Once there lived a lawyer. He was raised to be a good citizen and a member of society. So when he felt the call to improve society, he left the bar and went to his new occupation. Matthew Hopkins named himself Witch-finder General.
In the Year of Our Lord 1644, he came upon a witch in his own neighborhood. Her mother had confessed and died for it. With some encouragement – Hopkins and his associates could be very persuasive- Elizabeth Clark, his neighbor, confessed that she was also a witch. She named, under his assistant’s efforts to enhance her memory, more witches. In that town of Manningtree, 19 “witches” were hung and four died in prison. Wherever an egg failed to hatch or a blemish appeared, a witch was suspected - and always found. Matthew Hopkins took on extra assistants as the evidence of friends and neighbors increased. In Chelmsford, in 1645, 36 witches were found. Nineteen were hanged. The other 17 were innocent. How did he know they were innocent? They drowned during their test. The test consisted of throwing them, bound, into water. If they drowned, they were innocent. If they floated, they were guilty, and hanged.
Business was booming. Hopkins and his cohort received 1 pounds sterling for each witch they discovered . It was a considerable sum at the time and the more witches he caught, the more he was paid. More tests were devised to trap the witches. And more witches were caught. Over two hundred were tortured and killed by The Witch-finder General.
The terror continued for a couple of years; everyone was afraid to denounce the Witch-finder General, lest they, too, would be declared witches and be found guilty. Then one good man stood up. Vicar John Guale, of Great Staughton, stood up and said “No more!” He published his sermon, declaring that the Witch-Finder General was an abomination.
The world waited for Hopkins and his lackeys to sweep down on John Guale, to destroy him and his claims – to prove that Guale, the vicar, was the Anti-Christ. In vain they waited but Matthew Hopkins realized that his time had passed and that there could be no answers to questions about his widespread perversion of law and the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. Men in all the towns started to realize that Hopkins was a terrorist, (not an overseas contingency operation) in the true sense of the word, and that he terrified others to gain money. Matthew Hopkins slinked back home a rich man and died soon after. The reign of terror was ended.
How does the history of the Witch-finder General apply to today’s sophisticated society?
1. The leftist radicals and politicians point at reasonable Americans who wish a scientific debate over global warming. True science – not the soft mushy “science” of social engineering and the philosophical error of America’s education community – is essential to properly direct and maximize our efforts to correct a CO2 problem, if it does exist and is man-made. Al Gore and his global warming crusade including the deluded politicians in the IPCC have become Witch-finder Generals. All who question are heretics and are to be destroyed. “The science is settled”, they say and think “and the skeptics are witches!” Gore has numerous lackeys who spread the global warming lies to even our children and enlist them in a witch-finding against their own parents. As the issue will not be remotely applicable for a hundred years, a little real science is well merited.
2. Bankers were forced by government regulation through Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to give non-recoverable loans (known as “liar loans” in England) to new homeowners who could not qualify for the loan. These were bundled with good loans and sold throughout the world as high quality loan packages. When the market could no longer hide the disaster of massive foreclosures, Obama, Congress and Barney Frank began screaming “Witch” as they pointed to the bankers. Congress had hearings at which they blasted the banks for making the very same bad loans that the government and Barack Obama’s ACORN had mandated. When the bailout money was used to pay executives a million dollars, the public was treated to a “witch trial” at the executives’ homes, all courtesy of Obama’s press machine. Screaming villagers showed up at the executives’ homes to spew their “anti-witch” tirade against innocent children of the innocent executives.
3. The auto companies also hit hard times and were approaching insolvency. Congress called the top three executives to educate the CEO’s on how to make cars. When the three executives flew to Washington in their corporate jets, the cry of the Witch-finders went up. “Guilty, My Lord!!!” Guilty of arrogance. The executives, cast as witches, got nothing but the boot, while the law was stood on its head to give GM to the UAW who had caused the initial mess and the US government which plans to complete the disaster. The millions of investors, people like me and my family who held shares for our retirement, were left with nothing, contrary to the laws of the land.
4. And now, to health care. Obama has said that 20 percent of the people cause 80 percent of health care costs and that by fixing that, Medicare can be expanded and become even cheaper. How, you might ask. Because every doctor or hospital or drug company that criticizes the new Obama proposal (which must be enacted right NOW!! according to the Democrats) will be labeled a witch and tortured far more than the terrorists in Gitmo. And everyone who points out that the provincial hospitalization systems in Canada are rationing care will be equally guilty of being a “witch” and condemned in the eyes of the press and the Obama public relations machine. There is only one way the Obama Administration can look at their own numbers – if you have a serious health problem, you will be forced to wait for treatment. This is true in Britain and in Canada. A diagnosis of cancer will require a wait of 3 to 6 months BEFORE chemo can begin. That is a death sentence for millions, just to keep the costs down. That is Obama’s plan. If you are sick now, perhaps registering as a Democrat might just ensure timely treatment. But I wouldn’t bet on it. Gitmo detainees will have preference.
So, here I stand in my pulpit, as did John Guale in those perilous times, and declare that it is Witch-finder General Obama who is the real witch: that the Witch-finder General must be stopped before we all face death by water, hanging, high taxes or slow medicine. I call on all Americans to face this threat with the strong hearts and courage that our nation has needed so many times in our past. This, too, shall pass if we tell it to go, begone, for we know now who you are and we know what lies you spread.
With thanks to John Gant.