Worthless Gods

In a note under the heading “Marx, Mao and Me,” the editorial writer for Le Journal de Genève commented: “The gods are temperamental and do not always measure up to the hopes placed in them. The ancients, having discerned this, would choose another god from their pantheon just as soon as the initial one refused their sacrifices. . . . Many of our contemporaries worshiped Marx, but were not paid well in return. . . . Some turned to Mao, but his images were rapidly torn off the walls of the towns. . . . At a loss, the faithful began appealing to Me-ism, also a very exacting god with demanding rites.”