I'm a Democrat, and I'm pissed off. You say to yourself, of course, because George Bush is implausibly in the early stages of a second term, and the Republicans basically control everything at the moment. But, that's not really why I'm angry.
There's a trend happening in politics and society, in fact that same trend strongly colored the outcome of this past election, and it's becoming apparent that it's more than a trend; it's here to stay.
I'm referring of course to the sudden emergence of values and morality dictating the landscape of American politics.
We have all heard how the godless Democrats lost the election because clearly "W" has personal conversations with God, while the Democrats are obviously trying to hijack the morals of every Evangelical Christian who can vote or might be willing to change a position on abortion or gay marriage.
I will be the first to admit that the Democratic Party dropped the ball on appealing to the average voter. This was our election to lose, and that's just what we did. Kerry wasn't the most accessible candidate, his advisers took many wrong turns in the campaign, and the Democrats absolutely must form a cohesive message if we expect to make any progress in years to come, but even with all of that, I fully believe that a majority of people that voted for Bush did so out of fear of the unknown rather than supreme confidence in his ability to lead.
And Bush has that affability that allows him to identify with the common voter, like say, those in Ohio. Which makes no real sense logically, because Bush has about as much in common with destitute farmers in the heartland as, say someone who married a ketchup heiress, but it's all about perception.
Okay, in a roundabout fashion, this brings me back to my point. I am a Democrat, and I am a Christian. I don't regularly attend church, but that has little impact on my belief in God, my prayers and my knowledge that God and I are cool with each other. That being said, I don't feel the need to go around espousing my views on religion to anyone who will listen, and I shouldn't. Religion is a personal view that has no place in government.
Someone pointed out to me recently that nowhere in the Constitution do the actual words "separation of church and state" exist, and that's true. But in the First Amendment, here is an excerpt of what does appear, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Now, Republicans will tell you that the latter part of this wording allows them to exercise their Christianity freely, wantonly and without impediment, and they're right. But the part I pay the most attention to is the beginning. There can be no national establishment of religion, so why are we seemingly disregarding the notions of the founding fathers to invoke the name of God at every turn, in every speech, in every debate and every press conference.
And it's purely a "you're with us or you're going to hell," mentality, and I'm sick of it.
If Bush is so in tune with Christian values and the tenets of the Bible, why are millions of Americans dying because of inadequate health care, children suffering because of laughable education funding, and tolerance of anyone's religion, sexual preferences or any other quality that makes a person different than the country club crowd in Crawford, Texas, gets minimal attention under this administration?
Those are not the Christian values that I subscribe to, but you would never know it because I don't wear my religion like an ostentatious badge of honor, and I never will.
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