1 February, 2006 | Leave a Comment
Ladies, please keep your legs crossed.
We woke up to a different America this morning. With Alito’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, every branch of the United States government is now controlled by religious ideologues. From George W. Bush on down, these right-wing radicals are free to implement their fundamentalist beliefs and remake America according to their frightening vision. And who is going to stop them? The Democrats? Well, they’ve done a great job so far.
The last election was all about this. George W. Bush scared people into thinking it was about the Middle Eastern bogeymen lurking around every corner, waiting to blow up your local shopping mall. The terrorists are going to poison our drinking water – vote for Bush! The terrorists are going to nuke Red Lobster – vote for Bush! And because John Kerry looked French, you couldn’t rely on him to save the country. Never mind that he served in Vietnam, while George W. Bush hid under his mommy’s skirt. What was at stake in the last election – the soul of America – was obscured by scare rhetoric. Millions of Americans, uneducated about the real issues, believing Saddam Hussein planned 9-11 and deluded into thinking one of the highest-spending presidents of all time would improve the economy, went into the voting booth and voted for Bush. In so doing, they supported a revolution that is slowly overturning all of the values that made America great, values that millions of Americans have fought and died to protect.
According to Esther Kaplan, author of With God on Their Side: George W. Bush and the Christian Right, “On the Supreme Court, the combination of Scalia, Thomas, Roberts and Alito has the potential to be a right-wing juggernaut, which could swing the door open to a thoroughgoing infiltration of Christianity into government, from school prayer to taxpayer-funded conversion efforts, and turn the clock back on women’s rights, gay rights and civil rights.”
Today is a sad day. It’s also a wake-up call.
It’s interesting that the hysterical fear of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism is what has kept Bush in power, yet Bush and the Right have pushed the United States away from its allies and more into line with the theocracies of the Middle East. I guess it’s a case of Our God is better than your God, a philosophy fanatics on all sides share. With the confirmation of Alito, a man who actively seeks to dismantle the separation of Church and State, America is moving closer to Iran every day.
Again, going back to Esther Kaplan on Bush and the Christian Right: “The movement’s vision, in the broadest sense, is to bring God’s law into civic and political life, that is the Christian right’s conservative evangelical version of God’s law. While they don’t want to completely exclude non-believers and religious minorities from participating in American public life, this is nevertheless a theocratic vision…Conservative Christian faith will be considered an important qualification for public office. Policy on everything from media to medicine will be guided by conservative evangelical moralism, not such values as public health or pluralism. They do view America as, at heart, a Christian nation, and see their role as restoring the country to its early Christian roots. This is a misreading of the foundations of American democracy, but a very popular one.”
While reading this post, you may think I’ve come unglued or have lost my mind, yet I’m dead serious. One of the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution is the separation of Church and State. It’s what sets America apart from the majority of countries on earth and it is being chipped away at frightening speed without many people even making a peep. What’s the big deal, right? Many Americans, educated on political matters by the likes of Bill O’Reilly, think of the separation of Church and State as that pesky law that removes the nativity scene from city hall at Christmas. Left-wing bastards! It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what the majority of screwed up countries on the planet have in common – the marriage of religion and politics. And that’s where we’re headed. That’s where we’re at.
Many Americans – I would argue the vast majority, even in this post-9/11 world – believe that the American way of life and our rights are not in danger, that they could never be in danger. After all, things don’t change in America. People who hold this view, besides being completely ignorant of world history, are appallingly arrogant. In London, I live on a square where half the buildings were levelled by bombs in WWII. I just found this out the other day. Most Americans (with exceptions, including those descended from slaves) don’t have this kind of history. We take things for granted. But before 9-11, who would have thought the World Trade Center towers could crumble to the ground or that terrorists would come thisclose to flying a plane into the U.S. capitol? Things change. Nothing stays the same. There are no guarantees.
I have always been rabid in my views that religion and politics should never mix (having lived in Utah for many years, I’ve seen the results first-hand). It’s easy to become complacent, however. A few years ago I read the memoir Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. This book, by a woman who watched her country destroyed by religious fanatics and who taught literature classes to women in secret (lest she be thrown in prison), scared me to death. It reminded me to never take anything for granted. Ever.
As a feminist, the separation of Church and State is even more important because when religion and politics mix, women lose. In a recent interview, Salman Rushdie (who knows a thing or two about religious nuts) said that the West does not understand that Islamic fundamentalism is rooted in men’s fear of women’s sexuality. I think that Christian fundamentalism and Christian terrorism in the United States has the same root. The fight between Left and Right has abortion at its core. Of course, the argument is not actually about abortion, but about what abortion represents: women’s sexual and reproductive freedom.
