I think it's interesting that there is a growing debate in this country over whether or not we are a Christian nation, whatever that means. I don't think this is the kind of debate where there can be a winner or loser.
What is really interesting is that we are having a debate over it at all. Forty or fifty years ago nobody, even the most devout atheist, would argue that America was not a Christian nation. We are certainly still a nation that promotes Christian virtues and ideals. Whether that will remain the case is a good question for debate.
Nobody is arguing that Christians don't have every right to practice their faith or even evangelize, as long as they don't impose upon the rights of others to believe differently. It is the right to force Christianity on everyone and discriminate against those that refuse it, that the Wing Nuts are afraid of losing. It is a well grounded fear. Without institutionalized Christian dominance, nobody will go along with the shit they are shoveling. It might be different if their beliefs had anything to do with the real teachings of Jesus but they don't.
4 comments:
I share your distaste for the religious right, but I don't think they're a big deal any more.
A friend once asked me, "As a libertarian, how are you more comfortable with the bedroom intrusions of the Republicans than the pocketbook intrusions of the Democrats?"
My answer: No Republican has ever tried to intrude in my bedroom. But the fucking Democrats raid my wallet every day of the week.
The religious right thing is a boogeyman that Democrats keep using to scare moderates.
"The religious right thing is a boogeyman that Democrats keep using to scare moderates."
Bingo ! ! ! ! ! !
I think it's a boogeyman for me, more than most people. I fear and loath organized religion.
I don't think most people give a shit about it one way or another and that's one of the things that makes me feel better about it. There are, I think, less than 25% of the population that are really sweet on hard core Christianity. There are probably less than 10% who are really fearful of it like I am. It's fast becoming a dead issue in this country, like legalized abortion and ethnocentric racism. These things take time to die out, multi generational time. It only seems like slow progress to we mere mortals, who come and go in a few generations.
I see that James Dobson has come out in support of Rand Paul for Senate. That's a positive sign for the creation of a secular political environment in America.
We should all welcome that.
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