Religion has historically been a two-sided issue. On the one side, it is about belief in a God, a higher power, and hopefully that God is a guiding force toward tempering the human character. That God requires human kindness to strangers, and it requires human beings to help others carry their burdens in times of need. That God requires each person to take moral responsibility toward other human beings. On the other side of this issue is the application of religion to totally dominate the body and soul of human beings who inhabit the same world and space as the oppressor.
The existence of this dichotomy is particularly noticeable in this administration. The Senate, as the governing body, is supposed to represent the core values of our nation. Our government is not exercising its moral responsibility; instead, it is exercising its religious prerogative when it suits their political ambitions.
They self-righteously deny the rights of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community. This nation is in grave danger of losing its moral compass. Every citizen who cares about the United States should be seriously concerned about the direction to which we and this country are being driven by the present administration.
This Senate is ruled by oligarchs of the extreme right-wing, by Mitch McConnell, by Lindsey Graham, and by conservative born-again Christians. Their avowed Christianity and religious orthodoxy is in direct conflict with the basic tenets of the Constitution of the United States. Our forefathers, who saw the dangers of religious domination in government, made it very clear to all and sundry that this country was not to be dominated by a coalition of Church and State. They were two distinctly separate entities.
Clearly, clearly, this administration, with the acquiescence of Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and the Senate, is allowing and encouraging the imposition of their religious beliefs into the governing process. The line between Church and State is being blurred.
2Do they completely abandon their religion, or does their religion completely abandon
them, when they have to deal with complicated issues such as immigration? Is their religion totally unrelated to the question of human rights?
Of course illegal immigration is a huge problem and this country has never created a proper immigration policy. But, does their religion shelter them and the president from inhumanity, to turn our government into a body with no sense of humanity, without Godliness, and without respect for human rights? This is what our government stands for today.
What kind of religion do these people observe? Certainly not the kind that demands that they be kind to strangers and love their neighbors.
When a nation loses its sense of righteous indignation, compassion, decency, and morality, when it denies people freedom of speech, when it strips people of their basic human rights, it is no longer a great nation.
America is not great when it retreats behind its borders and fails to recognize and observe its own constitution.
America is not great when it fails to maintain the separation between Church and State, and America is not great when it allows fear, ignorance, prejudice and greed to diminish the values of the nation.
America is not great when its governing body aligns itself with the most oppressive governments in the world, and isolates itself from those who have joined together to make a peaceful world their central issue.
We the people must take a stand to preserve our Constitution, and to deny rights and privileges to the perpetrators against humanity, represented by our government today.
This country is facing clear and evident danger.
Although you are correct in one application of power there are many many instances of similar behaviour in non Judeo/Christian countries. Therefore it cannot be totally blamed on this alone
Religion can be a bulwark against extremism but not against those with self engrandisment desires. Or those with personality defects such as those obviously shown in the persona of the current President. It is curious however that so many people in Congress are cowed by the incumbent
Marilyn,
I share your bewilderment “that so many people in Congress are cowed by the incumbent”. It is hard to fathom how most of the GOP has brushed aside any sense of dignity so they can kowtow to this repugnant incumbent. Perhaps he has ordered his minions to gather dirt on all of them (an easy task) and he is holding them hostage. Perhaps they believe that his ‘base’, these base cult followers, will vote them out of office.
I was disgusted when I saw Paul Ryan, that smug, in your face, let them eat cake lemming wrote a book and announced that he was not a fan of the morange. Where was he when we needed him? Did he have to leave office to show his opposition? So many are whimpering hypochristrians, using faith as a weapon (Trump), using faith as a shield (Pence the Groveler), using faith as a rallying cry (Graham), using faith as an excuse (all of the lemmings).
Rita, you are spot on with your blog, but you are preaching to the choir.
The only way to lead this country out of the darkness of this Presidency is at the voting booths. Not all people should vote, but in this case we need to get the dregs to come out and help, because the Darkside is smaller, but better organized (think NRA).
Get out the vote
Get out the vote
Get out the vote
Vote out the cancer.
Rita, an eloquent and perceptive piece which focuses on the saddest aspects of religious impact on the present political crisis. One might think if people lived the principles of their religion, there would be fewer Trump supporters. A conundrum.
The previous comments are right to stress “get out the vote”, but also it’s effective to call/ write to members of the legislature–or anyone who might have influence, especially McConnell and Graham. I’m thinking once “some” Republicans start doubting their allegiance to Trump, there could be a domino effect.
In any case, we all hope to live through this. “It will be all right in the end–if it’s not all right, it’s not the end.”
Someone sent this to me and I agree:
We need to keep hammering on two messages:
1. Tell the Republican legislators that they are complicit in Trump’s racism, crimes, etc.
2. Tell the Democratic legislators to Run Centrist
Send postcards, message senators at their sites (see below for link) and tweet
Senate seats in play in 2020:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/12/senate-seats-most-likely-flip/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.15f2d5aff09c
SENATE CONTACT INFO:
https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Keep up the rage, Rita. We all need it recharged – even those in the choir.
Hi Rita,
We are living in interesting and frightening times. I recently went to Google Univ. (GU) to study the common traits of the Psychopathic Personality. Here is a checklist that might be helpful as we try to cope with our current condition. Do you know of any leader who might fit this profile? I’m just saying….
Psychopaths get bored easily. A psychopath’s nervous system is wired so they need to keep doing exciting things to feel normal and reach normal levels of arousal.
Psychopaths can be very charming. However, while a psychopath’s stories might be interesting, that doesn’t mean they’re true.
Psychopaths lie a lot. Unlike pathological liars, who lie without motivation and sometimes without need, a psychopath’s lies are more goal-directed. They typically use conning and manipulation for their own gain.
Psychopaths lack realistic, long-term goals. They are more transactional and less strategic. They believe they need to live in the moment instead of planning for the future, although what goals they do have often are disconnected from any probably future. They have an inability to ground their understanding of their lives in reality.
Psychopaths think they’re superior to everyone else. Psychopaths consider themselves better than the people around them, which might help account for why they aren’t concerned by the negative impacts of their actions.
Psychopaths can switch their empathy on and off. A psychopath is not concerned with his or her impact on others, whether that be financial, social, or personal, primarily because a psychopath is incapable of feeling emotion, either for themselves or others.
Psychopaths have a bad temper when they don’t get their way. They can be constantly getting into arguments
Psychopaths are sexually promiscuous. Sex for the psychopath is not about the other person, but more about the power play or stroking his or her own ego.
Psychopaths are impulsive or irresponsible. This impulsivity or irresponsibility, whether it’s risking a relationship by cheating, being reckless with their finances, or even breaking the law.
Psychopaths were usually problematic as children. A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that hyperactivity and conduct disorders were strong predictors of psychopathic behaviors in adulthood.
Psychopaths engage in criminal behavior without remorse or regret. you’re more likely to be swindled by them than physically hurt. For psychopaths, criminal activity is result of a character structure that operates with no reference to the rules and regulations of society.
Psychopaths are unpredictable. They like a lot of change in their atmosphere, which might include changing team members and jobs. Beware also of people who are flighty in their relationships and opinions as a psychopath can seem to change their entire personality depending on the situation.
Here is a partial list of Psychopathic National Leaders:
Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein, Henry VIII, Idi Amin, William the Conqueror, Benito Mussolini