The Dialogue

Before him was the very depths of Hell he had for so long been warned of only none of it was true. This place knew no time and respected only the rules of it's overseer. Atop a high cliff and overlooking an old futuristic society Hitler became overwhelmed with the weight of his actions and fell forward off of the cliff and far below into the depths. Fear. Adrenaline. Hitler plunged downwards surpassing terminal velocity and saw no end in sight. The air was not hot but cold and the scent was not of burning flesh but the light aroma of strawberries. He did not feel pain and was sure that the bullet hole in the side of his temple was gone for no blood dripped down his face. Actually the wind felt soft upon his face and the resistance against his unshapely form felt  like a bear skin rug. Above, heavy grey cloud cover blanketed the sky and only hints of golden spots indicated that there was a sun. All of the buildings below were windowless and were pale blue that seemed grey in the dim light.

Finally though Hitler hit the ground unscathed and quickly climbed to his feet. On the sidewalks  were thousands of poor souls who too had just landed. In hell time only knows it's end so everyone destined for this fate arrives simultaneously. Many eyes were upon him and all of them staring daggers. He was used to the attention being the Fuhrer of the Third Reich, but he was not used to the post war coverage that created world wide disdain. Soon though all were succumbed by their own internal struggle. "why am I here?" Even those who were well aware of their sins seemed to ponder the question. Hitler too found himself with the philosophical quandary and could name numerous reasons for his arrival but always found ways to rationalize them. Men can always find a way to justify their sins.

Those who were really suffering were those whose arrival was quite a shock. Teresa was absolutely floored and immediately burst into tears. Her whole life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and the unfortunate, the unwanted, and the unloved. She had organize the creation of thousands of centers around the world that saved countless lives from sickness and poverty. Still she could not deny that this was her fate and was able to muster enough strength to flee the streets and into the cover of an old coffee shop. Hitler found her sitting in a booth and was immediately struck with shock at her presence. For a short moment Hitler entertained the thought that he was actually in heaven but quickly found his way forward. Teresa on the other hand could not believe that she was sent to the same destination as a tyrant such as him.

"Teresa! Dear blessed Teresa of Calcutta!" Hitler called out.

"Lord guide me..." Teresa uttered beneath her breath hoping to ignore Hitler who had just taken a seat across from her.

"Dear Mother Teresa why are you here?"

"I do not wish to discuss the nature of anything with you." Teresa remained respectful but direct in her tone.

"Here sweet sister we are all equals."

"I will never be equal to you. The millions of deaths you orchestrated is detestable. You belong here, I do not."

"Teresa do you not see that the catholic church very much shares my desire for a grand project: the purification of the world in the name of progress. In that pursuit one realizes that normal human lives are dispensable."

"Bleh!" Teresa was not surprised though at his response. "The church would never approve of mass genocide, antisemitism or world war."

"No, instead they would approve of the suffocation of any faith or idea that differs from their own. How is the christian inquisition any different dear Mother?"

"Yes in the past the world has seen many faces of the church's competition against competing ideas but the good we have done centuries after the crusades have more than made up for the victims of the expansion of enlightenment. To compare the inquisition to the holocaust is inaccurate indeed."

"At the very least I carried out my actions for the good of the people. My job was to ensure a healthy society both morally and economically. My justification was of a local entity and not some make belief deity."

"The Lord is not some figment of the imagination. He is very real and I have first hand witnessed the miracles of his blessings."

"Oh Teresa how brainwashed you are. How can you not see that all of religion is based in ignorance? You have never questioned man's desperation for a meaning to life? Society needs something to blame so that they can explain their failures and why their lives are so poor. It is much easier to attribute everything as God's will rather than accept personal responsibility."

"Religion is not just some escape goat. Through the history of the world it has seen to be necessary for human survival. Without such an institution where would we find our societal norms? Who would look after the suffering and the displaced?"

"I do not need some omnipotent omniscient deity to explain to me what morals are and neither does society. I gave my people an alternative to the poisonous fumes of organized religion. I gave them relief from debt, living space, economic stability and wide spread joviality."

"You gave them war and apparently some morals are still needed to be taught. Your people without question gave you their faith and you abused it. You took our God given throne and turned it into an axis of evil."

