The Sheikh

At a time when the world thinks
the worst of the land that was
the landscape of the Bible,
the sheikh decides to
bestow on us a charitable
donation greater than any other
ever made in history. No bullshit,
no empty promises, no rhetoric,
just, "Let's work together on
making a better world. Here's
ten billion dollars to get us
started." The man wants nothing
more than education for all;
knowing that ignorance and
poverty are the main culprits
in the bastardization of holy
books we see all around us,
he desires simply that people
know and understand and
read. So that they can say to
their Imam on occasion,
"Wait, that's not what it says
in the Qur'an." Or, "Father,
that's not the way I happen
to interpret that particular
passage of the Bible you quote."
As such, we must understand
the sheikh to be a minion from
the next epoch, the era of
cooperation and action
many of us have been waiting for.
This particular massive bit
of philanthropy will soon be
seen as the first great action
which ushered in a final
age of enlightenment. Let's
not fuck it up.

(2007)