Snake oil
Snake oil
By: William G. Richardson, Contributing Writer
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 211 times
0 responses 0 comments Remember the old western movies that had a gentleman come into town with his horse driven wagon all decorated with fancy signs telling the folks in town about the marvels of his snake oil. he would be dressed up like the Wizard of Oz, looking and talking quite different than the local folks. The crowd would gather around and listen to his pitch, some would buy his snake oil and eventually, when the people found out that all they bought was the bad taste of his snake oil, he would be ran out of town. Well guess what? He still lives and continues to sell his ploy.
The script has been rewritten for today’s lifestyle. He no longer rides into town unannounced. He is invited into town. He no longer sells something that is worthless.He no comes in to massage the people into accepting something that is superfluous, elaborate, lavish and unwanted. His product is not the marvels of snake oil. It is now the marvels of church renovation. And like the snake oil of the old westerns, the people will be left with the bad taste. Unlike the old western, the people cannot run him out of town because he was invited into town.
The moral of the story is the same: Snake oil under any name is nothing more than snake oil.
— William G. Richardson
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