On Golden Idols
On Golden Idols
IN Exodus it is reported that while Moses spent time on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from Yahweh, the people of Israel down below got tired of waiting for him and so constructed at least one, maybe more than one, as silver is mentioned along with gold, statue to be worshipped, with the golden idol, usually claimed to be of a calf, the most notorious. When Moses returned with the Commandments he was wroth with anger and denounced them for this perfidy, and Exodus reports that Yahweh destroyed this idol, turning its gold into “dust” or other kinds of small particles depending on the translation, and then a part not usually discussed forced the people who had worshipped this golden idol to drink a liquid containing this dust. Of course one of the first commandments forbade the making of “graven images,” with this golden calf or whatever and any silver idol being clear and prime examples of what was clearly forbidden.
So it is ironic that at a conference heavily attended by religious right fundamentalists who most certainly know this passage a golden-looking statue of our most recent president has been publicly displayed. The group doing so apparently had a panel not open to the media, although QAnon believer Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was seen entering the location of the panel when it was held. I saw on the internet a photo of a man bowing in front of this absurd statue and placing his hands on it in a clearly reverential way. I have also read of a man in India who made a statue of our former president and was outright fully worshipping it as a god. That reportedly healthy middle-aged man recently keeled over dead from a heart attack. In any case, at CPAC in Orlando, we pretty clearly have people worshipping a golden idol, one depicting a living man who does not seem even remotely worthy of a thread of respect, much less worship. All this in advance of him making a speech that many people see as him solidifying his apparent dominant control over the current opposition political party in the US.
I do not want to go on about this too much, but even though now the Dems control, just barely in the Senate, both the White House and both houses of Congress, clearly the GOP is in position to possibly retake control of onw or both of the Congressional houses in 2022, and even possibly reelect the former POTUS, or is not him then somebody who has been worshipping his golden statue or at least figuratively doing so. His critics appear to be being purged from the party, or at least isolated.
The most damaging thing about this, even if the Dems are able to hang on to power over the next few years, is that even the possibility of him or somebody following his views returning to power at all in the foreseeable future means that the damage he did especially to US foreign policy and commitments is difficult if not impossible to overcome. I already have concerns about some overly hawkish tendencies in the Biden admin, but if even in areas such as rejoining the Paris Accord or negotiating with Iran or China or allies, other nations will no longer be willing to accept commitments made by this president or his admin because they might be so easily overturned after another election, well, this is serious harm and damage. It means that while maybe parts of the post-WW II era that Trump overturned needed changing, those parts that were benevolent may not be able to be restored. We shall be stuck drinking a fluid made of gold dust instead.
Barkley Rosser
Thanks for this.
This is an excellent, hopeful essay.Still, what should be understood is that the Biden administration has already made clear that the United States is the same country we were through the Trump years, which means threatening and belligerent. The same Democratic officials who were openly critical of the bombing of Syria during the Trump years, evidently have no criticism of the Biden bombing of Syria.The arbitrary bombing of Syria is no small diplomatic matter, and goes along with the Biden administration already promising to continue to interfere in the domestic affairs of several Latin American countries. Have US sanctions against any foreign officials or peoples been removed?Any leaders of non-allied countries that count on a diplomatic and reliable US would actually be irresponsible.
The antagonistic and belligerent way in which the Biden administration has in particular been dealing with China so far makes a reliable and diplomatic United States foolish to count on for leaders of non-allied countries. The Trump administration used historic racial prejudice to allow for continually vilifying and even encouraging a splitting apart of China, and for repeatedly trying to undermine the Chinese economy. That the Trump administration was always unsuccessful in trying to “contain” China is not diplomatically reassuring and the approach seems to be continuing.I do not understand how a Cold War-like policy of trying to contain China can possibly be reassuring beyond say a Britain or an Australia. Fostering racial antipathy to China can be no reassuring way to construct US foreign policy.This essay was excellent, but I am not so far assured by the Biden administration.
Since President Trump arbitrarily chose to break America’s agreement to a multination nuclear pact with Iran, let alone assassinate a Iranian military official, let alone sanction Iran several times. Biden could have chosen to abide by the pact with Iran again. Biden however chose to keep the sanctions on Iran and set out new conditions for the nuclear pact. The Trump assassination was even supported by the new Secretary of State.
I suggest America is not yet being reassuring in this manner.
Well, fuck China.
Many Dems sharply objected to the attack on Syria.
And anyone who thinks this country is remotely teh same as under trump should try not to talk.
Well, —- China.
Well, —- China.
Well, —- China.
Well, —- China.
[ No matter how careful and polite I am, this reader needs to maliciously demean and profanely harass me. This reader will profanely demean 1.4 billion with equanimity.
I really, really wish this reader would stop frightening and trying to intimidate me. ]
anne:
The best thing you can do is not give him credence by calling him out. Don’t recognize him or his words.
Appears my comment on China was too nice.
“As allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang mount, with a growing number of Western lawmakers accusing China of genocide, Beijing is focusing on discrediting the female Uighur witnesses behind recent reports of abuse.
Chinese officials have named women, disclosed what they say is private medical data and information on the women’s fertility, and accused some of having affairs and one of having a sexually transmitted disease. The officials said the information was evidence of bad character, invalidating the women’s accounts of abuse in Xinjiang.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/china-discredit-female-uighur-witnesses_n_603d098dc5b617a7e40f8760
Despicable people running that country.
EMike,
I am not talking, but I am typing. This country IS the same as under Trump, but the government is a bit different now, although not as different as I would like. Some of that cannot be helped and has nothing to do with Biden. Other than foreign policy, which is always about more things than mere mortals are privy to, then much of government is state and local The chattering classes are ridiculous enough when they imagine themselves capable of helping the poor, but when they imagine they can bring about world peace then they are truly “special.”
the trouble with this story is that Biden is no Moses and there ain’t no promised land…so 4(0) more years in the wilderness is the best we can hope for…
test
Frightening?