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Paul Harvey & Aldous Huxley: Predictors or Observers?
Wikimedia Commons
It’s been almost exactly 60 years since Paul Harvey released his famous monologue, “If I Were the Devil,” in April of 1965. He was 47 years old at the time. I’ve reproduced the text below, but you can listen to Mr. Harvey’s original in his distinctive voice in the YouTube link at the end of this post.
Remember that Mr. Harvey wrote this 60 years ago. And he succinctly describes the platform of the Democrat platform today, in 2025. Most of what he wrote was not openly promoted by Democrats of his day, and his essay was dismissed at the time as the absurd overreaction of a conspiracy theorist. But now, 60 years later, it’s no longer a conspiracy theory. It’s just today’s news. Today’s Democrats are openly embracing policies that they once fervently denied.
The efforts to destroy America and Western Civilization aren’t just happening today. They’ve been happening for decades. We’re only just now noticing that which Mr. Harvey saw clearly 60 years ago. Read on for Mr. Harvey’s brief yet extraordinary essay below. What do you think? Was he prescient, or simply observant? You be the judge:
“If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness. And I’d have a third of its 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 Washington…
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 peddle 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 at 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 want until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious.
And what do you bet I could get whole states to promote gambling as the 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 the 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 what he’s doing.”
Paul Harvey, good day.
Huxley in 1954, Wikimedia Commons
Remember that Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, written in 1931, was widely viewed as a prediction of what America’s future looked like. But in fact he was simply describing what was happening at the time in The Soviet Union. As it turns out, leftists have a lot in common, so as the left gains control in America, the parallels to Brave New World become difficult to ignore.
But again, Brave New World wasn’t really predicting anything. Mr. Huxley was simply describing what he saw in the Soviet Union of his day.
That’s how I see Mr. Harvey’s essay. He was simply describing what he saw. He wasn’t predicting anything. The 20/20 hindsight of our current perspective simply makes it look like a remarkable prediction.
But he wasn’t prescient. He was simply observant.
What do you think?
Published in General
Ouch.
Evil is patient, organized and never stopping. It’s the enemy of civilization, which has to be defended in all its parts every damned day.
I find it fascinating that Paul Harvey, in his first paragraph, described one of the left’s most commonly used weapons / propaganda pieces as: Do as you please.
This was also the foundation of the religion of Thelema, developed by Aleister Crowley: Do as thou wilt.
It’s interesting that those who hope to destroy Western Civilization generally start with that concept.
President John F. Kennedy died on November 22, 1963 … Aldous Huxley also died on November 22, 1963.
That is amazing. I couldn’t pass up the chance to hear Paul Harvey tell the tale. And what a woesome one it is…
Mr Harvey’s predictions came to pass a decade or so ago. Even he might not have foreseen, for example, the sustained assault on the nuclear family, the dissolution of the. ties that bind.
That reminds me of my dad driving me around in his Chevy Nova listening to WTAG on the AM band. Thanks.
Someone could have written Paul Harvey’s words today and it wouldn’t seem dated at all. In fact people would just say tell us something we don’t already know.
So did C.S. Lewis.
Harvey didn’t predict anything before it happened. He was just good at describing something the left was doing from a different perspective. The left thinks it’s defending free speech, and he calls it promoting porn. The left thinks it’s making a safety net, and he calls it taking from those who have and giving to those who want. Etc. etc.
–
“Yet always have they had a single focus:”
“Convincing Man above him nothing reigns;”
“That talk of any God is fraud and bogus,”
“Designed to bind him tight and kept in chains.”
–
“They teach that all’s provided for his uses,”
“Without constraints or curbs of any kind;”
“That following his lusts without excuses”
“Is all he needs to all fulfilment find.”
— poem by Paul Martin Freeman
I remember the first time I heard Paul Harvey’s If I Were the Devil. Chilling . . .
It is the classic mistake of humanity: to believe we are the ultimate source of Truth. To make ourselves “God”. Thus, anything we think is good, is. And everyone else must agree or they are committing “genocide” (in the popular parlance of the ‘trans’ activists). It never ends well.
Thanks for the article Dr B.
Mr. Harvey’s weekly “The rest of the story” broadcasts were always a fun and informative listen…
We have been warned time and again.
Also C.S. Lewis.
Oops. I posted this before seeing #8.
This reminds me of my dad because he has full-blown narcissistic personality disorder. That is about 95% of what he does all of the time.