Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof
___________
If you managed to get through grade school, you've read this many times, but it never seems to influence the way Americans act or feel: a syndrome which seems more influenced by mob psychology and sectarian chauvinism than anything else. Of course it's long been this way and we've long been a xenophobic and gullible nation, but with the advent of round-the-clock swineherds like Fox, the grunting and squealing of feral hog America is drowning out the voice of our founding fathers and of decent men and women everywhere.
"even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service." (Ben Franklin)
The same folks who want to persecute Muslims for their religion and prohibit the free exercise thereof will assert, without twitching their nostrils at the smell of hypocrisy, that this is a Christian nation and that Christian laws, whatever they might be, supersede our national laws about abortion, birth control, spending government funds on Christian activities and browbeating children into theological submission. It's not OK that a Muslim man doesn't want to drink alcohol or a Jew doesn't want to eat pork, but it's fine that a Christian pharmacist refuses to dispense condoms. Damn the constitution, we're a Christian nation. The laws of other religions need not apply and in fact, although there is no chance whatever that the United States will adopt the Quir'an as a replacement to the Constitution and body of laws, it's not enough for the grunting pigs of God who would like to make the free exercise of Islam illegal.
He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief. (Isaiah 53:3)
grief. (Isaiah 53:3)
The latest crusade seems to be about portraying every comment by every Muslim as an example of Sharia, from a cabby in Detroit asking that he not be forced to transport alcohol to someone praying in Arabic in front of the white house. According to one witness, he was asking for a blessing on those "Christians" who seemed oblivious to the staggering irony of a mob mocking and cursing a bearded man, bent in prayer, forgiving them for persecuting him. None of this has anything to do with any effort to replace our laws and courts with Islamic laws or Islamic judges nor can it since no effort exists. As to the rules of private observance - let's let only Christians do that! The only credible attempt or theocratic pretenders to the throne of course is by self-styled Christians, as the porcine squeals of the glossolalians Palin and Huckabee would prove.
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen. . ." (George Washington)
Perhaps it's fortunate that such people are stupid enough to hoist themselves with their own petty petards. You'll recall and perhaps with a smile, Oklahoma's attempt to thwart the non-existent Islamic take-over by attempting a tin foil hat law banning all religious commands -- which in effect banned the Jewish commandments they had been trying to insert into American life, but we can't afford to depend on their congenital stupidity when so much is at stake. And yes, it takes a stupid man to think that somehow Americans would decide to write Sharia or Islamic tribal practices into American law in open defiance of the Constitution or that the tiny percentage of Muslim Americans would somehow magically or accidentally do it by themselves.
The courts have decisively ruled that the establishment and free exercise clauses forbid the Federal and State to prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion or atheism. The Torah, the Bible, the Quir'an, the Gita, the works of Nietzsche: state or Federal government may not adopt any of them as preferable, much less mandatory. But we're a little people, a silly people - greedy, barbarous, and cruel people if I might borrow from T.E. Lawrence -- and a cowardly, ignorant and hateful people as well. "Conservative" legislators continue and will persist in thriving on our traditional sins by inventing threats which must be countered by measures to accelerate our inexorable descent into looserhood. They'll continue to demonize the way their predecessors demonized German, Irish, Italian, Mexican, African, Catholic, Jewish, Chinese and Indian immigrants and history will continue to prove them wrong.
It certainly looks like there is a methodical attempt by the GOP/"conservatives"/the Koches and other power barons to drag this country into the mire of human oppression and government controls. Funny coming from the party of less government.
ReplyDeleteAnd they will continue to invoke the intent of the Founding Fathers even when there is ample evidence against such claims.
The great melting pot has become a muddy cesspool of intolerance, unwarranted suspicions and prejudice.
I'm tired of the endless attacks on others for their beliefs or nonbeliefs. I think we progressives should be more mindful to add our written and vocal support to those being persecuted for their faith, whether we agree with their beliefs or not.
Because the question is not whether another believes like me but whether I am willing to defend their right to live and work and worship freely in America.
And we need to continue to cite the law of the land and make intelligent arguments even when it seems like we are hitting a brick wall and no one's listening because the moment we stop, we will be defeated.
Rocky
ReplyDelete"Because the question is not whether another believes like me but whether I am willing to defend their right to live and work and worship freely in America."
You are, I'm quite certain, echoing the sentiments of Jefferson who said it mattered not to him if a man had one god or two hundred as long as he didn't pick his pocket or break his leg. We've come a long way from those sentiments, I'm afraid and we may be moving even further of late.
Darn that stinkin’ Constitution, it protects liars, pedants, ideologues, and hypocrites in equal measure. Revile them as we do, the ingrates always hide smugly behind the same paper covenant that protects us all … as those fishy Flounders had intended. At best, democracy is a messy business that gives voice to the mindless and mindful without prejudice under law.
ReplyDeleteI tend to be a bit more cautious in how I use the term “conservative.” In his book, Conservatives Without Conscience, John Dean catalogues dozens of different flavors of “I scream,” ranging from bland tasting to downright vile depending upon how rigid and authoritarian are their views. What sets apart the merely “conservative” from the far more rabid “reactionaries” is the tendency to be “social dominators” and “social controllers” who would impose their views under force if given the opportunity. Certain Republicans of the 1950s and 60s, such as Eisenhower, Javitts and Keating, would not be considered “conservative” by today’s standards, and today’s reactionary Tea Baggers should be considered, not as conservatives, but as proto-fascists.
