Our war on terror begins with Al Qaeda, but it does not end
there.
They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.
They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
No George. They don’t hate our freedoms. The terrorists – outside of a few hardline ideologues
- hated our support for Middle East dictatorships… despotic governments further
serviced/supported by multinational oil interests, and the US military
industrial complex & Wall Street finance.
They hate our hypocrisy: democracy in the US, and US backed tyranny
throughout the Middle East. Irony on top
of ironies: Bush and the GOP, and the Dem establishment, sponsored &
supported – and still do, to this very day – the terror state that exported
radical fundamentalist Wahhabism, globally (the very same religion that is
responsible for taking American soldiers’ lives). That terror state would, of
course, be, Saudi Arabia.
But there’s a greater threat to America’s Constitution and freedom today, than Wahhabism & militant
Islam. (Not that radical Islam was ever
a real US threat.)
No, America has its own Taliban
right here at home.
History’s rhythms repeat over and
over, never entirely identical, but often very similar. Time, space, the globe: none of these are
barriers to history’s repetition. One of
the more remarkable patterns is how religious minorities – fleeing persecution
for their faith – arrive in a new world.
Not in every instance, but sometimes, the persecuted - although still a
minority - come to power. And instead of
showing empathy for alternative beliefs & faiths, the formerly disenfranchised
utilize their new found power to persecute other beliefs, creeds and religions, and
legislate morality.
Let’s see how a few examples have
played out:
Puritanical Christians free themselves
from Catholicism and England, and head for the new world: where they
promptly set up their own version of Sharia law, claim indigenous land as their
own, and begin persecuting alternative beliefs and faiths. Today, these very same fundamentalist – still believing that the world is gunning for them – control one of two parties w/in
the US political duopoly (even though they are a minority and shrinking). With single minded purpose, today’s Evangelicals
(aka Charismatics & Puritans) vote for the Republican party – that shafts
them economically, at every turn – but does their bidding when it comes to
stacking SCOTUS. This in turn, allows the
zealots to establish, & legislate, an American fundamentalist theocracy
from the bench, via a strict moral code. Mock them at our peril, the Christian-right is still a major political force to be reckoned w/ in America.
Another example: Orthodox Jews
flee Nazi Germany and a racist Europe/Russia to set up shop in a new land,
Palestine. Where over time, both the
orthodox & the secular rebel against British colonial occupation, claim the
land for themselves & subsequently gain more land through war, and engage in a
war of attrition w/ the local Arab community - utilizing the Manifest Destiny
playbook. Today’s Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews), a relatively small minority (perhaps 10% of the population), wield exceptional economic and political power w/in the
State of Israel. The majority of
Israelis play by the rules established by the Haredim, who have deemed
themselves to be – again, not unlike US fundamentalist Christians – the sole
arbiters and diviners of the Torah and God’s plan. The Haredim receive all
kinds of benefits and favors from Israel’s socialist state, not the least of
which is exemption from mandatory military service (that particular exemption,
however, maybe coming to an end). In
terms of politics, the Haredim are kingmakers in one of the most powerful
countries on the planet.
Example three: Salafism and Wahhabism are two fundamentalist
groups w/in the Sunni branch that many Muslims, likely, don’t want any part of;
but here again, a small puritanical minority crush the grand party that is
life, based upon their societal vision and religious code. As w/ Sunnis, so goes the Shia… each Muslim branch, Sunni and Shia, has their own minority of zealots, who dictate morality,
social mores, and depending upon the Middle East country, may wield exceptional political power.
And the common denominator w/ all
these Christian, Jewish, and Muslim hardliners, you guessed it: they desire,
and sometimes achieve, strict adherence to their version of faith by everyone
else; the establishment of theocracy or defacto-theocracy; the legislating and
enforcement of their strict version of morality; patriarchy; religious fascism;
homophobia; and misogyny (see the growing number of states legislating against abortion).
This is exactly the group of
misanthropes you don’t want to hang out with; in fact, they really do deserve each other.
