Illiteracy in the Marble Halls

 

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

“In every age it has been the tyrant, the oppressor and the exploiter who has wrapped himself in the cloak of patriotism, or religion, or both to deceive and overawe the People.” ― Eugene Victor Debs

 

In defiance of the U.S. Constitution, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Lauren Boebert, presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano[1], and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have declared their support for a state religion based on Christian nationalist and Christian dominion dogma[2].

The First Amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Read that first part again. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”

Lauren Boebert, among others of the far-right authoritarian political spectrum didn’t read that part. I can only wonder if they have read the rest of the Constitution.

In a Sunday, June 28th, 2023, speech at the Cornerstone Christian Center in Basalt, Colo., Lauren Boebert argued, “The church is supposed to direct the government. The government is not supposed to direct the church,” Boebert told the crowd, which applauded. “I’m tired of this separation of church and state junk.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia hard-liner, adding her support to the idea of a Christian Nationalist government declared: “We need to be the party of nationalism and I’m a Christian, and I say it proudly, we should be Christian Nationalists.”

Reflecting the views of Boebert’s and Green’s soulmate Michele Bachmann who once said, “If you want take away my religious liberties,” she once said in a radio interview with Lars Larson, “you can advocate for that but you do it through the constitutional process and you don’t intimidate and no politician should give away my religious liberties or yours.” Somehow, in that muddled brain, she equated the call for gay rights as a move to take away her religious rights, and then assures us that her religious rights are ensconced in the Constitution; that human rights are a violation of her interpretation of the Constitution. Can she perceive why the term “batshittery” was invented to describe her incoherent ramblings?

The more conservative elements within the Christian religion have translated Bible verses in any manner that they feel promotes their views. It doesn’t matter what the scripture in question says, it only matters how it can be twisted, spun, bent, and mangled. That same thinking drives those Christians into reinterpreting the Constitution, our history, the words of the Founders, and the pronouncements of political figures. Anything can mean anything to the semi-literate.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, among a legion of others — thrive on fear and hate, the two-sided coin that drives the reactionary right.

A wise man once told me, “Do not ever- ever — make a crucial decision when you are in the throes of fear or hate. Nothing good can come of it. Wait until your senses return, and then decide.”

It’s unfortunate for our country that many of our politicians have not had a wise man or woman in their lives.

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[1] Mastriano came to national prominence by leading protests against COVID protocols, and became one of the leading voices in attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He literally brought bus-loads of supporters to the Jan. 6 insurrection and appeared to cross police barricades during the riot. He has spread Islamophobic conspiracy theories and tweeted out QAnon content. He pals around with white militias and prays to God to protect Confederate monuments. He once said women who have abortions should be charged with murder.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/10/doug-mastriano-christian-nationalism-dominionism-nar.html

[2] Connecting Christian Nationalism and Dominion Theology
https://mindshiftpodcast.medium.com/connecting-christian-nationalism-and-dominion-theology-93deb8c60237

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Dress Code

 

Photo by Elin Tabitha on Unsplash

 

I wasn’t expecting entertainment with my burger, but an argument at the next table left me with a sense of hope for American humanity that the hamburgers do not provide. A couple began a conversation in which the man offered a scathing comment on women’s rights in Saudi Arabia and on the requirement in Afghanistan that women wear the mobile tent known as the burqa.

“Forget the Burqa, Chris. To hell with women’s rights in Saudi Arabia and Iran.” The woman said. “The way you think of women rights here in your own country is a difference only of degree. You are little different than some insane imam in some backwater fundamentalist country. We send our military to Afghanistan to fight against Islamic Terrorism and the Islamic need to force their beliefs on others, while we Christians do the same thing in our own country.”

“Debra, I can give you a dozen reasons just off the top of my head for keeping our military in those so-called ‘backwaters,” Chris said. “January sixth was a wake-up call. We can fight terrorism on their turf, or on ours. I prefer to see them on the defensive. We must give the women of Islam the rights due any human.”

Debra was an attractive blond that commanded my attention when I entered the restaurant. She, and Chris were dressed in business attire, and what man doesn’t love a woman in a pencil skirt?

“We, and they, use any opportunity- all opportunities- to keep women subservient, docile, and submissive,” Debra said. “There is a pill called Plan B that takes care of unwanted pregnancy. Do you know what the major objections to the pill in this country were before its FDA approval?”

“It’s abortion and it’s pro-choice, both currently out of favor among the misogynist element, which seems to mean a LOT of our politicians.”

“That, too, but I was thinking in terms of the pill’s history. Before it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the largest body of complaints received by the FDA was that the availability of the drug would promote promiscuity. The self-righteous are not concerned about the health and welfare of women who use the pill, of its side effects, or even of moral issues surrounding abortion and pregnancy prevention. No, the freaks are concerned about behavior. A woman who can make decisions about pregnancy without a man is out of the man’s control, and that cannot be tolerated in this culture.”

“You’re out of touch,” Chris answered. “We’re trying to advance women’s rights, not deny them.”

“If this were a culture promoting women’s rights, the term ‘glass ceiling’ would be a quaint, archaic idea that passed through the culture for a week and was then forgotten. That phrase was coined in 1978 and it is still relevant almost half-a century later. Your alleged desire to advance women’s rights seems to be a tedious process. For all the lip service you pay, you are nevertheless threatened by assertive and independent women. All the holier-than-thou religious jargon you wrap around the abortion issue is nothing more than your constant reminder to women that if you can’t control your women, your society and your laws can. It always comes back to control.”

Debra glared at her partner, who sat in apparent stunned silence. “Let’s get out of here,” she said. She picked up her purse, laid some currency on the table, and walked out. Chris followed her.

I enjoyed a brief fantasy involving Debra in that form-fitting skirt: together, we fought for bodily autonomy and destroyed the glass ceiling. She was my romantic partner and my crusading associate. I imagined our sex life and our shared experiences. I pictured her in jeans, shorts, and negligee. I saw us dining at our intimate, candle-lit table.

And the fantasy crashed. With my luck, she can’t cook.

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