As a young person, born the "son of a preacher man", I often had dealings with "same belief" friends of my parents, from the USA, who apparantly had come to UK to convert the British sinners. This took the shape of doing a tour of the UK, welcomed fervently in each location, and terminating in London, where they stayed with my parents, finished off the work I had already seen in Scotland and the North of England, which means that they ate us out of house and home, and in particular used up, with frivolity, the whole families meat ration, before taking their vitamin pills. Rare indeed were the occasions that they found themselves in certain areas, like the Gorbals in Glasgow, or the dock areas of Liverpool, or the East end of London (still suffering from bomb damage),Ireland was strictly "off-limit" as dangerous and Catholic! Not bad, a guided, prepared, tour - all paid - food and drink, bed and entertainement paid for.They repayed all this by screaming, at least once a week, in some church building ( and a lot more often in MY house) things about the Europe/Arab/Jewish/Communist world (basically everywhere outside of the USA) which had nothing more to expect than the 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse. These ravings were, within their small circle, received with enormous applause and many heartfelt "amens" and "praise the lords"- "Lord, may the latter days come" etc........
Imagine, even then, some foreigner (or "alien" as they call them over there) standing up ANYWHERE in the USA and screaming the same poutings! What would happen to them? But the Brits loved it, and my meat ration preceeded the vitamin pills. Didn't matter, I pinched my share the evening before (even stewing steak was fryable at the time) and the rhubarb from the garden, stewed, and with a little stolen sugar, was my staple diat!
NOW, of course, one doesn't hear a great deal of this fervency, maybe because some people are reflecting on what these 4 horses and horsemen represent - water (floods), fire, war,disease, pestilence etc, etc., and they are unable to come to terms with the fact that all these things are present in their own country, plus a lot more undesirable things (like MacDonald's.)
The "latter days" are evidently in full flow in their own country - but I don't hear them jubilating!
The strange thing is that I don't hear any comments from the Arab/Jewish/Communist world to make them aware of the fact. No more comments from anyone about fire and brimstone!
Wherever an American goes, he seems to drag the horsemen with him, but he still has his vitamin pills against AIDS in his baggage.
Gone are the meaty days of long ago, the lean years have broken into their routine, and
converting the heathen has been replaced by "look after number 1 first".
Ironic but correct. The permanent non-respect of other countries way of living, and the permanent "we are the World's Police - all you have to do is be like us" has finally been repaid.
Incidentally, the few of these people who I have seen in later life, near death, were not shouting slogans like "Praise God, I'm coming home" but more "Why me- Oh dear Lord - Why me?"
Now, I'm not writing this to upset, annoy or otherwise irritate Americans, or the USA, where I have some members of my own family, I'm writing it because it is true, and to show my discontent at being born into an age, and a family, who lost no time in telling you that "you're in the latter days" so shut up, and get converted!
I never did get converted, because as an old Highlander, I knew this was my last of those 7 lives, and at the end of my roughly 490 years, I would thankfully shout:
" McGregor - I'm coming - Put the kettle on"
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