The Devil's Workshop: Michael Cohen, Donald J. Trump, and Redemption

"Woe is me for I am an unclean man and I live in the midst of an unclean people and I have seen the Lord of Hosts, High up as His Train filled the Temple!" — Isaiah

Lon Clay Hill
Miramar, Florida, USA
[11 March 2019]

A Spiritual-Political Discussion-and-Argument which begins with metaphors.
In the Harbor: Michael struggles to keep from drowning

When Michael finally realized that the "Family"-supplied air tube had actually ensnared him with an ever-diminishing oxygen supply and inevitable asphyxiation as he was performing his mission in some of the deepest and darkest waters of the remarkable New York harbor, he immediately tore the tube away and sought to turn-and-return his body towards the surface which lay high above his landformed body. Those of you who have seen action movies where even those with superhuman strength must struggle to escape the physical and spiritual schackles which confront and tempt even the greatest of our heroes may be able to imagine better than I how Michael struggled. As he first realized that his salvation lay high above him he began to strive — as he had never striven since he had burst from his mother's womb — to reach the surface where he could once again engulf the life sustaining air. I can only really tell you that it was difficult — desperately difficult. I can also offer you a few words which may suggest the mood and the travail with which his arms flailed, his legs kicked, his torso twisted, and his eyes sought the dim lights which would lead him to temporary release. And, I must also add that once he had begun to seek the surface he was immediately bedeviled by the realization that his Family-supplied face mask was making the already dark waters even more murkier and muddled. So within seconds he had first pulled out the tube and torn off the mask — and late at nite he found himself in waters polluted by a filth that would not only make clean water dirty, but would make even the most polluted waters even darker.

Additional Problems: Sewage from the Family's Gilded Tower makes the already Dark Waters murkier and even darker…

You see, Michael knew that in the harbor — and not far from his family-supplied mission yacht — there were shoals near a dimly lit "Statue Liberté where he might repair for a temporary respite in his journey. However, there were other lights — including lights from a Golden Tower — which would confuse and distract him briefly as he strove upward into the light and toward the nearest shoals of refuge. The Golden Tower (or, more accurately, the Gilded Tower) was indeed covered with a microscopically thin layer of pure Gold (element #79) which would shimmer even on the darkest moonless nites and during the worst of blackouts. In addition to its shimmering exterior within the Gilded Tower were some remarkable elevators, escalators, and other more expensive human artifacts — but, unbeknown or unrecognized by most, the bulk of the Tower is made almost entirely from fine fibers of Camel's Dung. Indeed, this Camel's Dung spontaneously breaks down at somewhat unpredictable rates and is, in fact, responsible for most of the dark waste or filth that was making the dark waters around Michael so incredibly murky. The waste is actually transported from the Tower's basement out into the harbor in large new Tungsten-ceramic Pipes that have — so far — experienced no leakages or breaks and delivered the waste directly into the waters in twelve dispersed pipes which enter the water approximately 50 meters below sea level. However, the most important finding I can report to you is this: The often whispered rumors that a lost child can be found inside the Tower are not rumors!! It is true — a lost child is indeed within the Tower. It turns out that this lost child resides in the soul of a tall, ambitious, crafty, foolish and, unfortunately, somewhat senile old man named Donald J. Trump. It is, you see, this Donald Trump who had sent Michael on his — we now see — Mission Impossible.

So much for the particulars. For a moment we leave Michael and the deep, dark New York Harbor— he has actually reached the shoals of the small island with it small statue and he has made some important steps to reconnect with his family, his honor, his nation, and even — to some extent — within his own soul.

An outside perspective:

Michael cannot undo most of the damage he has done to his family, his friends, his family, strangers, and to his own reputation. However, he is now helping to unmask some of the damages done by the President and his Political Allies in the Tower, in Washington and thruout the Land. Undoing and repairing those damages by these groups — and any misdeeds by his political opposition — will be a task for the rest of us.

We return to the Harbor and the Observers in a nearby Ship of State:

While Michael has finally approached the shoals of a small island, we must turn to a few of those participating observers who are closest to the scene of action. We look first in a small group hosted by a nearby yacht, a small ship of state.

