| Holy art thou President |
| What do you get when you blend politics and religion? The result tends to resemble the effect of mixing an acid with a base... your science lab explodes. Throughout history we've watched religion drive political agendas and motivate governing systems. Since Egyptian times, religion had played a huge role in how laws were designed, social classes were defined, and wars began... until the late 1700's, when the United States came to be. It was a nation founded by persons seeking freedom. Freedom from religious prosecution, freedom to make their own choices in life and live free of a King (or Queen) and his/ her absolute power. And for centuries, this system has been in effect and extremely succesful. The freedom our form of government grants its citizenry is relatively un-matched in the world at large. That is, until now. In order to win his second term as President, George W. Bush relied almost entirely on banking Christian votes. The Moral Majority, led by Jerry Falwell, helped this happen, by rallying devote (and fundamentalist) Christians around the incumbant President. Sure enough, the Christian votes put Bush over the top and allowed him to walk away victorious. You might be asking "What does the Moral Majority get out of Bush being in the White House?" Well, that's simple... they get, are you ready for this? THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Before you start rolling your eyes and thinking of me as an advocate for conspiracy theories (not that I rightly care what you think, no offense), let me explain. Unless you're blind and deaf like Tommy Walker in The Who's infamous rock opera, you've probably noticed that the United States has, since November, become a lot more Christian. Suddenly we're seeing more and more schools teaching Creationism instead of Evolution. Time Magazine and People Magazine have transformed into Christian manifests, printing Jesus and/ or Mary on every single cover they produce. Suddenly it's "in" to be Christian. This didn't bother me to a point where I felt it necessary to be vocal on the subject until the recent Shiavo Case. In case you've been living under a rock, or if you're finding this article a year from now or more, Terri Shiavo was a mentally retarded woman who sparked a large amount of debate in the United States. The Florida woman was living on a feeding tube, and while still conscious, she was brain dead. Her husband wanted to pull the plug, because that's what Terri Shiavo wanted. But her family wanted her to live on... and wham, controversy. The entire nation took sides in the debate for her life, and politicians quickly joined the fray. Republicans and Christian Fundamentalists (I say that as if they're two separate entities!) fought to keep her alive. In a show of abusing power, Congress wrote a LAW, which the President signed, that was specifically designed for Terri Shiavo. WAIT! HOLD EVERYTHING! The creation of laws that only benefit a single person and or family is PRECISELY what this country was founded to AVOID! When laws are created to benefit individuals, it shows that this nation is spiraling into chaos. If they can create a law designed specifically to cater to the needs of a handicapped Florida Woman, what is to stop them from creating laws that benefit themselves? What is to stop the President from issuing himself absolute control? Now that the Republicans in Washington have seen the simplicity in creating laws that aren't encouraged by public desire and are rather designed in the image of the politician's own personal beliefs, can we expect other nonsense laws to be forged? My assumption is yes, we can. With the Christian right ruling our nation, we can expect to see Federal laws passed and upheld that make abortion illegal. Creationism taught in every single school. Gay marriages outlawed. Violence in video games banned. Freedom destroyed. Throughout history, Religion has proven itself to be a method of stripping freedom and individuality from society. Religion discourages free will and open debate. It discourages scientific advancement and research. It dissolves creativity and degrades artistry. And lets also not forget, more people have died in the name of Christianity than any other religion and any other cause, outright. So what do you get when you blend politics and religion? Joe Q. Christian is hoping that his religious beliefs in the White House will create a "Demolition Man" type society of drugless, swearless, violenceless bliss. Boy oh boy is he wrong. Instead, he should expect holy wars waged by the most powerful military force in the world since the Roman Empire. People rioting in the streets as their freedoms are stolen in an effort to cleanse our society the Christian way. Political leaders need to realize that this country is founded on a Freedom of Religion. Not every citizen is Christian. And they need to realize this before the country witnesses its second civil war. -Matt Rock |
| April 04, 2005 |
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