…the Bleacherman has entered the stadium…
Sometimes I feel as if I am tied to a chair and forced to listen to an eight track tape that keeps going around and around and around. There is never a beginning and never an end. Same old noise, over and over again. Ugh.
All that I hear lately is a constant and bellowing lamenting on the absence of God in politics, the war on religion and the degradation of the American moral soul. It seems as if God has been called in from the bullpen to save the game although I’m not sure what game really needs saving and whether God can really, at this point in our quest for absolute insanity, save us from ourselves.
Somewhere in the minds of those politicians who are out there every day whoring themselves out to get votes or radio and television personalities who seek to further their influence over their flock by stoking the fires of hatred and distrust; the need to reinsert Christian values into the political discussion and elevate it to a one size fits all standard savior of our society has become a dominant theme in voiced opinion.
The more I listen to this never ending cacophony of religious dogma the more I fear. At times I feel as if what is spoken reflects a path towards the Inquisitions rather than a furtherance of democracy and social ethics.
When I was growing up, I was led to believe that God and the word and philosophy of God was all about compassion and empathy. Kindness was an implied commandment. Benevolence and the love and respect for humanity axiomatic. But then come the vulgarities of the Conservative Christian right and my whole belief system comes tumbling down like Chicago Cub pitching staff in June.
The Christian right cheers when they hear of a policy that condemns the poor to die because they do not have money for healthcare. They cheer like the Romans cheered the lions when they devoured their ancestral Christians in the Coliseum. They condemn those that receive food stamps because it helps people survive a downturn in the economy which they helped create and foster. They talk of a war on religion to support their own crusade against those that don’t believe as they do.
Who in the hell is this God they are talking about. Surely it is not the God that I believe in.
Rush Limbaugh calls a young college student a slut and a prostitute simply because she seeks help in paying for her contraceptives. He does this while applauding those who commit adultery…like Senator Vitter and twice convicted Newt Gingrich. Has their God revoked the anti-adultery amendment?
Whether Rush Limbaugh’s apology was a sincere reflection of his conscience or contrived and constructed to placate a host of fleeing advertisers, what needs to be learned from this episode of vulgarity is the need to keep political debate focused on the issues and not turn rhetoric into vitriolic character assassinations.
Such lessons need to be learned on both the left and right side of the political spectrum. Calling Ms. Fluke a slut is no more becoming of American morality than Bill Maher calling Sarah Palin a cunt. Neither discourse belongs in our culture. Neither is funny, neither is appropriate and neither adds value to any offered opinion.
America faces some real issues and needs real people to engage in real debate. People aren’t snobs because they want children to seek advanced education and possible a college education. John F. Kennedy’s speech on the separation of church and state, if read correctly, should not make even the most religious vomit.
It is not an act of opportunity for a President to call a constituent and offer moral support for being viciously attacked by idiots for expressing political views. It is an act of compassion…something we need a hell of a lot more of in this country.
If Republicans really advocate small, less intrusive government then let’s debate exactly what that means. If they want government out of their fiscal matters then why do they advocate such a prominent role in defining morality and social conduct? Let’s discuss this…civilly. It is important.
Santorum should stop being a hypocrite. I wonder how many wives of current members of congress are taking some form of contraceptives which, I may add, are being paid for by taxpayers. So why doesn’t Rick of God propose eliminating contraceptive coverage from today’s Congress’ health care coverage?
Santorum needs to stop blaming media for committing fraud because it reports on his constant and endless demand for religious and moral engineering in our society. He demands that there should be less children born out of wedlock but denies women access to contraceptives. He opines that all of the world’s problems emanate from the fact that there is marked erosion in community and family infrastructures. Yeah, that is the reason. Sex. There my friends is the root evil of all that is wrong with the world.
We need to stop this out of control proclivity to force feed Rick Santorum’s God and his morality on the rest of us. He needs to stop planting HIS God on our front lawn like some KKK cross threatening that if we do not believe as he does harm will come to us.
Why have these false prophets stored civility and godliness in a Tupperware container and hidden it in the freezer behind my grandmother’s chicken soup?
In a recent tweet, Professor Caroline Heldman, of Occidental College, reminded me of a biblical tenent that I had long forgotten. I thought it had been repealed by the Christian Right. Judge not lest you be judged.
…the Bleacherman has left the stadium…
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