Looking thru what they believe are protected windows which allow them to look with satisfaction upon Michael's struggles are the most prominent of the Family's political supporters. This collection of (1) ideologues, (2) ambitious politicians, and (3) unusually rapacious capitalists who may see a few or even many of the Don's follies. However, if the Donald perchance fails, they will — they believe — be able to bail out of their privileged chambers. Unfortunately, they do not realize that their protective windows are in fact a peculiarly transparent form of camel's dung which has made invisible both (1) the raging fires which are beginning to ignite inside the waste flowing from the Tower and (2) aggregates of hardened-and-frozen debris created by the fall of gutted buildings and gutted dreams now sliding silently into the Harbor as the bills for their (Faustian) bargains with the devil come due. In any case, whether the cause is greed, hubris, ambition, or revenge and whether the end is accompanied by fire or ice, these contemporary self-blinded men and women will be as powerless as those wealthy men and women who proudly rode blindly into death after purchasing their first class steerage upon the Unsinkable Titanic. …

A few religious leaders — the Caiaphas-Billy Graham, Jr. coterie — are also watching from a Long Island Hillock in a small building with at Secret Gateway to Hell

A more important set of witnesses have been watching these events from a small and somewhat distant hillock across the Harbor on Long Island.  These are "religious" supporters in the "Caiaphas-Billy Graham, Jr." coterie. These ladies and gentlemen like to remain close to the corridors of power — and, while they, individually, are often quite wealthy — their actual "spiritual" temptation is quite distinct. They would like to trade in their stated convictions for a token which many of the faithful believe would confirm their self image as "good people" or, even, "morally superior people". Indeed, among the Christians in this group it is sometimes whispered that they will be able to sit next to Saint Peter himself!! This group, of course, has deep — but ever shifting — "roots". Two and three millennia ago they would have been seen blessing human sacrifice, the stoning of prophets, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the burning of Christians. Today, they have different targets — and some unusual alliances. In the United States they are mostly affiliated with certain Christians who call themselves evangelists. Others in their group appear to believe that Muslims are lower than the lowest untouchables. A few of them, of course, have gotten very mixed up about the relationship between the cross of Christ and the "right" to purchase and sell a firearm, a machine gun, or an AK-47. What they have in common, however, is the belief that they themselves are good and entitled to the full panoply of rights of good citizens and that those who are dispossessed of such rights are "undeserving" of such privileges. Unfortunately, these religious hypocrites are about as close to hell as we humans can be — and most of us are already much too close for self-satisfied comfort. The thin floor of their den of self-congratulation is an abyss which is deeper than the deepest trenches of the ocean. It is indeed one of the most direct of all the many roads which can serve as a Gateway to Hell.

Returning to Michael and the rest of us.

So Michael bestirs himself while those who reside in the Gilded Tower, the Ship of State, the Den of Hypocrites, and virtually all the rest of us seek to find some way to make our selves better than him. But that is not our task.

Dropping the metaphors.

I do not believe that Michael has completed his journey to recover his honor and his soul. Indeed, as far as I can see I know that I myself have far too far to go to spend my time comparing myself to Michael or to his chief financial and immoral supporter of the past decade, Donald John Trump. Of course, some of Donald's lies and acts must be openly opposed, but the strength of Donald is rooted in moral failures that are much deeper than the misdeeds of the Donald and the blindness of his supporters. The particular Hell into which the evangelists have stepped will not last — lies do not last forever even if they may be powerful for years and even Centuries. And Michael's Hell, Donald's Hell, the hypocrites' Hell and the Hell of any individual — such as you, the reader, or I, the author — is a burden which is carried by the all of us. According to Scripture the most important evangelist in Christian history, Paul of Tarsus, was — before he became a spreader of "the good news" of what we now call Christianity — a zealot who was involved in the murder of Stephen and, perhaps, other followers of the crucified Nazarene.

I rejoice that Michael has taken the first steps of reclaiming his soul — even if a major part of his motivation was his simple realization that the Donald was almost totally bereft of the loyalty which is sometimes found among Godfathers and Strongmen and that he, Michael Cohen, was simply on his own. Many of us make better decisions after we have been punished harshly for our own foolish misdeeds. This is my belief. I believe that those fakers who would support the self-interested love of their own group — religious, economic, political, or social — into professed faithfulness to God, Allah, Truth, Nature, the Force or any other name they would apply to the power that sustains us all — are already in a hell of their own making. They are not beyond the reach of God's love and all the rest of us will in various ways have to share in the pains of their redemption — whether and if we, too, are adding our own faggots are to the fire. And, if and when others come to power and they too will face similar promises and temptations…

But, if you have got this far, I have made my point. You, the reader, must make your own determinations. What I add next are simply my own musing as I try to understand better this unexpected moral-political-spiritual-social thicket into which my country has stumbled even as I am myself coming towards the end of my days upon this small planet within a marvelous universe where most mornings I can still see a few planets and other much more distant stars on my morning walks.

