The last time I posted, I asked, "Which fairytale
character does our Chief Executive imitate?" This week I would like to
ask, "Which fairytale figures do too many of our representatives in Washington fail to
emulate?
I believe the answer lies in the American fairytale classic,
The Wizard of Oz. I reread Frank
Baum's book this past week, and for those of you who have never read it a first
time, I will say this is one of the few cases where a movie not only lives up
to the book, but possibly exceeds it—depending upon the strength of one's own
imagination to visualize the story. The 1939 movie captured all of the book's
original corniness. The short chapters make it a good read-aloud as a bedtime
story, but great literature it is not, except for the message. As a
character-building fable, The Wizard of Oz is very good indeed.
The Scarecrow, as you may remember, wanted brains. The book
resorts to a very bad pun, for in the end he receives "bran" new
brains as the cereal grain is substituted for his straw, along with a few pins
and needles to keep him "sharp." If only getting a brain was that
simple! In Isaiah 3:4, Jerusalem and Judah were
to lose their supply of brainpower when the Lord of Hosts proclaims, "I
will make mere lads their princes, And capricious children will rule over them."
Many of the behaviors we see in Washington
are synonymous with childish: irresponsible and self-indulgent.
The Tin Woodsman, who had once been a flesh and blood human
before his body parts were replaced with tin, wanted a heart. While he was
rusting away in the woods before Dorothy found him, he realized that the greatest
loss he had known was the loss of his heart. Matthew 24:12 says, "because
lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." Many who
are under oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"
have become lawless and seek their own agendas instead. Their love for people has grown cold.
The Cowardly Lion enters the story in a high-action scene.
With one blow of his paw he sent the straw man spinning over and over to the edge
of the road. He looked tough, but as soon as he met with some resistance his
true nature came out. Revelation 21:8 lists the cowardly as those whose "part
is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second
death." The faint-hearted who will
not stand up to champion what is right are allowing political correctness to
turn them away from the solid brick road and put the country on the pathway to
destruction.
Brains. Heart. Courage. All are lacking among our
leadership. But wait, there's more.
Dorothy had a virtuous quest too. Her dream was to return to America's
heartland. Kansas was her connection to home and family. Too many of our officials and too many members
of the media that represent them have no roots to the heartland. They have been
called the "Inside the Beltway Crowd," but it is not just a
geographical location. It is an idolatrous worldview on which they get drunk. They
become sorry sorcerers of manipulation, lawless abusers of power who deconstruct
rather than defend the Constitution.
No root. No courage. No heart. No brain. Weenie Wizards of Washington.
