I’m just about fed up with our political system and our so-called leaders; the corporate owned and operated media that works in collusion with the far-right, and the so-called Christian evangelicals that believe they have the answers to every problem on Earth in the bible. Of all the things that bother me the most, it is these so-called “Christians” that fund an immoral war and believe every lie that comes out of Bush./Cheney’s mouth.
These are not “Christians”. If you accept them, don’t do it under the guise of religion. True Christianity is not compatible with ethnic cleansing, saber-rattling and spying on their countrymen. If this is fundamentalist Christianity, in my mind, it is no better than radical Islam or the Jewish right-wingers that have taken over in Israel. Say what you may, but religion should have no place in politics. Two thousand years ago people were making laws in the name of Zeus and Hera. It’s no different today. You may say that I’m talking about mythology, but two thousand years ago this was the accepted religion in the Hellenistic World and they took it very seriously. You may think I’m being unkind, but if the world survives another two thousand years, the bible will be seen as what it really is, a collection of stories from the past that nobody really understands because of the many translations its been through, but everyone that preaches “the word of god” all believe that they have the “truth”. I really hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but the truth can mean different things to different people. What you see as the “truth” could be blasphemy to others.
So why do politicians feel they must wear their religion on their sleeve? As many people that might admire someone for their religious convictions, there are just as many that will see these beliefs as heresy. I guess when people are subject to the teachings of one sect (yes, sect) anyone that doesn’t believe in the same set of beliefs is considered “misguided”. What I have seen, especially in the South, is one of the first things that someone asks when introduced is “What church do you attend?” Frankly, it is no ones business what church I go to, but here in the South it is a perfectly acceptable question.
When George W. Bush said that God talks to him and gives him guidance, I cringe. When people start claiming that they hear God taking to them there are two things that I think about. The first thought that comes to mind is that this person’s elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top. The second thought that comes to mind is that this person is full of sh*t. To invoke God into one’s decision making process is fine for ordinary people. I have met quite a few people that claim they have gotten their answers from God. I really don’t believe them; maybe it was through prayer and meditation the resolved a few issues, but frankly I really don’t believe that God talks to anyone. If God is all that people say he/she is, I don’t expect that he would have anything to do with Bush. George has committed just about all the major sins in “the book”. Another thing is that I don’t think that God would talk to Bush, even if he is the President, because if God were as powerful and wise as everyone says he/she is, I don’t think he would be impressed with his Presidential status. If his own countrymen despise him, I doubt God would want to talk to him.
Speaking about Christianity, aren’t Pastors and Ministers and other members of the pulpit supposed to speak up for morality? Do the so called “Christian Evangelists” care about the deaths of so many civilians in Iraq? Do they dismiss these deaths because the people who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the violence and anarchy and the ‘collateral damage” were Muslims? If God exists, do you think he gives a damn whether or not these humans aren’t Christians? I ask this question to people outside the Christian sphere of influence because Christians believe that unless you accept Jesus as your personal savior, you will not be saved. This is apparently good enough for the rest of the “civilized” world we live in because unless you accept Allah as the one true God and that Mohammed was his prophet, then you also can’t be saved. This I imagine is a kind of an authorization or Carte Blanche if you will, for sending people who don’t believe as you do to hell.
Religion is a great idea, so is communism, but when you put people into these two great ideas; the whole premise behind them falls apart. The reason that they don’t work is the other ingredient that is involved is money. I’m sure that the human race has figured out that dogma + people + money = Death and Suffering. (DPM=DS). This formula can be verified throughout history. The worst part of the formula is that even when people start out with ideals and morals, the combination of these three elements ultimately ends up in human disaster.
I have noticed in my 57 years on Earth that people need something or someone to believe in. Every culture that I have encountered has a need for this. When the World Trade Center came down, Americans were shaken to the core. It seemed that a terrorist attack upon our soil made them vulnerable. People demanded not so much for justice, but revenge. The official timeline and explanation of the attacks have made some people suspicious. The fact is that now, six years after the attacks, according to what poll you look at, 40% to 70% don’t believe the “official” version of what took place on 9/11. This is a hard pill for most Americans to swallow. The more that people study the events of that tragic day, the more they have doubts about who exactly was behind the attacks. I’m no psychologist, but this puts most Americans in what’s called a “double-bind” situation. If you don’t believe the “official” version of 9/11, you are labeled a conspiracy nut. However if you blindly accept the government’s take on what happened, even though you have your doubts about many parts of it, you will eventually hold all of that in and eventually it will come out in unhealthy ways; like frustration, anger and eventually rage. Sending the Armed Forces into a nation that was Muslim as were the hijackers, and killing people from the Middle East helped people cope, but now the cost of the war, coupled with the lies that were told to start the war, and the American soldiers that have been killed or horribly wounded, have now turned this situation into a double-edged sword for the government.
This article is about religion and I bring the war and the government into this because without the Christian right, George Bush and his administration could have never pulled off what they did. Without the church-going religious folks that make up much of middle America, Senators and Congressmen would have been calling for Bush’s head on a plate. The facts are that much of the United States Congress and in fact, all levels of the government as we know it today, are filled with God-fearing Christians. The legislation that was enacted so that government could contribute to faith-based charities was the start of Bush’s plan to ingratiate his administration with the Christian right. Much is made of religion today because basically in effect, we are fighting two wars that have religion at the core of these conflicts. Politicians don’t come right out and say it, but the evidence is there.
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