In the year 1965, a remarkable cautionary message reverberated across the airwaves, leaving an indelible mark. Now, after more than fifty years have passed, its unfortunate prophecy has become a bone-chilling reality, evoking a sense of foreboding when heard.
Paul Harvey, an influential American news commentator and trailblazer of talk radio, possessed a distinct style that resonated with millions of listeners during the zenith of his career. With his unique presentation of news stories, characterized by punctuated pauses, peculiar inflections, and his trademark beginnings and farewells, he became an instantly recognizable figure in the realm of radio.
In spite of his remarkable accuracy in reporting, the notion that his renowned words uttered decades ago would serve as a prophetic depiction of today’s reality was beyond anyone’s imagination. Astonishingly, more than fifty years ago, the esteemed ABC Radio commentator, known by his birth name Paul Harvey Aurandt in 1918, seemed to have foreseen the current state of the United States during a broadcast in 1965.
The moment we encounter the renowned phrase that also serves as the title of the speech, it immediately triggers recognition of the broadcast. “If I were the Devil,” famously proclaimed Paul Harvey in 1965, prior to delving into the issues we confront in the present era. Nevertheless, while Harvey’s words undoubtedly possess an undeniable truth, their prophetic nature might not be as all-encompassing as some may perceive.
Certainly, Paul Harvey originally composed his renowned essay titled “If I Were The Devil” in 1964. The essay was later broadcasted in 1965, captivating audiences and maintaining its enduring popularity throughout the years. It is worth mentioning that during his lifetime, which sadly concluded in 2009, Harvey revisited and revised the piece to align it with contemporary events. The earliest verified version of this composition, credited to Paul Harvey, surfaced in his newspaper column back in 1964:
If I Were the Devil
If granted the title of the Prince of Darkness, my objective would be to envelop the entire world in darkness.
I would assert control over a substantial portion of its land and command the allegiance of four-fifths of its population. Yet, my ultimate satisfaction would elude me until I seized the most tempting fruit from the tree.
Thus, I would embark on an unwavering quest, utilizing any means necessary, to conquer the United States.
I would commence with a covert campaign of whispered insinuations.
With the cunning of a serpent, I would murmur into your ears, just as I once whispered to Eve, “Satisfy your desires without inhibition.”
To the younger generation, I would subtly suggest, “The Bible is nothing more than a fable.” I would manipulate their beliefs, persuading them that “humankind invented God,” reversing the truth of their origins. I would implant in their minds the notion that “what society deems immoral is, in fact, virtuous, and what is truly virtuous is mundane and conventional.”
In delicate mumbles, I would move toward love birds, hinting that work degrades one’s worth featuring the upsides of enjoying mixed drink parties. I would alert against radicalism in issues of religion, nationalism, and moral direction.
For the old, I would grant the demonstration of the petition, repeating my words: “Our respected dad, dwelling inside the domain of Washington.”
Therefore, I would carefully put together my excellent plan.
I would confer my insight to creators, directing them in the formation of enamoring and provocative writing that would deliver all else dull and tiresome.
Utilizing control inside the domain of TV, I would give dangers of progressively unequivocal films, as well as the other way around, guaranteeing a steady condition of moral debasement.
Penetrating associations, I would advocate for inaction and deter tenacious work, realizing that inactive hands are frequently defenseless to my appealing impact.
To the people who are helpless, I would hawk opiates, provide food liquor to the regarded, and sedate the rest with desensitizing pills.
If I somehow managed to epitomize the pith of Satan, I would urge instructive foundations to focus on the refinement of youthful brains while dismissing the discipline of feelings, permitting them to meander untamed.
I would name an agnostic as my delegate, introducing their contentions under the steady gaze of the greatest courts, while at the same time persuading ministers to proclaim, “She talks reality.”
With capable bootlicking and commitments of force, I would influence the courts to protect their votes against God and for porn.
Accordingly, I would steadily remove God from the hallowed lobbies of equity, then, at that point, from the domains of training, and eventually from the offices of Congress.
Inside the bounds of His own special safe havens, I would substitute religion with the investigation of brain research, and lift the quest for science to a heavenly status.
If I somehow happened to expect the job of Satan, I would emblematically change Easter into a simple egg and Christmas into a vessel of common extravagance.
Besides, I would execute a rearrangement of riches, taking from the prosperous and giving to the poor, successfully dousing the flares of desire. Therefore, my legitimate system would uphold a widespread re-visitation of work and work.
I would savagely destroy families, convincing youngsters to wear garbs, entrusting ladies to the profundities of coal mineshafts, and restricting nonconformists to slave-work camps.
In the event that I was Satan, I would forge ahead with my current way, guaranteeing the world slips into a vortex of confusion and condemnation, adjusted flawlessly with the pernicious plan spread out by Satan himself.
The 1996 paper version of Paul Harvey’s “On the off chance that I Was Satan,” frequently mixed up as the first piece from the 1960s, holds the crucial idea and construction while consolidating contemporary occasions. Nonetheless, it is fundamental to perceive that this adaptation is north of twenty years old, yet amazingly resounds with the present status of our country:
Given the mantle of the Ruler of Dimness, my definitive aspiration is to immerse the whole world in the cover of obscurity.
With territory over a significant piece of its domains and predominance of more than four-fifths of its occupants, I wouldn’t be fulfilled until I had held onto the most captivating award — you.
Hence, I would utilize any means important to oppress the US.
Starting a mission of unobtrusive murmurs, I would subvert the sacredness of chapels.
Drawing upon the shrewdness insight of snakes, I would murmur to you, similarly as I once murmured to Eve: “Embrace your cravings without fear.”
To the youthful, I would plant seeds of vulnerability
Throughout the span of years, I would give testimony regarding spilling over detainment facilities and judges supporting the far and wide expansion of porn. Steadily, I would efficiently kill God from the domains of equity, schooling, and, surprisingly, the regarded offices of Congress.
Inside the holy limits of His own chapels, I would slyly substitute the quest for grasping the human mind for issues of confidence, raising science to a place of love. Through temptation, I would mislead ministers and ministers, taking advantage of the guiltlessness of kids and discoloring both their spirits and the blessed assets of the congregation.
If I somehow happened to represent the actual quintessence of Satan, I would seize from the favored and rearrange to the desirous, deliberately killing the enthusiasm of aspiration.
Could you set out to provoke my capacity to convince whole states to embrace betting as the indicated way to thrive?
I would shrewdly persuade the more youthful age that the foundation of marriage is obsolete, tricking them towards the appeal of wantonness and portraying the pictures on TV screens as a definitive encapsulation of presence.
What’s more, hence, I would uncover your weaknesses to the world, presenting you to the grasp of serious sicknesses inside the bounds of a deceptive bed.
Basically, if I somehow happened to epitomize the genuine pith of Satan, I would continue doing the very activities that characterize his noxious nature.
Whether it be the interpretation from 1965, 1996, or any resulting variation, the irrefutable truth stays that the expressions of Paul Harvey have never held more pertinence. He was an unprecedented person with an exceptional capacity to predict what was to come. However, maybe one more statement from Harvey best embodies his uncanny premonition of what the US would turn out to be today.
“In occasions such as these, it’s memorable’s urgent that there have forever been occasions such as these,” expressed Paul Harvey. Whether or not one perspective his words as obvious predictions, their irrefutable power fills in as a preventative directive for our country, one that we can never again stand to disregard. Rather than latently tolerating the propagation of such wild “occasions such as these,” the opportunity has arrived to control our boat toward a more promising time to come and project Satan over the edge unequivocally.