For Evangelicals, Culture War is Civil War
Today, I became convinced that the fanatic Religious Right have declared a civil war in our nation. Just as the Confederate States declared that they could not obey the laws of America, that the country they wanted to live in was so substantially different from the USA of the 1860's that they could no longer abide by it's laws, customs, and culture, the numerically small but highly disciplined group of anti-American revolutionaries known as "The Religious Right" have now put the rest of us on notice: We are their Enemy. They want to destroy the way of life, the culture, the unity of principles that for 230 years has been known as the United States of America. Their very religion, known as Evangelicalism requires them to do it. They are in fact, the spiritual brothers of fanatical Islamists that our military has been fighting overseas. Their "God" is telling them that we must be destroyed.
Our first Civil War started small. A constitutional crisis in this state legislature, or a violent outcry over that federal court decision, and the men who believed they could own other men reached for their guns. Today, a Republican Senator tells his people that the Democrats in congress are against their religion, and a Republican leader of the House of Representatives warns judges that disagree with him that they should be looking over their shoulders, and another Eric Rudolph starts assembling a bomb, another Tim McVeigh's hatred boils over. Of course, the Far Right Republicans disavow any connection to the violent men who would bring home-grown terror, but where did Rudolph get the idea to bomb an abortion clinic? What made Tim McVeigh pick a building of federal agents to destroy?
Now we are told, by the James Dobsons, the Sam Brownbecks, that we are fighting a "Culture War". As usual, the men of the right believe war is the solution to all problems. A drug problem? We need a "War on Drugs". Forget using the combined international police agencies to fight the criminals we call terrorists. We need a "War on Terror". If George W. Bush had been in office instead of John F. Kennedy, the national effort of manned space flights would have been called the "War on the Moon".
When you use the "war model" to fight a problem, it makes it a lot easier to accept real bloodshed, real death. As we've heard time and time again, "We're at war" so a little torture, a little less liberty, more Americans in prison, that's all to be expected. How long do you think it will take before we start seeing casualties in "The Culture War"? Maybe we already have.
I happen to belong to the same religious denomination as most of the founding fathers of this nation. It's a religion that believes that human reason should be given equal weight to scripture or tradition. The Evangelicals have no such notion about human reason. If God says it's so, or more accurately, if the televangelist says that God says it's so, then it's for sure. I hate abortion, but I absolutely believe in a woman's right to choose whether or not to bear a child. I think committed, loving relationships are always better than promiscuity, so allowing marriage or civil unions between homosexuals can only be a good thing. I believe that in a prosperous nation like ours, that health care is a right for all people, as is education, whether or not that person happens to have a high-paying job. That Social Security guarantees that old folks who've played by the rules and worked hard all their lives can live with just a tiny bit of dignity is a good thing, I believe. I believe that if someone who pays for a subscription media service wants to see a little indecent entertainment, that's their choice. In fact, I like a little indecency myself once in a while. I believe in "Live and Let Live". I believe in the liberty that our Constitution guarantees is the right of everyone in this country, not just the ones who have found Jesus. These beliefs make me the sworn Enemy of the Religious Right.
Evangelicals believe that theirs is the One True Faith, and that if you haven't been born again, according to their rules, you are going to burn in Hell for eternity. This is not a secret, they trumpet this belief from their pulpits, from their blogs, and from their seats in Congress. As we've learned from other societies who've had such beliefs, this notion leaves room for a lot of horror if you don't happen to share it. For example, at an Evangelical church in the small Missouri town where I live part of the year, friends tell me that they are told that if they have any Jewish or Catholic friends, and they care about them, it's their bound duty to make sure that these non-Evangelicals are born again, or they'll burn in Hell for Eternity. If they have any friends who are not raising their children to believe the way the Evangelicals do, then that's the same thing as child abuse, worse in fact, because an Eternity in Hell is far worse than any earthly abuse. You can see where this is going. When it comes to saving souls, how far are you willing to go for Jesus? If that Democrat state rep or federal judge is standing in the way of more Americans finding Jesus, well, if it was 1935 and you had a chance to kill Hitler...
As Bill Bennett (famous moralist and degenerate gambler) is known to say, on his SRN Radio talk show, "Truth is Truth. Wrong is Wrong and Right is Right. There are no grey areas in morality." When James Dobson says that Democrats are the enemies of the faithful, then he's painting a target on all Democrats. And the people who are listening are mostly in states with quite liberal gun laws. When Tom DeLay warns federal judges to be looking over their shoulders because of the way they voted on the Terri Schiavo matter, who does he think is listening?
