Arriving back in the UK yesterday after a couple of weeks absence, I bought the Guardian, wherein I found a piece of supposed satire by Terry (used to be quite funny) Jones, headlined 'George, this is God'. It purports to be a dialogue between you know who and you know who.
Here is an extract:
"I want you to stop this Iraq thing, George." "But you told me to do it, God!" "No, I didn't, George. Do you really think I want you to unleash this bloodshed on other human beings?" "But they're Muslims! They don't believe in You, God!" "But George, they do. Jews, Christians and Muslims all worship the same Me! Didn't you do comparative theology at school, George?" "No, of course not! You think I'm some sort of dope-headed, liberal faggot-lover?"
and so on and so on. With all the subtlety of a Steve Bell cartoon, this painful exercise lumbers to its inevitable conclusion. If you really want to read the rest, it's here. God knows there's plenty to satirise about George Bush (after all, he created him). Countless American columnists satirise him every day, but for satire to work, the target has to be recognisable. It seems like Terry Jones, lacking other raw materials, set about building a giant straw man for bonfire night and got carried away.
I spent much of my youth having to listen to the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation and reading the Rhodesia Herald – one reason why I retain an affection for short-wave radios – and I can tell the difference between satire and putrescent garbage. I knew satire. Satire was a friend of mine. And this is no satire. Nul points.