I assume that most of us know the legend of Faust, the scholar who wished so much to impress Marguerite that he sold his soul to Mephistopheles to achieve the youthful good looks and charm to seduce her. More than one ending to the tale have been given and either he is freed through sacrifice by her or he is taken down to Hell for eternity.
Modern politics gives us a new version, where a candidate for the presidency of the USA wishes so to impress the voters that he has sold his soul to AIPAC. The interesting twist compared with the old legend is that he has a rival who has done exactly the same thing. In other words the modern Mephistopheles has tricked both into servitude when each is seeking the same prize which cannot be shared.
Unlike Marguerite, who was faithful and an educated young woman, the electorate in the USA is not only fickle but is also terribly ill-informed and thereby easily swayed. Each of our two would-be Fausts must now hope that he is the one who has benefited from any intervention which Mephistopheles may make.
The trouble is that a devil does not keep its part of any bargain.
We have also seen the battle of the preachers, in which each of these two hopefuls has had to distance himself from a rabid supposed pastor of his respective flock.
If it were not so serious, it looks to us (looking in from the outside) highly comic that obvious, and indeed notorious, High Priests of Mammon (further manifestations of Mephistopheles?) can ever persuade even their most gullible followers to vote for one suitor or the other. We have difficulties with such preachers, who seem to prefer the proclamation of fear and hatred to any message of peace and harmony, and this probably explains why they have so little influence outside the USA.
Perhaps the trick of getting both of these leading candidates to swear loyalty to the same foreign entity was excessively obvious, but this does not seem to be so, since neither has yet shown any signs of apologising to the electorate for his treachery, and of declaring some sort of willingness to put the genuine interests of his own country before those of its enemies.
The question which comes to my mind is to know how these candidates can square their oaths of loyalty to AIPAC with the duties incumbent on the holder of the post for which they are both striving, but then we are constantly being reminded that the USA has the best democracy that money can buy. This can only lead to total cynicism among the public, whether well or ill-informed, and the end of any chance of positive moves towards real democracy. For this situation to be overcome any buying of votes must finally be outlawed, and the lobbying of politicians very strictly regulated.
Today's manifestations of Mephistopheles seem far more open about what they intend than Faust's tempter, but they are just as dishonest and are no more likely to keep their part of any bargain. Each modern Faust would do better to offer an honest political programme if only the public would make it clear that it is not willing to believe in or vote for a candidate who promises treachery and refuses both freedom and democracy.
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