contradictions in their society, their core beliefs and ideals may help us shed some light on the flaws of our own society, flaws that have led to the current crisis that we face.

"You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig"

This past Tuesday, Barack Obama stated in a speech, comparing McCain's economic plan as similar to Bush's: "You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still going to stink after eight years. “Unfortunately for Obama, it just so happened that in her acceptance speech last week, Sarah Palin was quoted as saying "I'm a hockey mom! You know the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom? Lipstick!"
Therefore, it was no surprise that the McCain campaign immediately claimed that Obama's statement was a sexist remark against Palin. Personally, I think it is pretty clear that such a incident was merely a coincidence (an amusing one at that), but then again, politics is politics, and as the race heats up, either campaign is likely to jump at such an "opportunity".

However, this little incident is merely a minor detail in the overall issues and ideas that are brought forth by this upcoming election. Gov. Palin is the GOP’s first woman to be on a presidential ticket, perhaps an indication that times are changing. Rosemary Camposano, spokeswoman for WomenCount.org, a campaign group initially founded to support Hillary Clinton's presidential effort and is currently working to advance women's political issues, states: "Palin was an incredibly clever political strategy. It shows the Republicans are asking themselves: What is the undercurrent moving people in this country? Where is the untapped energy for this election? And they figured it out. It's women.” An eloquent way of stating what many have crudely phrased, that the surprise pick Palin was chosen simply because she was a woman, an attempt to snag still bitter Hillary supporters. Whether the reason or not, the reality is that several polls from this week now show the McCain-Palin ticket with a double-digit lead over Obama-Biden among white women voters. (Although the validity of these polls might be questioned as in other recent news several polling companies admitted to sampling more Republican than Democratic voters, allegedly in order to create the illusion of a closer presidential race)

Overall, it is clear that issues of sexism will continue to play a role in this very unique upcoming election. Although I personally believe voters should be more concerned about the issues, I believe the reality is that such media-created controversies will still have an impact on this election.

A final ironic detail: In a recent interview, when asked what he thought of Hillary Clinton’s economic plan, McCain repeated Obama’s controversial pig-lipstick comment in what could be viewed in the same perspective as Obama’s comment was.

Testing....

check one two.... check ...