Waco

I may be slow, but I get there in the end.

’Twas a government of, by and for
Patriots paid for at Lex and Concord
Until atheism merged
With the Leftism urge
Upon people the Federals warred

I watched the first episode of this and then a few minutes of the second. I’m surprised that Netflix offers a series that isn’t total crap. This is pretty good so far. It’s early, but you can tell this isn’t made by goofballs.

Before analyzing this, it’s best to state a principle first so that I don’t muddle my way to any conclusions that were already waiting in the wings:

• The Federal government (not the Constitution) is illegitimate as it no longer relies heavily enough upon the consent of the governed and is highly extra-Constitutional.

The real PR problem is that most of the news events, or the portrayal of anti-government types in TV series such as this, portray anyone opposed to government’s overreaches as wackos. And I’m not saying there aren’t wackos out there. But I consider it an entirely legitimate position that the Federal government has traveled far past the consent of the governed and needs to be reigned in. I also consider it a moral position to peacefully (at this point) oppose its diktats. (And those of the individual states as we’re seeing right now in this illegal crackdown based on ramp-up fears of what will likely turn out to be an average-to-severe flu.)

That said, oh boy, what an interesting look inside both the David Koresh cult and the FBI/ATF cult.

I like the FBI negotiator character. He warns his bosses about the militarizing of the FBI. He basically says, “If you have all that hardware, you’re going to use it, drowning out any less violent methods that are available.”

He’s right, of course. I think this series is based on this guy’s book. But I was unaware that anyone in the FBI had voiced this concern.

And there’s little doubt that the ATF looks like a bunch of clowns and indeed should be de-funded. At first glance, anyway. And the way this series presents it, the ATF is very much looking forward to a confrontation at Waco as a way to burnish their public image, especially after their debacle at Ruby Ridge. They even have a c-word public relations expert (reminds me of Whitmer) in the loop at the top all ready in regards to taking advantage of a hopeful photo op of ATF agents rescuing children from the religious nuts.

At play here are at least three things that I can see offhand: The institutional hostility against religion (these guys would have raided the Puritan villages); a desire to beat-back any competitor to their power (it really freaks them out if someone is well-armed, even if the guns are legally acquired); and in the short term here, they’re looking for a public relations triumph.

“Deep State” is another word for the cult of government and all the ills these power-mongers have. We can discuss more on that later but I think we’re all fairly of the same mind about that.

Regarding David Koresh, the first thing that comes to mind is: How can I start a cult whereby everyone else has to hand over their women so that I can have sex with them?

Honestly, that’s not what I want. But Koresh had to have had P.T. Barnum’s notion in mind: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Granted, we can debate his sincerity. Perhaps he really was receiving special guidance from God. Maybe he was a prophet of some type. Still, how convenient to have a revelation that allows you to have several wives and to have sex with the wives of everyone else — while all the men are to remain celibate. Nice work if you can get it.

As Dennis Prager might note, one of the primary things the Torah revealed was a god who was not a mere fertility God as so many are. Many cults and religions before (and after) had sex as central to God’s very being. But in the Torah, we have a God who is, for all intents and purposes, sexless.

So it’s a pretty good sign that if someone’s “revelation” is basically to enact his own personal sex cult, you can be pretty sure it’s not bible-based. But, again, nice work if you can get it. It’s amazing how people fall for these con artists. I thought most interesting was the story of the (doctor?) who was making a good living and had a house on the beach in Hawaii with his wife. But as he announced in a group meeting, still it was not enough…so he somehow joins up with Koresh.

I’ll grant you that Koresh is a smooth talker. Would any of us here fall for that? Maybe. We are all wounded in some way and if approached in a seemingly sympathetic way, I think it’s possible. Maybe (for sake of argument, anyway). But what separates the sincere religious believer from the overt huckster from sincere (if destructive) cult-mindedness? I’m going to assume, for this latter of the three categories, that it is indeed possible for one to be sincere even if extremely cult-minded and creepy.

I don’t know. A lot of people fall for a lot of things. I don’t think the antidote is unbelief (lest you fall into that Chesterton truism of “Not believing in god means you’ll believe in anything”). And I can guarantee you that 99.5% of Netflix viewers who watch this will take home the message that all religious belief is fundamentally flawed and is only a degree of separation from David Koresh.

I disagree with that, obviously. But I think in a show such as this, David Koresh did no favors for reasonable believers just as the FBI/ATF did no favors for limited, Constitutional government.

Looking forward to watching more and hoping this holds together. Home viewers can get my commentary early by signing up to: yourdaughtersandwiveshavingsexwithbrad@niceworkifyoucanget it.com. We'll soon be publishing an email newsletter as well for a nominal fee.

Brad and I are on the same page regarding Waco and Netflix. If I were looking for producers to give a fair view of any religious group, the good folks at Netflix would be far down the list.

Koresh, like all charismatic leaders, regardless of religious affiliation, or lack of one, does exploit those in the group. The form of exploration varies, for some it is sex, for others money, or power. For Koresh the goal is his idea of heaven, for FBI and ATF it is power. I think the paths of of Koresh and the leadership of the federal agencies are complementary and the series subtly draws this comparison out. The series has a greater ring of truth than the official account by the Feds. Perhaps, I just want to give Koresh a break, but the initial raid by ATF and the subsequent final assault by FBI were designed to dramatically over react to the situation.

I know this much, I would have been just as puzzled as Koresh seemed to be that first day before the shooting started, but once it started I would have responded the same.