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If I were the Devil

"If I were the devil â¦ If I were the Prince of Darkness, I'd want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I'd have a third of it's real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn't be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree - Thee. So

I'd set about however necessary to take over the United States

I'd subvert the churches first

- I'd begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent,

I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: 'Do as you please

.'

"

To the young, I would whisper that 'The Bible is a myth

I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around

. I would confide that

what's bad is good, and what's good is 'square

.' And the old,

I would teach to pray, after me, 'Our Father, which art in Washingtonâ¦

'

"And then I'd get organized.

I'd educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting

, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting.

I'd threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa

I'd pedal narcotics

to whom I could.

I'd sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction

I'd tranquilize the rest with pills

.

"If I were the devil

I'd soon have families that war with themselves

churches at war with themselves

, and

nations at war with themselves

; until each in its turn was consumed. And

with promises of higher ratings I'd have mesmerizing media fanning the flames

. If I were the devil

I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions

- just let those run wild, until before you knew it,

you'd have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door

.

"Within a decade

I'd have prisons overflowing

I'd have judges promoting pornography

- soon

I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress

. And in His own churches I would

substitute psychology for religion

, and

deify science

. I would

lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money

. If I were the devil

I'd make the symbols of Easter an egg

and the

symbol of Christmas a bottle

.

"If I were the devil

I'd take from those who have, and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious

. And what do you bet? I couldn't

get whole states to promote gambling as thee way to get rich

I would caution against extremes and hard work, in Patriotism, in moral conduct

. I would

convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned

, that swinging is more fun, that

what you see on TV is the way to be

And

thus I could undress you in public, and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure. In other words, if I were the devil I'd just keep right on doing on what he's doing. Paul Harvey, good day

."

- Paul Harvey 1965

Comments/Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGrWvrGDOXg

Document

If I were the Devil

I'd set about however necessary to take over the United States

I'd subvert the churches first

- I'd begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent,

I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: 'Do as you please

.'

"

To the young, I would whisper that 'The Bible is a myth

I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around

. I would confide that

what's bad is good, and what's good is 'square

.' And the old,

I would teach to pray, after me, 'Our Father, which art in Washingtonâ¦

'

"And then I'd get organized.

I'd educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting

, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting.

I'd threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa

I'd pedal narcotics

to whom I could.

I'd sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction

I'd tranquilize the rest with pills

.

"If I were the devil

I'd soon have families that war with themselves

churches at war with themselves

, and

nations at war with themselves

; until each in its turn was consumed. And

with promises of higher ratings I'd have mesmerizing media fanning the flames

. If I were the devil

I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions

- just let those run wild, until before you knew it,

you'd have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door

.

"Within a decade

I'd have prisons overflowing

I'd have judges promoting pornography

- soon

I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress

. And in His own churches I would

substitute psychology for religion

, and

deify science

. I would

lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money

. If I were the devil

I'd make the symbols of Easter an egg

and the

symbol of Christmas a bottle

.

"If I were the devil

I'd take from those who have, and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious

. And what do you bet? I couldn't

get whole states to promote gambling as thee way to get rich

I would caution against extremes and hard work, in Patriotism, in moral conduct

. I would

convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned

, that swinging is more fun, that

what you see on TV is the way to be

And

."

- Paul Harvey 1965

Document

If I were the Devil

I'd set about however necessary to take over the United States

I'd subvert the churches first

- I'd begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent,

I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: 'Do as you please

.'

"

To the young, I would whisper that 'The Bible is a myth

I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around

. I would confide that

what's bad is good, and what's good is 'square

.' And the old,

I would teach to pray, after me, 'Our Father, which art in Washingtonâ¦

'

"And then I'd get organized.

I'd educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting

, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting.

I'd threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa

I'd pedal narcotics

to whom I could.

I'd sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction

I'd tranquilize the rest with pills

.

"If I were the devil

I'd soon have families that war with themselves

churches at war with themselves

, and

nations at war with themselves

; until each in its turn was consumed. And

with promises of higher ratings I'd have mesmerizing media fanning the flames

. If I were the devil

I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions

- just let those run wild, until before you knew it,

you'd have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door

.

"Within a decade

I'd have prisons overflowing

I'd have judges promoting pornography

- soon

I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress

. And in His own churches I would

substitute psychology for religion

, and

deify science

. I would

lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money

. If I were the devil

I'd make the symbols of Easter an egg

and the

symbol of Christmas a bottle

.

"If I were the devil

I'd take from those who have, and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious

. And what do you bet? I couldn't

get whole states to promote gambling as thee way to get rich

I would caution against extremes and hard work, in Patriotism, in moral conduct

. I would

convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned

, that swinging is more fun, that

what you see on TV is the way to be

And

."

- Paul Harvey 1965

Comments/Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGrWvrGDOXg

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Paul Harvey's "If I were the Devil" Transcript 1965 - 20220517-032134-n054q887

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