“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.
#
[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
https://mindshiftpodcast.medium.com/connecting-christian-nationalism-and-dominion-theology-93deb8c60237
#
