walrus51

I vaguely remember the tale of Faust, a successful scholar who increasingly became bored with his daily life.  In the story, Faust made a deal with Mephistopheles, the agent for Satan, exchanging his soul for access to greater knowledge, pleasures of the flesh and many other previously unattainable treasures.

Since its origin in the 16^th century, Faust’s tale has been used as the base for many written, film and musical works.  The meaning of the word and name has been reinterpreted through the ages.  Faust — and the adjective Faustian — is frequently used to describe an arrangement where an ambitious person surrenders moral integrity in order to achieve power and success: the proverbial “deal with the Devil“.

Back in the day, it was generally thought that the person who had made a pact with Satan also promised to kill children or consecrate them to the Devil at the moment of birth; have sexual relations with demons; and sometimes produce children from their trysts with the succubus.

Here we are – late November 2012 — well on our way into the 21^st century.  What relevance could the Faustian story have today?

Satan is watching very closely as we approach the Fiscal Cliff.  Satan knows the House Republicans virtually all signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” with Americans for Tax Reform.

Grover Norquist (a.k.a. Mephistopheles) frequently appears – out of nowhere – to remind these elected officials of their pact (pledge) which commits legislators and candidates for office to oppose tax increases.  At the House level, signers pledge to:

(1)    Oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and

(2)    Oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.

I wondered, “…who is this Grover Norquist, and how is it that he has control over so many of our elected officials?”

I looked him up.  Popular sources tell us that he was born in the mid 1950’s in Sharon, PA, grew up in Weston, MA; earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard – just a typical American citizen.

However, recent information about his background reveals that Mr. Norquist was actually born in 1561 in the Swedish province of Halsingland.  His family was ostracized as a result of religious and political unrest, and the family was forced to move to Germany in 1567, where they were settled into temporary quarters in the City of Hamburg, ultimately permanently relocated in 1568 to Nuremberg in southern Germany.  Nuremberg was the location of Faust’s story, putting Grover Norquist in very close proximity to both Faust and to the real dark side, Mephistopheles himself.

More alarming:  There seems to be little to no information available about Grover Norquist from 1568 to 1956, leaving a great deal of question about his activities over that almost 400 year gap.

Whether or not he is a direct agent of Satan, Grover Norquist’s power over a majority of elected officials ought to raise our interest.

Instead, our Congress, our FBI and our CIA seem to be singularly focused on a retired general who slipped into bed with a beautiful and intelligent woman.

I didn’t vote for Grover Norquist.  Best I know, none of us voted for Grover Norquist.  Why are we letting him commandeer the strings which control the elected officials who are supposed to guide our nation to optimum outcomes?

Shouldn’t we all be enraged that Grover Norquist – who, at best is a 16^th century Faustian character – has somehow taken over the moral compass of America?

Shouldn’t we be worried that some of our highly ambitious elected officials in Washington may have signed a “deal with the Devil” where they surrendered their moral integrity in order to achieve power and success?

Shouldn’t we be worried that the elected officials who made their pact with Satan also promised to kill children or consecrate them to the Devil at the moment of birth; have sexual relations with demons; and sometimes produce children from their trysts with the succubus?