by Neville Kennard, veteran preaching and practising capitalist

Throughout history the Tribal Chief and the Witch Doctor have found it beneficial to be on the same side. The Tribal Chief has the warriors and weapons and money, while the Witch Doctor has the hearts and souls of the tribe. Witch Doctors spin their magic, dispense their potions and weave fear; they can promise health and eternal happiness or threaten agonising death, eternal damnation. Tribal Chiefs promise security, abundance, happiness in the here and now — if you follow their plan. Together they are a powerful force.

For “Tribal Chief” these days read King, President, Prime Minister, or Party Chairman.

For “Witch Doctor” read Pope, Archbishop, Mullah, Green Guru or Global Warming Alarmist …. Whatever is the religion or belief or fear of the time.

Politics and Religion — they need each other. Politics is about living at the expense of others. A Religion is a Cult that has gained political acceptance.

The Spanish Inquisition and burning witches at the stake — they were women who the real “Witch Doctors” saw as a threat — kept these Witch Doctors of the day on top and on side with the Tribal Chiefs of the day.

Kings and Premiers don’t often go against the Witch Doctors. Mao Tse Tung and Joseph Stalin had Karl Marx and Frederick Engels and the religion of Communism. Tribal Chief Adolf Hitler dispensed the belief of his people being a “Chosen Race”, with some “inferior races” — Jews and Gypsies — to act as real-time devils. Pol Pot had behind him the religion of Communism and Witch Doctor “Anker” to dispense fear and hope to the people (mostly fear).

King Henry VIII of England didn’t like his Witch Doctor — the Pope — so he fired him and got a new one; it caused some confusion and discontent (Witch Doctors do have a certain hold) but at least the new one could be “local” and head up the Church of England — they formed a pretty good local duo —local Chief, local Witch Doctor.

American Presidents typically have a basket of religions and belief systems and convenient Witch Doctors — Christianity and Democratism are a couple. Australian Prime Ministers recently have had the religion of Global Warming/Climate Change with appropriate alarmist witch-doctors to support their cause (of a clean planet, higher taxation and more control).

President George Bush, a Christian, as well as having “God on His Side”, had Saddam Hussein, Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Al Qaeda devils on the other side; and “Making the World Safe for Democracy” as his cause and excuse for a war or two. There’s nothing like a war to get patriotic fervour going — but you have to win, otherwise the tribe will get restive. Governments like wars; the tribe doesn’t like a losing war. They can look for another Chief or Witch Doctor. President Barrack Obama seems to need some new Witch Doctors right now — the “change you can believe in” mantra is fading, Obama-Care is not credible and the wars are not going so well. The tribe may look for a new Chief and/or Witch Doctor.

The old religions are fading with their Witch Doctors so new ones are needed; the climate, the environment, threats of extinctions are available for a while. The old Tribal Chiefs pass their use-by dates too, but the next election gives some choices, and hey, the religion of Democracy is still alive and well so we have that to believe in, for the time being anyway. And the next Tribal Chief may bring us out of the Global Financial Crisis with some Economic Witch Doctors! Ben Bernanke is trying to replace Alan Greenspan as Economic Witch Doctor; he will have a tough time as Greenspan got a rails run for way too long and left poor Ben with a pile of debt and trouble.

I don’t like Tribal Chiefs or Witch Doctors or anyone telling me what to do with my life — in this life or the next.