As Lichtenberg said «when those who command lose their shame, those who obey lose their respect «. What if the one who commands what he loses is his head? So you can expect anything.
In 1883, due to the terrible drought suffered by the town of Castañas , in the state of Chiapas (Mexico), the mayor had the "brilliant" idea of publishing this announcement:
Considering that the Supreme Creator has not behaved well with this town once that in the whole of the previous year there has only been one downpour and that this winter it has not rained and, consequently, the chestnut harvest of which depends on the people, I decree the following:
1st.- That if it does not rain abundantly within eight days, no one will go to mass or pray.
2nd.- If the drought lasts eight more days, the chapels will be burned and the missals and rosaries of the town were destroyed.
3rd.- If it did not rain either the following week or the week after that, the friars and nuns would be burned, and pious and holy men beaten up. As for the present, license is granted to commit all kinds of sins and so that the Supreme Maker knows and understands once and for all who he will have to deal with in the future.
I suppose that the residents of Castañas had more sense than their mayor since there was no news in the following weeks of the burning of churches or priests... or perhaps the long-awaited downpour fell.
Sources and image:New Spain, The Cupboard of Ideas, Learning from the past – José Manuel Pina Piquer