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Dear God - Please Stop Talking To George
Frank Harris III
October 17 2005
Dear God:
As I write this on Thursday, it's been raining in Connecticut for six
straight days, so I'm broaching this somewhat cautiously, in the event
that you're trying to tell us something.
What the heck - I'm a journalist and a professor and just an all-around
curious kind of guy, so I gotta ask.
But do understand that in my asking, it's not like I'm questioning your
judgment or your infinite wisdom or your right to hold a conversation
with whomever you choose. But dear God, the word here on Earth is you
have been holding one-on-one conversations with our president, George
W. Bush. In fact, it's been said you and George are on a first-name
basis.
So dear God, I gotta ask: Is it true? Have you been talking to George?
If so, how is it that of all the people, of all the places in this
whole wide world, you happened to pick George?
That's presuming it's true that you have anointed George as your chosen
one, which would mean those who have not already seen the light would
need to convert - to Republicanism.
Please don't laugh, dear God. I'm serious. Although there are those who
wonder if your talking to him was just George's imagination running
away, there are others who say it's a way for him to present an image
of his policies as being supported by the biggest backer of all.
That would be you, dear God.
It wouldn't be the first time folks used your name for their own
purposes. It just seems to be getting more serious with George.
He's said to be a born-again Christian. And he's saying religion plays
an important role in his life, which is fine.
But dear God, the word is that he's saying you told him to invade Iraq.
That's right. In effect, George is saying, ``God made me do it."
Granted, the reports about you telling him to do this are conflicting.
According to Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, at a June 2003
meeting with George and Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen, George
said that ``God would tell me, `George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq
....' And I did."
I'm wondering, dear God, did you really tell George to invade Iraq? I
mean, there are lots of your children getting killed there - Americans
as well as Iraqis, and Christians as well as Jews, and Muslims as well
as Catholics - and, well, lots of folks.
George's people have denied he meant you literally spoke to him in a
Noah-build-me-an-ark kind of way. They say George meant it in a
figurative sense.
So maybe it was all one big misunderstanding. But the thing is, dear
God, when we have a president who makes his religion so public, it
brings into focus the whole reason for the separation of church and
state. Granted, you'd probably say you should be included in all
things, but when you look at the results of the intertwining of
religion and government, it's got to leave you shaking.
Consider how easy it is for people to evade responsibility when they
can say, ``God made me do it." Just consider the recent things George
could place upon you.
Invading Iraq: ``God made me do it."
Telling the country FEMA director Michael Brown was doing a good job
handling the New Orleans crisis while, excuse the expression, all hell
was breaking loose: ``God made me do it."
Picking your friend and personal lawyer Harriet Miers as a nominee for
the Supreme Court: ``God made me do it."
So I'm wondering, dear God, if you've been having one-on-one talks with
George, whether you might consider, well, not talking to him for a
while. I say this with some reservation. He certainly needs help, but
the danger is he might hear what he wants to hear.
Let's say, dear God, you awaken one morning and look down at the White
House, where George and Laura are having breakfast, and you notice a
plate missing. You say, ``George, go quickly grab a piece of china."
Next week we have troops on the ground in Beijing.
So, dear God, if you're talking to George, please stop.
Frank Harris III is chairman of the journalism department at Southern
Connecticut State university in New Haven. His column appears every
Monday. He can be reached at harrisf1@southernct.edu.
Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant
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