Tyranny

I made a mistake and took a nap, effectively sleeping off the rage.

Have you ever felt like the enlightened minority? Have you ever felt like you're the only one who really sees what's going on, and everyone else is just an ignorant sheep in a flock of suckers? It is one of the loneliest feelings in the catalogue of human emotions. I feel like Winston Smith from 1984. I want to liberate the proles, but they're too moronic.

I have a class with one those professor's who considers himself the authority on everything. He is a religion professor, and has an amazing grasp of scriptural references, as well as quotes from religious leaders. No one could doubt that the man is quite knowledgable.

The problem is that the professor is arrogant. He's not arrogant in the snobbish context, but in the constant gloating style. He's just so pleased with himself all the time, and he wants everyone to think he's so brilliant.

At the beginning portion of class the students are allowed a Q&A session, where they can ask any question they want related to the doctrine of our church. Not only is there a lack of focus in these sessions, but students ask the most ridiculous, trivial and obscure questions that I just want to stand up and yell "C'mon!"

The professor, however, just eats this stuff up. He loves every opportunity he can get to dazzle us with his vast knowledge of worthless gospel nonsense. He's a sensationalist teacher who feels it is his mission to educate everyone in speculative details. He's very proficient at twisting the meaning of scriptures to match his interpretation, so there is generally little room for arguing.

Today someone asked the bombshell question, "What's the deal with polygamy?" The professor got a big grin on his face, ready to save the class from their innocence, to pollute their minds with doctrinal flapdoodle that would neither help nor hinder their eternal progression.

After a very strained and unsatisfactory answer, someone asked for clarification. My professor then went on to explain a very logical sequence of thoughts, which was obviously speculation. Before I knew what I was doing, I raised my hand and asked, "That's all very logical, but do you have any doctrinal reference for that?" The professor stared at me incredulously. I stammered, "Like a prophet, or something?" His face a little redder, the professor quickly answered with an obscure scriptural reference which I know didn't answer the question, and then he quickly changed the subject. I was left more than slightly infuriated, fuming the rest of the class period.

As I sat listening to his lecture, I observed the dopey grins and blank stares on everybody's faces. Everybody laughed at his lame jokes, even when he repeated them. It was like sitting in a warehouse of mannakins with a laugh track playing on a broken phonograph. I sat with disdain and listened to him spout off more false doctrine, unable to do anything. I couldn't fathom how everyone was just eating this up like ice cream, savoring every bite and rejoicing in its sensationalism. Damn zoobies.