What if right wing, conservative
Christians are not really in the majority in America?
What if adherents of
other belief systems tend to remain silent because they think they're
overwhelmingly outnumbered?
What if there is another
kind of morality that has more in common with people of all faiths?
I believe all of the
above is true.
How can it be?
Those who would have
us believe that the overwhelming majority of Americans are "God
fearing," puritanical Christians are organized. The Church
has wealth, contacts and a variety of local chapters in almost every
town in the country. It wields its interpretation of how things
should be with the strong arm of certainty, abetted by the threat
of eternal punishment for disobedience, even "wrong thinking."
It's a tough force to
deny. It pervades our everyday life, and has for centuries. It's
become so much a part of our culture that one must really look to
see it. When you think about it, you will be amazed at the number
of American laws, and customs having the effect of law, whose origins
can be traced directly to the Church.
Sunday closing laws;
tax exemption for church property; practically all laws relating
to marriage and the relations between the sexes - including country-wide
rule permitting only monogamous marriages, and laws against fornication
and other taboo sexual relationships; all laws of censorship, for
moral reasons, of the press, stage, radio, or speech; certain taboos
of word and speech forms; laws prohibiting certain parts of the
body being exposed to view, laws prohibiting recreational drug use,
laws against smoking cigarettes; anti-gambling laws; any law which
takes a paternalistic attitude toward citizens with the purpose
of ensuring his moral perfection rather than regulating his conduct
to prevent him from damaging other persons and vice versa, prevent
others from damaging him.
Look at sayings and figures
of speech. "God bless you." "Oh my god!" "Jesus
Christ!" It's everywhere. I've even heard very young children
speak authoritatively of God to their classmates, in a public school
classroom. It's easy to imagine the majority would approve of Christianizing
America.
It ain't necessarily
so.
Think about it. Today,
everyone knows at least someone who is fed up with radical Christian
elements trying to intrude further into our private lives. In cities,
the most densely populated areas of our country, everyone knows
lots of people who truly understand a need for the separation of
Church and State, and our numbers are growing in small town America,
too. Even moderate Christians cannot get behind today's radical
right wing agenda.
Don't be fooled.
Wealth and power are
tough to fight against. In America today, we have already lost much
of our free press. Most newspapers and t.v. news are so heavily
biased that it's impossible to learn the truth without hunting for
it. We're being fed the administration's (read as the radical Right's)
spin on events which chooses to leave out much of the information
that the Left is so gravely concerned about. They are trying to
play us as if we were an audience attending a magic show, "watch
our right hand while the other implements our true, extreme agenda."
We are absolutely left with the feeling that, even though we are
disgusted by what we see, the majority accepts it.
But, do they really?
As I meet and interact
with others I have to say, "NO!" I live in a small, red
town and yet I continue to meet more and more people who feel as
I do. I even know older, long term, dyed-in-the-wool Republicans
who are deeply ashamed of their party today. I am constantly being
hit with evidence that says a small minority is really running the
show. Look around yourself. What does your research show? How many
people do you know who really support the radical right-wing agenda?
But Americans voted
Dubya into office
Did they? Did they really?
The amount of controversy concerning the last two presidential elections
is enough to make thinking people say, "Hmm." As this
administration progresses it is plain to see that they are supported
by (and beholden to) unbelievable levels of wealth and power. It
is also apparent that this administration will go to any lengths
to achieve it's goals, which (based on results) seem primarily concerned
with the security and prosperity of itself and it's cohorts, as
opposed to the welfare of average Americans (who really are the
overwhelming majority.)
As time goes by, I feel
(not just think) more and more certain that the majority of Americans
did NOT vote for George W. Bush. If it's possible for him to control
the media, then why couldn't he manipulate an election (or two?)
In each, issues and concerns were raised surrounding the one area
they chose to recount. How many other areas across the country had
discrepancies that weren't even examined? A little interference
in several key states would really add up and also insure that a
thorough examination of any one area wouldn't make enough of a difference
to change the overall outcome.
So, what can we do?
Fight back! We
must make our numbers known. We must organize and go public in every
way we can to resist the will of the minority. We must use every
right and tool at our disposal to reclaim our country and our freedoms.
Speak up! Let
people around you know that you do not approve of the radical Right's
agenda. You may not convince those who do approve, but you will
give hope and encouragement to others who feel as you do. They will
feel more confident to speak their own conscience and encourage
still more people to do the same.
Get involved! I know
you're busy, we all are. But, if we leave matters like this to others,
you see what can happen! We must pay attention and we must take
action whenever possible. Here are some of my favorite online activist
groups:
http://www.truemajority.org
http://www.pfaw.org
http://www.moveon.org
http://www.impeachbush.org
http://www.now.org
Check them out, subscribe
for their action alerts and add your voice to the millions of other
voices that are crying out for change.
Support election reform!
It's a topic that Democrats want to address and Republicans don't,
so it's be relegated to the bottom of the priority list, way below
the "important" stuff like giving more money to the richest
top 10% of the population. Public pressure could change that. We
need a fully accountable system that will let us verify the results
and we need it before any more elections are held. Talk to people
and write letters to the editor of your local newspapers. Write
letters to your Senators and Representatives in Washington, too.
Vote! Again, we've
got to pay attention. We can't just watch t.v. ads for candidates
and make our decisions based on them. We must look into their records
and see how they acted before they were being considered for an
important office in order to get an idea of what we can expect from
them in the future. And remember, president isn't the only one that
counts. If we had a Democratic Congress, Dubya wouldn't be able
to get away half the stuff he's trying to pull. It's up to us to
make our government work. We really need to pay attention at every
level, including the local level.
Use your power!
You know you've got it. What you focus on comes to be. Thoughts
become things. Use your power for good.
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