by Loren Adams, 7 March 2010
Over the course of history, an evil dynasty overthrew the
democratic government of Liberstan. It began when the father, King George
Arbusto the First, ascended the throne expecting to be entitled to all the spoils
of political triumph: unchallenged authority over the subjects and peasantry,
unlimited, unilateral power over
the royal treasury, banishing the eating of broccoli in the White Palace because of his personal
pontifical tastes, waging unjust wars against lesser kingdoms, and no term
limits imposed on his stay on the throne.
However, Prince Bubba from the South of Liberstan
unexpectedly rose in popularity among commoners – inconveniently interrupting
King George Arbusto the First's abbreviated stay, a second term for which he
felt so stubbornly entitled.
Prince Bubba's reign contrasted Arbusto's for its prosperity
in all the land, balancing the kingdom's treasure, advancing science and
technology beyond imagination, and peace-making with all the neighboring
kingdoms. Liberstan was respected around the world.
The selected successor to Prince Bubba, unfortunately, was
not as charismatic as the Prince, though not as tainted through personal
scandal. And, although Prince Albert ended up winning more support among the
countrymen, he was cheated from the throne by King Arbusto the First's son,
King George Arbusto II, the ill-bred.
The son was more clever and devious than the First, his
father. He used fear of the people's god to put him in power. Churchmen, bribed
by Arbusto II, warned parishioners that any friend of Prince Bubba and/or
Prince Albert is a friend of Satan who was out to kill their babies, steal
their archery, and make delicate dandies of their men – all lies –
nevertheless successful in deceiving the masses. Of course, the end justifies
the means, they reasoned.
King George Arbusto II ascended the throne by first throwing
out any members of the royal court loyal to Prince Bubba. He immediately met
with his royal advisers to chart war plans against weaker nations and set the
kingdom on a course of imbalance, both within the country and without. King
George II also recruited the support of Bishops Faultfind, Faggart and Robbers
to propagandize and brainwash the subjects into believing the king to be a
"man of God." So, he faced little dissent to his made-up wars, torturing
the accused without legal due process, and tax-the-poor edicts – all this by paying
lip-service to hypocrites.
Naturally, the cult of peasants were compelled by Christian
conscience to adhere to God-inspired admonitions of the men-of-cloth who
supported wars against distant kingdoms thousands of miles away, because the
voice of God was speaking through these undeniably righteous men. Somehow the
masses failed to see the contradiction between what Jesus Christ taught and
Arbusto's clergy preached; for they placed a premium on less study and
education – including of the holy script for which they so valiantly
defended.
King George II (of the Arbusto Dynasty) became more and more
arrogant and belligerent, making pretexted war one kingdom after another until
the whole world lost respect for Liberstan. However, a few countrymen silently
had misgivings about his behavior despite his popularity surging for each
conflict. Yes, the polls mushroomed regardless of injustices committed and
unrepentant wholesale torture & massacre – which the royals casually
brushed off as simply "enhanced interrogation" and "collateral
damage."
So, the subjects of the Crown were deceived by the pious, pompous,
hypocritical bishops in the King's court. Absent the delusion of the masses,
King George Arbusto II would have been powerless; for they constituted his
base. Or he would have been committed to dungeon or tower for war-crimes
against all humanity.
The spoiled son wanted still more. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. No
words were better spoken.
For King George of the Arbusto Dynasty wanted not only
dominion over his immediate subjects, he wanted dominion over the entire world.
King George stated the only way to provide a "secure" Liberstan was
to conquer all nations and do so under the guise of pre-emptive strikes
justified by rumors that particular kingdoms were securing weapons of mass
destruction aimed at Liberstan. Fear was his ticket to trick the weak-minded.
King George, naturally, refused to show proof of such
weapons, and became irritated when even asked – decreeing all royal
intelligence be "classified" in order to hide the fact he lied.
All the kingdom jumped on the bandwagon, despite no proof to
the king's rantings, and felt the urgency to attack nations unprovoked because
the king claimed the citizens were facing "imminent danger." All the while, King George knew he was lying
out his ass to gain their support for world conquest, thereby accruing
ill-gotten mineral wealth from pillaged lands for cronies back home.
As weakly prophesied by Arbusto's critics, the kingdom's
treasure was abruptly depleted, for King George's economic policies finally
manifested, devastating the countrymen who turned the throne temporarily over
to a Prince O'bama.
So, with haste King George's Dynasty plotted an overthrow,
spreading lies and slander throughout the land, for they felt entitled to the
throne and believed no other could govern – although the Great Recession
and endless wars were their trophies.
Now, Prince O'bama sensed he could appease such wanton greed
for power by negotiating civilly with the former and compromising such noble
principles for which he had so strongly promised the people to enforce. The
“change” Prince O’bama so loudly proclaimed became an ugly word to those
subjects once filled with hope. Of course, the Dynasty laughed behind the
prince's back, for they realized their lies would eventually take root among
the unlearned religious countrymen who, in turn, would evict O'bama and his irk
from the throne. Short-lived would his reign be, because the subjects couldn't
see – nor did they want they want to be anything other than ill-informed
protestors who dump tea.
Lies are only more powerful than truths when liars are loud
and truth-tellers meek. Compromising conviction is like mixing potassium cyanide
with Grape Kool-Aid; the final solution is death. Being civil with the uncivil
is a sign of weakness – not to mention the initial misconception that
leads to failure.
Liberstan proceeded into a period of chaos and unrest. And
all the King's Army and all the King's Men couldn't put Liberstan back together
again, for their treasury was empty and army stretched thin.
And the crooked Arbusto Dynasty which initiated the nation's
spiraling downward fall didn't live happily ever after....
The End