It has come to my attention that the "forum" that Obama and McCain participated in recently was actually a test of their fitness when it comes to religion. Such tests, by the way are prohibited by the constitution, but why should we let a little thing like the document on which this country is based stand in the way of our fevered religious probings? Seriously.
What astounds me is that both of these idiots stood for it. They went there voluntarily and answered very personal questions about their beliefs and their "Christian-ness." Unfuckingbelievable!
It should be noted that their stands on Buddhism, Islam, Wicca, Judaism, and any religion other than Christianity was not on the menu. Meaning that if you're not a Christian you're totally irrelevant in this country.
I am having what I will mildly call a crisis of incredulity over the religious fervor that has gripped this country and that NOTHING is being done to stop the discrimination, the persecution, the promotion of hatred and paranoia that is always a result of such unchecked fervor.
I rail about the fucking Catholics all the time, mostly because I suffered at their hands for over 12 years while being "educated." But this Christian righteousness is tantamount to a jihad on religious freedom in the United States. This religion test was the last straw for me. Both candidates of the major parties in this country are unfit to lead.
I am considered "unchurched" by a recent survey. There are many assumptions made about me in this survey of ridiculousness, but one of the most offensive is that I, as an unwashed, unchurched leech on society I am "less likely to participate in elections, or to donate to non-profit organizations, and less likely to use media or to engage in community activities." (Barna group survey, courtesy of Bilerico project)
Now I am PISSED!
I won't list all the reasons that this judgmental, condescending, skewed report exists only to shame me into becoming a heterosexual joiner who sends his kids to Liberty University is a farce. (It's ALWAYS gays vs. straights btw) What I'd really like to know is when the intelligent people of this country became mute. When did anyone with a brain stop speaking up and standing up to this kind of religious bullying?
Of course they're going to immediately scream religious persecution, wail that their right to religious freedom is being curtailed, point the finger of blame in every direction but at the mirror where it squarely belongs. And we're gonna let them.
I anxiously await the day when someone, anyone, stands up and tells these people what needs to be said. I have to wonder if our pitiful education system has ever made mention of the words of Edward R. Murrow when addressing the threat of Senator McCarthy to the freedoms on which this country was founded:
-"[T]he line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. … We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason. … (W)e are not descended from fearful men — not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent. … "
And I have to wonder when someone, anyone, is going to recognize the significance of those words to the world we live in today. America must return to its roots, to it's founding principles if it is to survive, and that means that we have to stand on our moral principles, not our religious righteousness, to set the example for the world that we used to pride ourselves on.
Our image has been destroyed, our moral imperative has been decimated by our actions these last eight years, and it will likely take more years than I will be on this earth to restore our reputation throughout the world, if we can. But we need to see the error of our ways and get to work repairing the damage caused by the revolution we've suffered at the hands of those who would rule with their religion, not their conscience. Fascism,(a political philosophy, movement, or regime, that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.) by any other name, is still Kryptonite to democracy. Exposing it, and fighting it, is the responsibility of every real patriot.
