I once chanced upon a program on Trinity Broadcasting Network - a cable/satellite channel chock-a-block with dispensationalists and out-and-out kooks like Benny Hinn - in which John Hagee was attempting to delineate, with the aid of charts and pictures (I was waiting for a felt board, but it didn't appear), the exact meaning of the Book of Revelations. As an exercise in biblical exegesis it was perhaps the most absurd thing I had ever seen. As an exercise in hilarity, however, it was exquisite. Trying to take this late-first century work of apocalyptic literature and turn it in to a series of predictions for our current state of affairs ended up being a mess, although I doubt Hagee understood that. No, his urgent, earnest pleas to give credence to his nonsense was far too transparent to be anything other than an honest belief that he was preaching nothing but the truth revealed to him and him alone.
It is easy to dismiss such ignorant claptrap, until one realizes the incredible social and political power a person like Hagee wields. Only then do we have to face the fact that our political life includes not just the great and powerful, but the ignorant and demented as well. Hagee's endorsement of John McCain, as Glenn Greenwald notes, should, had we a properly functioning press corps educated on matters of serious import, raise all sorts of red flags and force questions upon McCain that should at least make him uncomfortable. Alas and alack, not only will that not happen, McCain will prance around the country glad to have the endorsement of such a person as John Hagee.
I find it odd - although by now I shouldn't - that the ridiculous statements of Louis Farrakhan and the perfectly reasonable comments of some such as the pastor of Barack Obama's church in Chicago for some reason exist outside the pale of acceptability, while the truly awful, hate-filled ranting of Pat Robertson, and the bloody fantasies of John Hagee are perfectly acceptable. The former, I suppose suffer under the weight not only of not having money and therefor power, but also being black. The latter have money, access, influence, and are so white they are almost transparent.
If we were honest, such little factoids as these might actually be discussed, as would the Rev. Hagee's attempts to create a Classic Comics edition of Revelations for those not schooled in the intricacies of apocalyptic. Of course, they won't, any more than the anti-Semitism which exists at the root of his ironic, blind support for the state of Israel, or desire for military confrontation with Iran, for the free use of nuclear weapons as a tool to bring about the second coming of Christ, and all sorts of other foolish ideas. No, they'll just admire the hundreds who pack his church in Texas and his open checkbook and say, "Wow, he's important," rather than, "Wow, this guy's a war-mongering, hate-filled ignoramus. Why does John McCain want his support?"
Virtual Tin Cup
