Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.

 “If we are to be mothered, mother must know best. . . . In every age the men who want us under their thumb, if they have any sense, will put forward the particular pretension which the hopes and fears of that age render most potent. They ‘cash in.’ It has been magic, it has been Christianity. Now it will certainly be science. . . . Let us not be deceived by phrases about ‘Man taking charge of his own destiny.’ All that can really happen is that some men will take charge of the destiny of others. . . . The more completely we are planned the more powerful they will be... 

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. Their very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be ‘cured’ against one’s will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) , God in the Dock

Today, we have the worst of both worlds, living under the thumb of Robber Barons who are also wannabe omnipotent moral busybodies - all wrapped together with various other decrepit and overweening cultural and political centers of power, in a demented self-serving Oligarchy that torments us with it’s grotesque insufficiency.  JB

“So may the outward shows be least themselves:
The world is still deceived with ornament.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt,
But, being seasoned with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil? In religion,
What damned error, but some sober brow
Will bless it and approve it with a text,
Hiding the grossness with fair ornament?
There is no vice so simple but assumes
Some mark of virtue on his outward parts.”

William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

O God, have mercy on me,       

     for people are hounding me.       

     My foes attack me all day long. 

I am constantly hounded by those who slander me,                     

    and many are boldly attacking me. 

But when I am afraid,       

      I will put my trust in you. 

I praise God for what he has promised.       

       I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?       

      What can mere mortals do to me? 

They are always twisting what I say;       

        they spend their days plotting to harm me. 

They come together to spy on me—      

         watching my every step, eager to kill me. 

Don’t let them get away with their wickedness;       

         in your anger, O God, bring them down. 

 

You keep track of all my sorrows.

      You have collected all my tears in your bottle.       

       You have recorded each one in your book. 

My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.             

   This I know: God is on my side! 

I praise God for what he has promised;       

    yes, I praise the LORD for what he has promised. 

I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?       

     What can mere mortals do to me? 

I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,       

        and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help. 

For you have rescued me from death;       

         you have kept my feet from slipping. 

So now I can walk in your presence, O God,       

        in your life-giving light.

Psalm 56