Combined, these fundamentalist groups are your freedom haters. And the group all freedom loving Americans
should be most afraid of is our own special brand of fundamentalist, the
Charismatic and Evangelical faiths.
For the American Taliban, freedom
is the enemy. They can’t have women
enjoying themselves, and in charge of their bodies &
reproductive rights, why it’s a threat to patriarchy. The fundamentalist can’t have homosexuals out
of the closet. Homosexuality, or pansexuality, presents an unwelcome alternative, all too often, to a
lifetime of being stuck in a dead end, loveless, heterosexual marriage (if what
we read about divorce statistics, and declining marriage rates, is accurate).
The GOP’s assault upon the freedom of the press… America's Puritans have the Bible, guns, and Fox News.
Separation of church and
state? America's Puritans say, no
thanks. And apparently, to this tribe,
the Constitution and the rule of law no longer matter either, not with Orange
Capone in the White House. And if Trump,
the GOP, and the donor class robs their political base blind, and the death
rate spirals out of control – from the Midwest overdosing on Purdue Pharma’s product
– well, the ends justify the means.
It’s been argued that the 9th
and 14th Amendments combined protect persons from any infringement
of life, liberty, and property by federal & state government, w/ out due
process of law. SCOTUS has also argued
that just because a particular right is not enumerated w/in the Constitution, or
The Bill of Rights, does not mean it doesn’t exist; but rather, the right,
arguably, should be assumed to exist (as long as, said right does not infringe
upon the life, liberty, and property of third parties). Surely, the 14th Amendment meant
for all persons to enjoy life, liberty, and happiness. Surely, the 14th Amendment does
not strictly apply to Christian fundamentalists and their world view, to the exclusion of everyone else.
I’ll argue it again: these social problems are easy to resolve, if we can – as Christ encouraged – love our neighbors as ourselves. Even if we can’t manage love, perhaps mutual respect & tolerance is a great start. If one doesn’t want to have an abortion don’t have one. Don’t want to be gay, don’t be gay. Want to be a fundamentalist Christian, be one. (Christians are not being persecuted in this country; in fact, fundamentalists wield oppressive power.) But no minority, or majority, should abridge the personal freedoms & liberties this country was founded upon and that have evolved over time.
And finally, here’s some really
good and bad news. First the good
news: white evangelicals – fundamentalists – are dropping in numbers (alas, some business about mortality).
Their hold on power is, likely, to prove tenuous, as our youth reject
organized religion and the number of Americans with no religious affiliation
continues to rise. Moreover, the post-Boomer generations are now beginning to vote in droves, and actually, are exceeding
the votes cast by the Silent/Boomer generations at the polls. The bad news is Trump is stacking the courts
w/ radical right-wing jurists, who will be w/ us for the generation to
come. The worst news: our democracy is
still rigged by the electoral college, and the Senate is still controlled by a group of hillbilly states, w/ grossly disproportionate representation.
Now, let’s backup, and ask ourselves,
who benefits most from these prolonged, multi-generational, social wars - like
the Christian right’s current push against abortion & reproductive rights -
or even attacks on free speech and the press(?)… well that would be your
friendly neighborhood multinational or plutocrat. After all, anything that distracts from the
unseemly accumulation of wealth (and prevents, or sucks the oxygen out of, Congress
revisiting antitrust laws, regulations and the tax code) is a good day for the ultra-wealthy.
A dear lesbian friend of mine summed
it up, recently. Her comment was
passionate, but I think her remark was both appropriate and a fitting response to the culture of fear & intimidation generated by America's Taliban:
These rural uneducated a**holes
have too much power.
Indeed.
Please, if you love your children,
and yourself, make sure you vote for a progressive in the coming election and
primary season. Time is not on their
side, but the Puritans – w/ the support of POTUS Trump – are hell-bent upon
rolling back the clock to make America great again. America’s Taliban, via their SCOTUS
time machine, seem to be aiming for the Antebellum South (circa 1830).
Copyright JM Hamilton Publishing 2019
