The Mark of the Euro

Years ago, when still in my teens, a ragged-trousered prophet educated me on the meaning of The Book of Revelation. Looking wild, with his long hair and sagely stroking his beard, he confided that the number of the beast, that number without which you could not buy or sell, being 666, was in truth, alive in the guise of the European Economic Community. This he told me, forty years ago. He also told me that the Antichrist was to be revealed as the Pope. I was assured of this, and that the prophesies of this last book in the Bible would be fulfilled as sure as day follows night.

Well, the Pope, I fear, is far too busy defending the Catholic Church against the scourge of simple logic and the actions of certain priests and leaders whose sexual deviance have exploded onto the public arena. The many priests – for they are legion- have, like so many today, been exposed to the light due in great part to the technology revolution and the transmission of knowledge at the speed of light.

But back to that other prophecy, the one about the European Community. We are fast approaching the point in this technology revolution when it will become possible (or already is possible) to have our identity and bank details implanted under our skin. A simple device will scan the relevant part and deduct the cost of any transaction we should make. Some years ago a futurologist may have predicted that we might have a bar code tattoo, but even that may not be necessary. Still, it would have fitted well with my “mark of the beast” analogy.

The fact is, we do very little without the blessing of the EU, who decides that we shall be forever be bathed in dim energy-saving light. The same EU who determine the size and type of practically everything that is bought and sold.

This entity is not democratic. The main decisions are not made by democratically elected people. Instead the EU is run by a group of commissioners and other bureaucrats, who in turn are manipulated by a small number of world leaders. I have to ask myself, seriously, if they pose a threat to freedom and democracy. Is the EU the “beast”? Are we subservient to the point where we cannot go about our daily lives for fear of their awesome power?

In Cyprus, this week, I think we began to see the answer.