And I came to pass

And it came to pass that I was swept away by an Angel. And the angel said unto me... LOOK! And I beheld a great plate of cheese... And the angel said unto me again... LOOK! And I beheld that there were refried beans under the cheese... And said I unto the angel, what meaneth these things?
2 And the angel said unto me...Behold, do not marvel that there are refried beans under the cheese, for they belongeth there, to delighteth the tongue, and increaseth the taste thereof; therefore take thee thy pleasure in thy beans and cheese, for as thou beholdeth them and tasteth them thou canst know for a surety that they are good.
3 Therefore, I ate thereof the plate of cheese and beans, and it was good. And I did wander off to go about my ways, but felt therein a feeling in my bowels.
4 And I came forth back unto the place where the Angel was and said... Mine bowls are full of cheese and beans, and I doth stinketh. Lo, I stinketh so much mine sheep doth run from me, therefore, I am troubled.
5 And the angel spake again to me and said, Didst not thou knowest that thy bowels must be full of mercy for thy fellow man and not of beans and cheese? Therefore go thy way, and purge thy bowels of this that stinketh, lest ye be cursed with sore afflictions. Go near no man, for if thou go nearest a man, thou will be cast out from his presence. Also go not near thy wife, until the time cometh when the stink shall pass, and thou shall be again esteemed highly of thy wife.
6 And it came to pass that I did not heed the Angel. Therefore I went unto my wife and did wave the covers upon her and she was wroth. And then in the village did I stand too near the fire and lo, mine stink did flame, and the flame arose with a great blue light, and mine hair was burned. And thus I was sorely afflicted because I did not heed the words of the Angel. Therefore again I came unto the place where the Angel first spoke to me and I was troubled. And I began to murmur against the plate of cheese and the refried beans therein.
7 And it came to pass that I did stand upon the place where the Angel first showed the plate of cheese unto me for the space of two days. And after two days I did not hear again from the angel. Therefore, I sat down and waited for the Angel to again appear. And I did offer burnt offerings of blue flame, and did murmer and mumble and twiddle mine hair.
8 And it came to pass that for the space of three days did I wait for the angel to appear again. And lo, no angel did appear unto me. And mine fingers were sorely afflicted from the twiddeling of mine hair therein. Therefore I did gird up mine loins and I did go unto the Burger King and did no longer think of cheese and beans. And mine heart was saddened for the passing of wind was pleasurable. Therefore I did eat of burger and bun and thought no more of the angel and his plate of cheese and beans.
9 And again, a week did pass, and the memory of the cheese plate did linger with me. And on that thursday, I beheld the Angel of light again, and he didst comfort me. And I saw before me the plate of beans and cheese again, and the angel said 'eat.' But I said unto the angel 'Not so, for if I eat, I shall stinketh.'
10 And the angel said unto me again, 'Eat. For as thou eatest, it shall be pleasant to thy taste. But in thy belly, it shall turn bitter.' And I headed the Angel, and I did eat. And It was sweet and pleasant in my mouth, but in my belly, it was bitter.
11 And as I sat upon my chair, a rumbling exclaimed forth from my belly. And I didst run with all my might, that I might relieve myself of the bitterness in my stomach. And I sayeth unto myself 'Woe is me. For as I eateth the beans and the cheese, and as it was pleasant to the taste, now it is bitter in my belly and must pass through the drough.'
12 And I resolved, from that time forth, to visit Burger King on Thursday and leave the evil of the cheese plate.

This Sounds Familiar

A long time ago, a series called "The Twilight Zone" broadcast a riveting episode entitled "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street."
In brief: a meteor sparks rumors of an invasion by extra-terrestrials disguised as humans. The electricity goes out. A neighbor pleads for calm. Suddenly his car -- and only his car -- starts. Someone suggests he must be the alien. Then another man's lights go on. As charges and suspicion and panic overtake the street, guns are inevitably produced. An "alien" is shot -- but he turns out to be just another neighbor, returning from going for help. The camera pulls back to a near-by hill, where two extra-terrestrials are seen manipulating a small device that can jam electricity. The veteran tells his novice that there's no need to actually attack, that you just turn off a few of the human machines and then, "they pick the most dangerous enemy they can find, and it's themselves."
And then, in perhaps his finest piece of writing, Rod Serling sums it up with words of remarkable prescience, given where we find ourselves tonight: "The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices, to be found only in the minds of men.
"For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy, and a thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own -- for the children, and the children yet unborn."