Uganda's Hitler

I just recently come to the conclusion that the truth is, even though we have made spectacular leaps in technology, medicine, economics and the like in the past century, Man has not changed a bit since the day the Lord decided to see what he could make with a pile of dirt. (I know, I know. I'm a little slow on the uptake). I recently watched a movie that confirmed that there are at least two things in this world that have never changed. The first is Presidential campaigns. And the second is that there has always been a Hitler.
Idi Amin Dada called himself the "last king of Scotland" because he believed that he was the greatest pacifier of the world and that, because he was a friend of the British Isles, they would ask him to come in and rule their land for them as well as his own. (At least, that's how they put it in the movies). He believed he was truly restoring his country, and he had so much ambition, he believed that when he was finished he could do the same for other counties. And so, as President Amin (Forest Whitaker) traveled through Uganda, he promised the people there that while he was in office he would change Uganda. He would start new clinics to help those with severe medical conditions and severe financial problems. There would be work and food for everyone. There would be no more war (after of course, he disposed of some minor parties that he believed wished him dead). In a nutshell, he seemed to be promising them that their land "should be fair and all her people one." (Sound like anyone you have heard lately?) And yet somehow we were surprised to find that within a few months things had not changed at all. That all the new President's vows were empty and all a big show and things were actually sliding back into the well rather than racing up the mountain.
(NOTE: I am not, at this juncture, by any means bashing our President or those running for the office. I merely think it ironic that all around the world those who come into power can promise us the same things and in the end the same thing happens every time (at least to some extent). To some degree some promises are dropped by the wayside in a state of brokenness. Some of those in office just do it in a much more pronounced and obvious way than others).
President Amin could sweat talk the people until the day he died, if he was given the chance. He would promise them a sugar coated Uganda with chocolate syrup and even one of those embalmed cherries on top. With his deep, almost musical, voice booming over the heads of unsuspecting crowds, he told them, "I am the General of the Ugandan Armies, but underneath the coat, I am just like you." No wonder he won them so fast! Not only did he promise them paradise on a gold platter, but he did it with a mellifluous voice and humility too! (Course, I'm a sucker for beautiful voices, so I guess I can't speak for everyone). Yet underneath the neatly tailored army uniform, trimmed with tassels and medals was not just another Ugandan, it was another Hitler.
A dear friend once told me that "words are medicine." They can be used to heal or they can be used to kill, if they are given in the wrong prescription at the wrong time. Both Hitler and Amin must have known that, because that is what they did. They used their words like a drug on their people to give them a patriotic high so to speak. But overtime, the people began to feel the effects as it wore off, and they couldn't make the drug work anymore. After time the drug stops working and you have to turn to something else. But, when the people won't take the drug anymore, that puts the distributer out of a job causing them to turn somewhere else (to be exiled or die as Hitler and Amin eventually were).
So, I guess the question is, when the world is faced with Hitlers and Amins (not forgetting the Stalins and the Castros or even the Nero's and the Mussolinis!), how many people do they have to kill before we can see through the sugar coating? Why do we only allow those who would destroy us have the gift of rhetoric? Should not the "art of speaking well" be also given to those who would use it for the well being of others?
The last question then becomes, are we fated to always be cursed with tyrants and murderers as our captains? And the answer is yes, as long as there is still Sin and Satan in this world. But there is a solution to all of this that is often overlooked. "Wherever there is injustice, you will find us. Wherever there is suffering, we'll be there. Wherever liberty is threatened, you will find.... " not the Three Amigos unfortunately. Some one much, much more helpful. Though the world be broken and smashed by Satan and his host of generals, there is always going to be Christ with is arms stretched wide.