In Moral Politics, George Lakoff defines the authoritarian mindset further as adherence to a rigid social hierarchy that confers absolute authority to God over man, church over state, rich over poor, adults over children, men over women, advanced nations over poor nations, Christian denominations over non-Christian, and certain races over others. I think this covers the reactionary gamut.
Of course, I am regurgitating reading material here, nothing new or especially insightful, except to note with caution that those to whom we refer should be parsed in more precise terms. Recently, for instance, moderate conservatives have spoken against the outrageous punditry of Glenn Beck, and noted conservative writer Kathleen Parker has never been comfortable with the theo-con agenda. Furthermore, there are far more Christians of the “love thy neighbor” persuasion than those who belong to hate groups.
Perhaps one more quote worthy of this occasion, David Neiwert in his book, The Eliminationists:
“For all of its logic and love of science, a consistent flaw weights down modern liberalism: an overweening belief in its own moral superiority (…) which for all their enlightenment and love of tolerance are maddeningly and disturbingly intolerant of the “ignorance” of their rural counterparts.
It simply means accepting being a part of a democracy that is enriched by diversity of all kinds. Certainly, traditional rural values should have a place among all that diversity that liberals are so fond of celebrating. Because until liberals learn to accord it that respect, they are doomed to remain trapped in the vicious cycle being fueled on both sides. Conservatives will also have no incentive to escape that cycle. For liberals, escaping it may be a matter of simple survival – especially if the rabid Right’s eliminationist fantasies ever start coming to life.”
Signing off as ...
Brother Kill-Them-With-Kindness-and-Serenity (formerly Octopus)
When I put "Christians" in parentheses, it's so that one knows I'm not referring to those who actually are such, but to those who loudly and obliviously re-enact those things they blame others for to the extent that they crucify Jesus on a daily basis. No, I do not consider mocking some poor old man in the street to be Christian, but as to the forgiveness, he may have been showing -- would it be fair to call that an example thereof? I'm sure most Christians and most Muslims and most Atheists are fine people, but that's not the point. The point is hypocrisy and its affinity for hollow certainties.
ReplyDeleteSanctifying Xenophobia and the eternal war on heresy does not have to be part of any religion, but that it so often is, is far more of a condemnation than a simple cynic like me or even Jesus could ever issue.
"traditional rural values should have a place among all that diversity that liberals are so fond of celebrating. Because until liberals learn to accord it that respect, they are doomed to remain trapped in the vicious cycle being fueled on both sides."
I most certainly agree and am in a sense possessed of such countrified virtues myself, some of which have been described as twisted obsessions by liberals, and in most illiberal fashion. One should have noticed that I'm often a critic of smug liberalism as well as smug religiosity and smug conservatism and perhaps it has been noticed and misinterpreted by ignoring the smug part.
Being liberal, in the sense of inclusiveness, open-mindedness, tolerance and an aversion to authoritarianism, is a bit like sitting on a fence these days. You don't want to fall into the muck on either side, but those picket fences are such a pain in the ass.
Suppose you are a stranger passing through Middle America and you come across a town simply referred to as the “Village of the Darned.” At first glance, it is a seemingly normal place with country stores and well-manicured neighborhoods; however some of the residents seem a bit odd. Mute and expressionless except for furtive, hyper-vigilant eyes scanning the streets, they keep to themselves and seem to communicate via a kind of telepathy. These are the Heathen Aliens, those extra-terrestrial beings who came to the Village a generation ago and now live among the native Earthlings.
ReplyDeleteIn 1955, a controversy split the Village of the Darned where I grew up. At Christmas time, a local schoolteacher had separated her third grade class into two groups: One group of true believing Earthlings and an estranged group of Heathen Aliens. The privileged group celebrated the holiday with stories, song, and exchanges of gifts. The heathen children were removed to the back of the classroom, supplied with paper and crayons, ignored and left unattended.
Within days, Heathen Alien parents bearing pitchforks stormed the school in protest … demanding fair and non-sectarian treatment of their children, who had been segregated to the back of the classroom and made to feel devalued and disenfranchised. The native Earthlings argued: “Our town, our school, and ‘free expression thereof’ means this is our birthright, and you have no right to kick or complain.” These are the events that divided the Village of the Darned of my childhood.
Most towns and villages these days are not inhabited exclusively by native Earthlings, not quarantined from the outside world, and not above the anti-establishment clause that reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” … the kind of laws and prevailing social attitudes that discriminate against minorities and turn them into second class citizens.
While the huckster and former minister is entitled to his beliefs, his bully pulpit pandering brings us back to a shameful time in our social history when the rights of others were violated.
Octo:
ReplyDelete"a shameful time in our social history when the rights of others were violated."
When did that end? Florida has 50,000 sex offenders living in the woods even though they've finished their sentences. Ex felons may never be able to vote again. Anyone with a dark complexion or an accent may have to carry an internal passport. I'm told that, the constitution be damned, you can't run for office in at least two states unless you assert that you believe in a "higher power." Huckabee is fine with that. Palin thinks there are witches.
Some day, this will be someone's dark ages.
Captain,
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the above cited by you, it seems the struggles of our generation have come to naught; racism and anti-Semitism are still with us joined by anti-Hispanic, anti-Islamic, and anti-Gay hysteria; considering the latest assault against women's right and access to reproductive healthcare; the assault against labor and the middle class; the outright theft of pension and retirement assets; considering the rampant and unfettered practice of graft in our political system ... these times are far more sinister than anything in living memory. Even the legacy of our forbearers is being stolen from us; anger and rage does not even begin to describe what I am feeling right now.