It's about the saddest thing in the world to me, but this I believe: When suicide bombers start their evil work in this country, they are as likely to be waving a cross as a crescent.
Our first Civil War started small. A constitutional crisis in this state legislature, or a violent outcry over that federal court decision, and the men who believed they could own other men reached for their guns. Today, a Republican Senator tells his people that the Democrats in congress are against their religion, and a Republican leader of the House of Representatives warns judges that disagree with him that they should be looking over their shoulders, and another Eric Rudolph starts assembling a bomb, another Tim McVeigh's hatred boils over. Of course, the Far Right Republicans disavow any connection to the violent men who would bring home-grown terror, but where did Rudolph get the idea to bomb an abortion clinic? What made Tim McVeigh pick a building of federal agents to destroy?
Now we are told, by the James Dobsons, the Sam Brownbecks, that we are fighting a "Culture War". As usual, the men of the right believe war is the solution to all problems. A drug problem? We need a "War on Drugs". Forget using the combined international police agencies to fight the criminals we call terrorists. We need a "War on Terror". If George W. Bush had been in office instead of John F. Kennedy, the national effort of manned space flights would have been called the "War on the Moon".
When you use the "war model" to fight a problem, it makes it a lot easier to accept real bloodshed, real death. As we've heard time and time again, "We're at war" so a little torture, a little less liberty, more Americans in prison, that's all to be expected. How long do you think it will take before we start seeing casualties in "The Culture War"? Maybe we already have.
I happen to belong to the same religious denomination as most of the founding fathers of this nation. It's a religion that believes that human reason should be given equal weight to scripture or tradition. The Evangelicals have no such notion about human reason. If God says it's so, or more accurately, if the televangelist says that God says it's so, then it's for sure. I hate abortion, but I absolutely believe in a woman's right to choose whether or not to bear a child. I think committed, loving relationships are always better than promiscuity, so allowing marriage or civil unions between homosexuals can only be a good thing. I believe that in a prosperous nation like ours, that health care is a right for all people, as is education, whether or not that person happens to have a high-paying job. That Social Security guarantees that old folks who've played by the rules and worked hard all their lives can live with just a tiny bit of dignity is a good thing, I believe. I believe that if someone who pays for a subscription media service wants to see a little indecent entertainment, that's their choice. In fact, I like a little indecency myself once in a while. I believe in "Live and Let Live". I believe in the liberty that our Constitution guarantees is the right of everyone in this country, not just the ones who have found Jesus. These beliefs make me the sworn Enemy of the Religious Right.
Evangelicals believe that theirs is the One True Faith, and that if you haven't been born again, according to their rules, you are going to burn in Hell for eternity. This is not a secret, they trumpet this belief from their pulpits, from their blogs, and from their seats in Congress. As we've learned from other societies who've had such beliefs, this notion leaves room for a lot of horror if you don't happen to share it. For example, at an Evangelical church in the small Missouri town where I live part of the year, friends tell me that they are told that if they have any Jewish or Catholic friends, and they care about them, it's their bound duty to make sure that these non-Evangelicals are born again, or they'll burn in Hell for Eternity. If they have any friends who are not raising their children to believe the way the Evangelicals do, then that's the same thing as child abuse, worse in fact, because an Eternity in Hell is far worse than any earthly abuse. You can see where this is going. When it comes to saving souls, how far are you willing to go for Jesus? If that Democrat state rep or federal judge is standing in the way of more Americans finding Jesus, well, if it was 1935 and you had a chance to kill Hitler...
As Bill Bennett (famous moralist and degenerate gambler) is known to say, on his SRN Radio talk show, "Truth is Truth. Wrong is Wrong and Right is Right. There are no grey areas in morality." When James Dobson says that Democrats are the enemies of the faithful, then he's painting a target on all Democrats. And the people who are listening are mostly in states with quite liberal gun laws. When Tom DeLay warns federal judges to be looking over their shoulders because of the way they voted on the Terri Schiavo matter, who does he think is listening?
It's about the saddest thing in the world to me, but this I believe: When suicide bombers start their evil work in this country, they are as likely to be waving a cross as a crescent.
posted by Nittacci at 12:17 PM
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