Perhaps the most disheartening things that have been posted on the day after the election are the extreme religious reactions and the failure of people to separate church and state within their lives. I was born and raised in a religious family and was given no choice in the matter until after high school. I remember when the attitudes at church in relation to politics changed in the mid 80's. The church became infected by the Reagan mentality and it was convinced by Falwell and others as to how much of a Saint this man was. The denomination that I came from consisted of non drinkers and they believed that anyone drinking would burn in hell but of course, this was overlooked when Ronnie would partake in giant beer chugs. Thanks to the 700 club, Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Focus on the Family and christian radio, church and state have been joined in an unholy matrimony that can't be broken. The Christian world view is an offspring of this union and has brought guilt into the mix. I observed a post today claiming that God would bless the USA despite what happened in the election and some saying that this was God's way of bringing about the end of the world and the most concerning were the postings about how could they face their kids and church classes and what could they say after this election result? I have several statements for these types of people. Number one on the list would be that if you serve a God who produces political guilt in your soul, then I want nothing to do with your version of God. There is no moral high ground in following a political party and there is no eternal impact upon a person's soul if they vote against the party that you believe in or fail to vote. We have gone from being consumed with hatred of Muslim culture and it's practices to a place where we insist and expect anyone running for public office or participating in a sporting event to show their Christian credentials at every opportunity. Christian persecution does exist but it's in reverse. It's the Christians who are doing the persecuting. Try being a Deist or an Atheist, a Jew or a even a Catholic and see how easy it is to live a life of freedom. I have long since walked away from all of the guilt and strings that the church attempted to place upon me. I find myself looking in from the outside and it's hard to imagine that I ever truly believed all of the rituals and mind controlling philosophies shoved upon the masses. Churches that insist upon preaching the gospel of politics should have their tax exempt status taken away and then we would see if the faithful flock would stick around without the tax deduction benefits. When they make a point of preaching hate, partisanship or discrimination, it's not a matter of Big Government suppressing their freedoms but it's a matter of getting what they've asked for and deserve. I see so much racism dressed up and disguised as religious freedom and political party association. When 90% of a church congregation supports drug testing for welfare recipients and yet has no problem with corporate welfare or subsidies for Big Oil which trumps social welfare at a 10 to 1 clip, something is horribly wrong. The prevailing mentality and unsaid insinuation is that welfare goes to Black Americans who do nothing but sit around all day looking at their fancy cars, smoking weed and drinking cheap wine that they bought with food stamps. If it wasn't based in racism, the accusation wouldn't sting so badly for right wing, Christian republicans.
Reaching across the isle has been mentioned a lot lately but it doesn't count if you're reaching across to join hands with another republican on the other side. Believe me, Democrats know how to reach out and extend olive branches and we also know first hand what it feels like to have our hands slapped and the olive branches thrown back at us at full speed. Democrats have moved so far to the middle that we've crossed midfield. Until republicans figure out that America means more than a pledge to Grover Norquist , we can never begin to solve our problems as a Nation. We stand ready and willing to work on big solutions to big problems but the road blocks get really freaking old.
The current political climate demands that anyone running for political office be supportive of drone attacks and killing terrorist at any cost. It's not that it's correct or proper but just a sign of the times. The defense contractors make millions from the operation, development and building of these items and they are huge political donors to the campaigns. Some day, a truly brave soul will stand up and speak out against the atrocities committed in the name of homeland security and hopefully, the American People will be ready to hear the message and change our ways for the better. Exporting war should be a last resort and not an excuse to create wealth for the richest corporations in the world.
All this being said, there were some moments of great meaning on election night. As I started interacting with the members of the Southern Donkey group, I became emotional as many responded and thanked me for doing what we do. I find great comfort in our numbers and could never convey just how much each and every one of you mean to me. It's times like these that make me know that it's all worth while and make me feel like we're making a difference. The South can be a beautiful place but only as attractive as the manner in which we treat our fellow man regardless of their skin color, religion, sexual orientation or wealth. The republican party continues to exert control and dominion over the South in elections and politics but it's not as one sided as it once was. Overall, the South is locked in an approx. 60/40 split between republicans and Democrats but my hope is that someday we can rise up and speak out without the instant judgement associated with daring to break away from the approved religious and political standards that many have come to expect and assume.
TSD 11/07/2012
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