Forget the exploits of John Brown and Carrie Nation. Their violent efforts for virtuous causes are but distant memories in the Land of Oz. Here in contemporary Kansas, many socially conservative uber-patriots fastidiously and "peacefully" adhere to an American sociopolitical system which is becoming increasingly hostile to science, peace, human rights, the environment, and minorities. Yes, the "American Way" has become rife with many of the truly vulgar and destructive aspects of humanity.
Since 1998, pro-Evolutionary forces have been grappling with anti-Evolutionary forces for control of the Kansas State School Board. In the recent election, power changed hands for the fourth time in eight years as Darwinists reclaimed a 6-4 advantage on the board. It is virtually a foregone conclusion that the board will again re-write the science standards to restore Evolution to its proper stature. Thankfully, reason will again prevail in science classes from Overland Park to Dodge City.
Those of us who believe in the validity of scientific inquiry, draw a distinction between faith and science, and recognize the dangers of state-validated religion are celebrating the progress manifested in the election results.
While it is reassuring to know that our Kansas public school children will learn one of the most widely held and accepted theories in the biological sciences (and at least for now, their spiritual education will be left to their parents and clergy), there are much larger stakes to consider. Stepping back and examining human existence from a global perspective reveals countless disturbing images of unmitigated suffering thrust upon a majority of the Earth's inhabitants.
Ohio, Georgia, and Pennsylvania are still struggling to inject religion into their science classes under the clever guise of the "theory" of Intelligent Design. Recent legislative initiatives, amendments to state constitutions, and actions by a variety of activist groups (like the Minutemen) clearly demonstrate that many of the Western European immigrants to Turtle Island still suffer the spiritual diseases of homophobia, xenophobia, hubris, and racism.
Preying upon these spiritual maladies, the opportunists in DC and on Wall Street (who reside at the peak of the capitalist pyramid) blitz us with propaganda readily disseminated by their partners in the corporate media to fuel "culture wars". Like a blacksmith with bellows, they super heat raw emotion to a white hot state that leaves human reason in cinders.
As we wage slaves run the rat race, fighting over the scraps so "charitably" tossed our way in America's "ownership society", we claw each others' eyes out over issues like Evolution, homosexual rights, and abortion, enabling those leading our depraved social and political institutions to plunder the world's wealth with little or no constraint. Aside from the numerous seductive distractions they provide through television and consumerism, what better way to manipulate the masses than by perpetually thrusting contentious issues into their faces that splinter them into warring factions?
Remember December? When Iraqi and American body bags were filling up faster than Santa's elves could pack his sacks of toys? And Christians in the United States were beside themselves because some stores weren't saying "Merry Christmas" to customers? It boggles the mind!
It is widely known that the Bush Regime has heavily courted radical Christian elements in the United States to garner much of its political support. Ostensibly bearing the cross of the Christian God who blesses only America, George Bush is on a sacred mission to fulfill Manifest Destiny around the globe.
With the backing of Diebold, Katherine Harris, the Supreme Court, and a heavily mobilized base of extremist Christians who stampeded to the polls to support Bush's eagerness to fulfill their apocryphal prophecies in the Holy Land, elect a degenerate individual many apparently believed was an Evangelical who manifested the virtues of Christ, and to empower a group willing to proclaim that Christianity is the official state religion, George Bush and his cronies blatantly subverted our Constitutional Republic by taking office twice without winning the electoral or the popular vote.
Astoundingly, now that Mephistopheles has revealed his true identity, he and his fellow Neocons, Zionists, Fundamentalist Christian leaders, and plutocrats still garner support from amongst their subjugated masses. Admittedly, he has been on shaky ground lately, but Bush still has enough adherents that he has avoided impeachment and prosecution for his crimes against humanity.
Through its denial of civil rights to Gays, opposition to abortion and stem cell research, unwavering support for Israel (and its heinous ethnic cleansing and war crimes), dedication to preserving the dominant role of White America, and creation of a nationalist furor that is beyond being obscene, the Bush Regime has garnered the support of enough Americans to empower them to unleash Hell upon millions of human beings to further the interests of US multinationals, the military industrial complex, Israel, and the rest of its cohorts.
Strauss's disciples learned their art well as they are clearly demonstrating with their virtuoso performance. And Kansas is a microcosm of the stratum of American society that is entranced by the Neocons' euphonious symphony. A symphony they brilliantly composed to drown out the sounds of their abuse of power, exploitation and murder.
As 60 Minutes revealed this week, the Bush administration heavily edits the findings of its own scientists to minimize public awareness of the dangers of phenomena like Climate Change. Employing lawyers to water down admonitions drafted by NASA and EPA scientists, the Bush Regime seriously limits what would be well-founded citizen and Congressional concern about abusive environmental practices by the amoral profit seekers of corporate America.
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