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Notes:
The Quote from Isaiah:
The "translation" is mostly from Isaiah Chapter 6: verse 5 with a few words from verse 1. There are many translations, Christian and Jewish, old and new….  I would presume that all or almost all translations are much better and/or more complete than mine. I do not read Hebrew.  I have chosen instead to be guided mostly from what I remember from over 5 decades ago when I first encountered Isaiah. The memory of that encounter stays with me these many years hence as (1) children are placed in cages bought by taxes that I and others have paid in taxes and (2) crowds and individuals, including may children, are murdered by guns bought in a country where many say that they can share two masters: an extreme love for both guns and their devotion to God.

THE GENERAL APPROACH.

There are dimensions of our lives which are deeper than our logical minds and deeper than even our consciousness. Poetry, parable, and music often can express these dimension better than our more conventional speech or writing. I am not a poet — but like all humans — I have a poetic dimension of some minimal nature. So, I have proposed some metaphors. Even an idiot may be a witness as William Faulkner demonstrated in The Sound and the Fury.

Sinking of the Titanic and Ships of State.

Unfortunately, an even larger portion of the poorer passages plunged into the darkness of the earth's coldest waters on the 15th of April 1912. And, unless the Almighty stays his hand, the sinking of this particular contemporary ship of state is likely to bring a large number of unwitting, innocent, and other humans and fellow creatures along with them.

Challenging Nature

While today, the United States is a leader in creating climate change, the problem is much deeper than that. When discussing climate change it seems important to me to recognize that wordless birds, fish, and insects recognize climate change — in many places they have already changed their migratory patterns by two-three weeks and/or by two-three hundreds of kilometers. The problem for human's is that that humans can deceive both themselves and each other. Climate change is — of course — a quite difficult challenge and is bringing out the worst and best in our species. There are, of course, teachable moments — but one should, I think, be aware that there are times — whether a disaster comes from human action, from nature, or from God or wherever you, the reader, wish to assign the cause — you must take what you have and leave your trust in whatever is deepest and true inside the deepest part of your mind-or soul-or-self. The only enemy, I believe, is despair. We have been thrust into one of those profound revolutions in human history where, as usual, our temptation to utilize our newest discoveries for the most foolish, temporary, and selfish reasons is upon us and we must resist that temptation.

Forewarning: A Longer Exposition on the Question of Religious Hypocrisy

I would like to stress that some people who know me best think that I seemed predisposed to be a little more dramatic or hyperbolic than I really need to be.

The Longer Exposition (Argument) — Version #1

A more important set of witnesses have been watching these events from a small and somewhat distant hillock across the Harbor on Long Island.  These are "religious" supporters in the "Caiaphas-Billy Graham, Jr." coterie. These ladies and gentlemen like to remain close to the corridors of power — and, while they, individually, are often quite wealthy — their actual "spiritual" temptation is quite distinct. They would like to trade in their stated convictions for a token which many of the faithful believe would confirm their self image as "good people" or, even, "morally superior people". Indeed, the seriousness with which these self-described "faithful" pursue their beliefs suggests that some of the leaders and some of their loudest supporters 'imagine' that this political support will virtually guarantee themselves front seats in Heaven itself. Indeed, among the Christians in this group it is sometimes whispered that they will be able to sit next to Saint Peter himself!! This group, of course, has deep — but ever shifting — "roots". Two and three millennia ago they would have been seen blessing human sacrifice, the stoning of prophets, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the burning of Christians. Today, they have different targets — and some unusual alliances. In the United States they are mostly affiliated with certain Christians who call themselves "evangelists" and sometimes target the "crime" of abortion to the exclusion of all other deeds, misdeeds, or crimes. Others in their group appear to believe that Palestinians or Iranian or Muslims are lower than the lowest untouchables. A few of them, of course, have gotten very mixed up about the relationship between the cross of Christ and the "right" to purchase a firearm, a machine gun, or an AK-47. What they have in common, however, is the belief that they themselves are good and entitled to the full panoply of rights of good citizens and that those who are dispossessed of such rights are undeserving of such privileges. They are, of course, in these beliefs not only misguided — Jesus of Nazareth asked "Why call me good? — only God is good!" — they are about as close to hell as we humans can be. The thin floor of their den of self-congratulation is an abyss which is deeper than the deepest trenches of the ocean. Camel dung and Moral filth has many forms. And it is indeed a Gateway to Hell.

