World's future could be determined in literature. Dr. Faustus and Dorian Grey

It has become apparent that the powers that rule over America and other countries have made a pact with an evil force that has began to rule their vision for us humans. Based on the latest bombing in Boston it has become even more apparent through their actions, policies, and monetary greed the ruling elite have brought forth more carnage to the masses to keep us believing we need to spend even more money to prevent future catastrophes from happening. How else could you explain what happened? In the age of massive security and surveillance how could such things happen? We have spent trillions to supposedly prevent an incident such as this but to no avail. Why can't we learn from the past? Whenever countries try and subjugate the populace to a police state it always backfires. Currently, the alternative news sources are ripping apart any stories the government or the main stream media tries rush through without facts or hard evidence to substantiate their theories on who committed this act of cowardice. I suggest the ruling elite and the populace read two literary works to get perspective on what may be occurring. The basis is good over evil and how subscribing to a hedonistic lifestyle will always lead to the death of the soul.

The first is "The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus," by Christopher Marlowe. Here is summary from Wikipedia.  

"One theme in Doctor Faustus is sin. Throughout the play, Faustus is continuously making wrong choices. His first sin was greed. Faustus began his downfall by making a pact with the devil. Doctor Faustus is a German scholar who is well known for his accomplishments. He grows sick of the limitations on human knowledge, which leads him to his interest with magic.  Faustus summons a demon, Mephistophilis, ordering him to go to Lucifer with the offer of Faustus’s soul in return for twenty-four years of servitude from Mephistophilis. At the news of acceptance from Lucifer, Faustus begins his years filled with sinful nature. Faustus feeds sin with his need for power, praise, and trickery.  He becomes absorbed in the way people look up to him, believing him to be a sort of ‘hero’. In the end, Faustus realizes his mistake in believing power will bring him happiness. At the end of his twenty-four years, Faustus is filled with fear and he becomes remorseful for his past actions, yet this comes too late. When fellow scholars find Faustus the next morning, he is torn limb from limb, with his soul carried off to hell. In terms of historical context, a major thematic idea is that related to knowledge and the quest for it. With Enlightenment thinkers demonstrating the extent to which the sciences and rational speculation could inform human knowledge of the cosmos and other pressing mysteries of the age, Marlowe presents the idea of hubris which fundamentally relates to the search for knowledge in a religious age. Marlowe also draws significant attention to feelings experienced both by himself and other thinkers of his time: the unsatisfying nature of the answers found as part of this quest and the impossibility of learning everything in a lifetime as brief as that of a human. Satanism and death are also prevalent themes. Marlowe sets the story in Wittenburg, Germany with Faustus selling his soul to the devil and declaring his servitude to Satan, Mephistophilis: “I am a servant to great Lucipher and may not follow thee without his leave. No more than he commands we must perform” (p 13 line 39-41). Marlowe shows throughout the play that his vow to forever be a servant of Satan negatively affects his life and how had he known what he was getting into, then he would never have made a deal with the devil. Magic is also a motif that plays a major role in Dr. Faustus. Faustus’s downfall began with his love of knowledge, which leads for his need to use magic. Faustus loves the praise that he gets when people view him as a ‘genius’, which supports his need to have ‘special powers’.   Faustus enjoys playing tricks on people by using his powers, and even goes so far as to use his powers on a dragon. He summons demons with magic, and later brings Helen of Troy to comfort him in his final hours. The use of magic is a show of Faustus’s ‘demoralization’. He no longer wants to be a mere mortal...he wants to be as powerful as the devil himself.  One of the most apparent themes in Doctor Faustus is the battle between good and evil. At the beginning of the play, Faustus finds himself torn between good and evil, knowing the distinction and consequences of the two, but overwhelmed by his desire for worldly pleasures. Faustus’s desire for mortal satisfaction is personified through the seven deadly sins who all speak to him and tempt him. Nicholas Kiessling explains how Faustus’s sins brings about his own damnation, saying: “Faustus’s indulgence in sensual diversions, for, once being committed to the pact with Satan, Faustus partakes of the sop of sensuality to blot out his fears of impending damnation”  Another illustration of Faustus’s battle between good and evil is shown through the good and evil angels which try to influence his decisions and behavior. Kiessling says, “Although Faustus does not heed the plea, Marlowe very evidently implies that the chance for redemption still exists”.  Although Faustus recognizes the consequences of choosing to listen to the evil spirit over the good spirit, he cannot resist the temptations of the devil and the worldly and mortal pleasures he offers."

  After reading or researching this play I hope the reader sees a correlation in what is happening in the realm of current events. Men and women of the ruling elite and their lackeys have sold their souls in order to obtain power, wealth, and control over the populace but will have to answer for it when the time comes, of this I can assert with impunity. No one can deny the presence of evil in these events and if our government or their accomplices in other countries are involved it will be duly noted by a host of people and entities that see behind the curtain of obfuscation. Another source for insight is the book: "The Picture of Dorian Gray," by Oscar Wilde. Here is a short summary for Wikipedia:  

Aestheticism and duplicity Aestheticism is a strong motif and is tied in with the concept of the double life. A major theme is that aestheticism is merely an absurd abstract that only serves to disillusion rather than dignify the concept of beauty. Although Dorian is hedonistic, when Basil accuses him of making Lord Henry's sister's name a "by-word," Dorian replies "Take care, Basil. You go too far",[8] suggesting Dorian still cares about his outward image and standing within Victorian society. Wilde highlights Dorian's pleasure of living a double life.[9] Not only does Dorian enjoy this sensation in private, but he also feels "keenly the terrible pleasure of a double life" when attending a society gathering just 24 hours after committing a murder. This duplicity and indulgence is most evident in Dorian's visit to the opium dens of London. Wilde conflates the images of the upper class and lower class by having the supposedly upright Dorian visit the impoverished districts of London. Lord Henry asserts that "crime belongs exclusively to the lower orders... I should fancy that crime was to them what art is to us, simply a method of procuring extraordinary sensations", which suggests that Dorian is both the criminal and the aesthete combined in one man. This is perhaps linked to Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which Wilde admired.[1] The division that was witnessed in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, although extreme, is evident in Dorian Gray, who attempts to contain the two divergent parts of his personality. This is a recurring theme in many Gothic novels. Influence is a recurring theme throughout the book. Influence is largely depicted by the author as immoral, as it eventually may turn people toward decisions that are not true to themselves, as best exemplified by Dorian Gray. However, all people are influenced and act as influences, and ironically, the book itself may influence its reader, though the preface paradoxically states that no artist, in their work, "desires to prove anything" or has "ethical sympathies". Dorian is never able to hold himself accountable. Instead, he avoids responsibility by justifying his actions according to the philosophy of the new hedonism. When Sibyl commits suicide, Dorian distances himself from the blame by viewing her death as a work of art—a sort of tragic drama. In his frenzy to assign the responsibility to anyone but himself, Dorian blames Basil for the path his life has taken. In killing Basil, the narrator even writes the scene to demonstrate Dorian's perception that it is the knife that commits the murder, leaving Dorian himself again blameless." 

In Dorian Grey I see the ruling elite leading a double standard. They justify the killing, destruction, torture, etc of people and cultures by their policies but heaven forbid anyone reciprocates. Like Dorian Grey the ruling elite feel blameless and never hold themselves accountable. How long can this continue? When the true picture comes to light it will be destroyed by the perpetrators and hopefully they will be destined to live in eternal hell for all eternity. One can only hope and pray.