"Why would I ever attribute my successes to God when he stood by and did nothing? What, God put me in my seat of power but washed his hands when I chose to exercise it? Why does God not get the credit of that? I am solely the reason for my failures and my successes. Why is it that you proclaim sunny skies a blessing of God but dark clouds the product of the devil? Do You see the obvious contradiction? In truth each one of us are the arbiters of our own fate and even if there was a God you honestly think that he really cares?"

"I do. I believe that God looks down upon us all and guides us to our fate. He was kind enough to create us with free will and so some may deviate from his light but eventually we all succumb to our sins. We are all here for good reason even if we disagree with our fate."

"Your free will that you speak of is just everyone's innate ability to think."

"What you call innate ability I call divine construction. It is what separates us from every other animal."

"Teresa many differences distinguish us from the feral. But if God truly did care what would explain all of the suffering in the world? The amount of those suffering everyday is proof enough that God does not exist. We exist though and we need to begin to gravitate towards self regulation through education and internal growth rather than remain in ignorance in the sense of blind faith!"

"You say he doesn't exist but what would explain all of this?"

"Perhaps it isn't Hell. Maybe we all end up in the same place despite our transgressions. What else would explain your presence here dear Teresa?"

"Why do you always need an explanation? Were you not just claiming that man's desperation for an answer was a product of ignorance?"

"I would rather be ignorant to the things that can be discovered rather than answers being addressed with more questions."

"You think you have all the answers? You think that there are conduits outside of the Almighty that can shed light upon the mysteries of the universe?"

"How is the closing of a door on any question considered unraveling the ether? There is nothing that religion can explain to me that science cannot with more substance and weight to the words."

"Of course you would say that. The modern religion is science and science has ultimately negated the necessity for God. But science has brought war and imperialism to the world."

"And religion has not? What of the lives that have been lost in the name of your God?"

"True, many wars have been fought under the guise of divine intentions but never has it fueled the efficiency of death."

"It is not science that propagates war but men behind freshly inked pens and parchment outlining the demands for war. Politics is the real enemy and as a  former victim I know all too well of it's destruction."

"A victim? Do not put yourself into a position of being the downtrodden. You have found profit in war and that is a detestable thing."

"My only profit was seeing the success of my people."

"Under a socialist regime the people will never profit. Under your Reich only those in power seemed to profit. Socialism as well as Communism breeds tyrants and dictators. You truly wish to see your people succeed? Try capitalism."

"Capitalism?!" The word was bitter in his mouth. "A system designed to grow corporate aristocracy?!"

"Only those who do not truly understand capitalism refuses it. The system is designed to grow the economy and thus the well being of the people."

"Capitalism is unfair to the same people you claim to help Teresa."

"You spoke about personal responsibility yet socialism assumes responsibility for their people. When you take that away society begins to degrade and eventually the whole system will fail."

"You would let the poor be poor under the illusion of a self inflating economy?"

"Capitalism encourages those who are poor to pick themselves up and better their lives. When faced with real consequences for their actions they must either accept defeat of fight harder. Capitalism creates an environment where those who are strong enough succeed and those who look to take advantage of the system fall to the wayside. Socialism does the exact opposite creating an environment where those who work hard are impugned and those who leech are coddled."

"It is not fair dear Teresa to let those who fail do so when surrounded by wealth. Only through equality both in social statures and economic outcomes are the people truly happy."

"Life is not fair and so to foster an environment in which fairness is used as a symbol for freedom cripples those when finally faced with the consequences of their actions. Also you spoke of equality when you segregated a whole people. You imposed world war on the world and threw your people out to fight like pawns while remaining in your safe palace. No society will ever succeed under socialism. The people can only remain ignorant for a short time before they wise up and the sitting tyrant removed from power. Socialism impugns the people and creates division. It keeps the people in poverty under the veil of equality while those in the the government remain more equal then their people."

Upon hearing the conversation the overseer of the new world appeared before them. With a smirk the well dressed man embraced them both. "I would like you both to know that I am an Atheist and a Capitalist. But both of you are wrong in one sense though, you are not dead.  What you are experiencing is the double edged sword of modern society. Two belief systems are clashing and tearing the world apart and every day the aisle between them widens. It is unfortunate that the same people who view science as the knew religion also propagates socialism and the other who presses capitalism also fall victim to blind faith." And thus the final point was made and the illusion forgiven.

C.R.