The Longer Exposition (Argument) — Version #2

A more important set of witnesses have been watching these events from a small and somewhat distant hillock across the Harbor on Long Island.  These are "religious" supporters in the "Caiaphas-Billy Graham, Jr." coterie. These ladies and gentlemen like to remain close to the corridors of power — and, while they, individually, are often quite wealthy — their actual "spiritual" temptation is quite distinct. They would like to trade in their stated convictions for a token which many of the faithful believe would confirm their self image as "good people" or, even, "morally superior people". Indeed, the seriousness with which these self-described "faithful" pursue their beliefs suggests that they 'imagine' that this political support will virtually guarantee themselves front seats in Heaven itself. Whatever, the motivation of these leaders and their followers, they tend to accept a political token — and then give their political support to leaders will commit crimes and misdeeds — whether openly or secretly — that are directly counter to their own stated credos and, most especially, the leaders who founded their movements. In the past — keeping here within the Judaeo-Christian traditions —their foreparents' and ancestral misdeeds have included support for the stoning of prophets, the crucifixion of Jesus, the burning [at different times] of Christians, heretics, Jews, and gays. Keeping strictly within the traditions of British colonists and the United States, religious leaders and their followers have enthusiastically supported slavery and segregational peonage as consistent with the Will of God.

And, TODAY, in these "United States" some so-called or, better, self-described "evangelists" have consistently supported politicians — including the Donald of New York — who will (1) throw children in cages [they call it "patriotism"], (2) who will support the profits of reckless, shameful, utterly foolish, and murderous gun manufacturers [they call it "supporting liberty"], (3) support the disenfranchisements of the unpowerful in order to more firmly enable their own unearned privileges [they call it "preventing voter fraud"], and (4) and will look on in silence as God's earth is despoiled and in obeisance to willfully blind multinationals [characterized as the "blessing of economic liberty]. To be sure, outside of the United States and, to a much smaller extent within these United States, there are people and parties who commit their own collective and individual misdeeds. But, the historical record — including the texts of the New Covenant — tells us that Paul of Tarsus, a Jewish zealot, was involved in the murder of Stephen and, probably, various other followers of the deceased Jesus of Nazareth before he became the most effective proponent of the "good news" of Jesus's message. Paul, I believe, has spoken some of Western civilizations most enduring words. He stated that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female" and that "If I have not love I become a clanging cymbal." While our USA has its very incomplete and sometimes utterly hypocritical record, the statement that "all men are created equal" has been used to implement part of this principle and if we can say that "all humans are created equal" we may be able to move ahead more easily. Still, even the very transformed Paul was not always up to the task. Some of his words about the advantages of permanent chastity are not always helpful guidewords for most of us. But let's get to the Scripture's themselves.  In Matthew Jesus is quoted as saying that not all those who say "Lord, Lord" will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. For myself, I would never claim to be an expert about "Heaven" and I certainly would be disinclined to say that I am "better" or "worse" than anyone I have ever met — altho it is true that I, like you, do have a few talents [as well as blind spots] and that others clearly have skills and talents which I do not possess. But there is one thing I do believe. If your or my religion helps me or you to be a better person than I would otherwise be or if helps us to live in hope [instead of the despair of unfaced fears], I believe that is good. And I do not believe that any religion makes one better than anyone else and I certainly do not believe that any religion give you or me or anyone else special privileges that have any other design which do not directly or indirectly help us to serve others and live in peace. That is my belief and I believe that those fakers who would support the self-interested love of their own group — religious, economic, political, or social — into professes faithfulness to God, Allah, Truth, Nature, the Force or any other name they would apply to the power that sustains us all — are already in a hell of their own making. They are not beyond the reach of God's love and all the rest of us will in various ways have to share in the pains of their redemption. This applies whether and if we, too, are adding our own faggots to the fire. And, if and when others come to power, they will also face similar promises and temptations…