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Edited on Sun Nov-21-04 10:13 AM by arendt
Folks, this stuff is red meat. If I don't get some responses on this one,
I am going to stop posting my essays here. At this horrible moment
in our country's history, I can't afford the loss of motivation that waiting
and kicking articles in the vain hope of getting some feedback causes me.
So, vote with a comment (other than "attaboy") or I'm not going to
do this anymore. This is not a threat, but more of a cry of despair.
arendt
----
Give Us Barabbas
by arendt
Democrats have been told they need to "get religion"; and it does seem
that the only way to get the attention of the Bush cultists is to quote scripture.
But, scripture is a slippery thing, as will be demonstrated below. But, first,
let us talk about belief and faith.
The fundamentalist right wing denies is that it is possible to have faith in any-
thing other than a patriarchal, vengeful, Old Testament god who is so sadistic
that he intends to send heathen and apostate souls to hell in a fiery thousand
years of apocalyptic mayhem, an event gloatingly awaited by his "elect" on earth.
(When did gloating become a Christian virtue?)
No matter how many times inquisitions, witch hunts, pogroms, and book-burnings
set civilization back to internecine slaughter and scientific quackery, no matter
how many Crusades end up pillaging their fellow Christians in Constantinople
or slaughtering everyone in Beziers because "God will know his own", the
fundamentalist believer never abandons his insane belief that applying the same
hideous tortures to humanity one more time will not end in the same old result of
brutalization of the population for the benefit of whichever bunch of cynical or
deranged bastards gain control of the unholy killing machinery.
The United States was founded on a different kind of faith. One hundred years after
the Thirty Years War had given religious warfare the bad name it deserves,
our Founding Fathers had every reason to keep religion out of government.
They were both practical men and educated men. They had seen what worked
and what had not worked in history. So, they set up a government based
on the principles that gave this country its character. Today, at least half of America
still keeps faith with the founders. It believes in open, honest government, in
'one man, one vote', in 'innocent until proven guilty', in freedom of speech and
religion, and in all the rest of the social innovations introduced at the founding of
our country.
There is, clearly, a difference between a citizen's faith in a government that he has
some control over, and a cult member's unblinking belief in whatever the party
line of the day is. The members of the cult of personality surrounding George
Bush daily demonstrate the gullibility summed up in the phrase "Who are you going
to believe, me or your own lying eyes?" . And, they will continue to do so at least until
the corporate media and the Big Brother GOP government pull the plug on the last
pretense of objectivity.
Increasingly, the theocrats driving the policy of the GOP and of the country
are beginning to resemble the sanctimonious power elite of the Bible, you know,
the "Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites" crowd that upset Jesus
so much. When the likes of Falwell, Robertson, and Franklin Graham preach,
they leave out the Christ who counsels peace, understanding, acceptance, and
turning the other cheek. Instead, they preach righteous slaughter, cherry-picking
their quotes from the patriarchal, massacre-laden Old Testament and the letters of
Paul, the misogynist and ex-persecutor of Christians. Increasingly, they incite mob
violence against anyone who refuses to accept their every edict as holy fatwa.
To anyone with even the slightest exposure to the New Testament, there is
a memorable scene of this kind of mob violence:
...."The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the
....release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and
....asked them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?' they said, 'Barabbas.'
....Pilate said to them, 'But in that case, what am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?'
....They all said, 'Let him be crucified!' He asked, 'But what harm has he done?' But they
....shouted all the louder, 'Let him be crucified!' Then Pilate saw that he was making
....no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his
....hands in front of the crowd and said, 'I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your
....concern.' And the people, every one of them, shouted back, 'Let his blood be on
....us and on our children!' "
........Matthew 27: 20-25.
Those verses are the text for my sermon today. I'm sure the sermon will bring howls of blasphemy
from the theocratic mob. But, if Mel Gibson can get rich turning scripture into a gore-spattered
exercise in sadism and anti-Semitism, I am allowed to interpret it by my moral code. Shoe pinch
on the other foot, Mr. Falwell? Too bad; you do not have a monopoly on morality. You have given many
sermons that used the Bible to warn America that it was being led astray. If you were a real Christian,
you might be humble enough to listen to my version of that story. But you aren't and you won't; so
let us begin without you:
Democracy has been sent in shackles to the corporate powers that rule our country. Through
their rude and cynical mouthpieces, the mainstream media asked the mob whether we wished
to free democracy from its torturers or whether we want the criminal Bush freed from all constraints
to lie, steal, and kill at home and abroad. Of course, the foregone conclusion was decided by the
GOP disenfranchisement initiatives, the vote thieves operating the unverifiable e-voting
machines, and the sex-crazed lynch mob whipped up by the fundamentalist radio and TV networks.
Although Mullah Grover Norquist, a devout worshipper of Lenin, has openly stated he wants to
"drown government in a bathub", the truth will be much more painful, and much more fun for the
sadists managing the proceedings. American democracy is to be immobilized on a cross of debt
until it expires from exhaustion. Loyal Americans who believe in really doing their public service
jobs will be worked to death, while phony patritots throw wrenches into the works of government.
Just as the Jews mocked Jesus, the fundamentalists mock democracy. They name
licenses to pollute "Clean Skies" and licenses to clear cut "Healthy Forests". They taunt
and exhaust teachers (whom the ex-Secretary of Education had the gall to call "terrorists")
with the unfunded "No Child Left Behind" bill. They call anyone who disagrees with them an
effete intellectual, with the same tone a medieval Christian addressed a ghetto Jew. They call
anyone who opposes them a traitor. In the end, they will divide democracy's garments by
casting lots. Which is perfectly appropriate, since that great "moralist" William Bennett heartily
approves of gambling, especially with someone else's Social Security funds.
The fundamentalists have decided that democracy shall be crucified, and crooks
like Bush shall be set free. The clever corporations wash their hands of it, saying "This
was the peoples' decision, not ours." - just a little insurance in case Bush somehow
manages to botch his latest venture in failing upwards. All that is left for the metaphor
to be complete is for the fundamentalists to stand up and say "Let democracy's blood be
on us and on our children." But whether they say it or not, it will be. It is our children who
will fight the religious wars. It is our children who will either pay the crushing taxes or
face a totally bankrupt government and a decaying infrastructure. It is our children who will die
from ozone depletion, climate change, and polluted food, water, and air.
Today, progressives wait, like first century Christians, to be called before Bush's authorities
and to be asked to spit on the cross of democracy and swear allegiance to theocracy. I have
no illusions. Many Americans would rather live as slaves than die. But, in the end, Bush's America
is as corrupt and brutal as the Roman Empire it so slavishly apes. If the world survives the wars,
environmental devastation, and social deconstruction of the GOP fundamentalist dictatorship,
the faith of real democracy will eventually see the light of reason again. But, for now, it looks like
democracy is going to need a few American martyrs before it wakes up to how implacable
the forces of fear and hatred are and begins to defend itself. As we struggle against
a rising tide of violent reaction, we would do well do remember the Buddhist teaching that
spirituality is not about sin and repentence, but rather about ignorance and enlightenment.
Peace be with you.
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