As the line between religion and politics disappears, women’s lives and freedoms will be in jeopardy. We all know the story of one of Bush’s appointments to an FDA panel, gynecologist “Dr.” David Hager, who prescribes prayer as a treatment to women with PMS and even cancer. He also claims that God intervened and blocked FDA approval of Plan B, the emergency contraception pill. This sickening example is only the tip of the iceberg. What’s to come is even worse. Roe v. Wade will likely be overturned, letting the states decide on abortion. The “blue” states will have abortion rights and the “red” states will not. Women in the red states will continue to have abortions, however, because abortion is a fact of life everywhere on earth and that will never change. Then women in the red states will die, mostly poor women, but at some point a photogenic blond teenager from suburbia will bleed to death at the hands of a back alley abortion doctor and the nation will be shocked and saddened and enraged. The way this is going to play out is very predictable and very preventable. As the saying goes, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
Despite the doom and gloom I’ve unleashed here, Alito’s confirmation is not the end of anything. No, it’s only the beginning of the fight. Liberals must take back the White House and Congress in order to blunt the effect of religious extremism. Finding Democratic candidates with vision and integrity is a top priority (and it won’t be easy). The mid-term elections this November will, I believe, be the beginning of the backlash. The unfortunate events of this week have radicalized me and prompted me to take action like never before. I know I’m not alone.
Organizations:
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
CODEPINK
Emily’s List
Feminist Majority
League of Women Voters
MoveOn
NAACP*
NARAL
People for the American Way
Planned Parenthood
Political Research Associates
*Bruce S. Gordon, head of the NAACP, believes that senators who voted to cut off debate on Alito should be awarded a “Badge of Shame.” While we’re handing out the “Badge of Shame,” here are the four Democrats who voted in favor of Alito (w/ contact info): Kent Conrad (N.D.); Tim Johnson (S.D.); Ben Nelson (Neb.); and former Klu Klux Klan member Robert Byrd (W.V.).
“Lately, what has been of great concern, in addition to what I’ve already said, is the merger of…religion and politics. Because I happen to be a Christian and I think my religion teaches me that you should render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s. Thomas Jefferson, one of our Founding Fathers, said that we should build a wall between the church and state. That wall is being deliberately and ostentatiously, not secretly, broken down. So, there has been an increasing merger in this country of fundamentalism on the religious side, fundamentalism on the political side, and the two have come together.”
—President Jimmy Carter on the Daily Show last December
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Good blog. As a 26 yr. old Christian conservative living in Texas, it is interesting to read viewpoints almost completely different from my own. I think you’re right that Hillary will win in 2008, but the Democrats must find a way to overcome voter apathy. On a side note… it’s curious to me how the ideals of feminism can co-exist with supporting abortion rights. If you could clarify that, or point me towards something that would clarify it, I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Tim (of Mikeandtimblog.blogspot.com)
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Anonymous Says:
February 1st, 2006 at 3:49 pmThis quote just crossed my mind.
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
James Baldwin
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Anita Says:
February 1st, 2006 at 4:24 pmThe intensity with which the Christian Fundamentalism movement is forcing itself upon the function of the United States government reminds me (painfully) of the function of the Islamic extremism prevalent in so much of the Middle East.
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Anglofille Says:
February 1st, 2006 at 11:45 pmTim, I’m glad you took the time to read my post, even if you disagree with it.
Regarding feminism and abortion…Feminists believe that women are entitled to make their own reproductive choices without involvement from the United States government. I am a grown-up 33-year-old woman. If I become pregnant, I can make my own decisions about whether or not to continue with my pregnancy. I don’t need Samuel Alito crawling into my uterus with a flashlight. What I do with my own body is none of his business. No woman should be forced, at the point of a gun, essentially, to carry her pregnancy to term. When a woman becomes pregnant, she does not lose her Constitutional protections. Being pregnant does not rob a woman of her basic human rights.
I know that many religious people believe that abortion is cold-blooded murder. They are entitled to that opinion. But at least half the country feels the opposite way. We should all be allowed to make our own personal choices. If you don’t believe in abortion, don’t have one.
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Anglofille said, “I know that many religious people believe that abortion is cold-blooded murder.”
Aren’t those the same folks who are for the death penalty?
“Yes, but’s that’s different!”
“Oh, um, I see.”
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Anonymous Says:
February 2nd, 2006 at 6:40 pmhmmmm…sounds eerily similar to the novel “It Can’t Happen Here” by Sinclair Lewis. Written in 1935, it is a story about a charismatic and manipulative leader who incrementally curtails the freedoms of oblivious ordinary Americans in the name of protecting them. Think America is immune to dictatorship, think again! It can happen here. Now run down to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of “It Can’t Happen Here.” It’s the novel that GWB does not want you to read.
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2 responses to Sarai and “Anonymous”…
Anglofille:
I think we have to be careful in citing court rulings as equivalent to the Constitution…Roe v Wade has yet to manifest itself in the Bill of Rights… I can understand your point to some extent on the government’s involvement with abortion… If I was to be so bold to say such, I think the root of most of the evil in the world is selfishness… and I see abortion as the ultimate selfishness.. one of my greatest joys in life is the relationship I have with my 3-yr old niece.. born to my still unwed sister during college.“Anonymous”-
You sure are giving GW alot of credit… Charismatic? Manipulative? Curtailing the freedoms of oblivious ordinary Americans? That would take quite the calculating genius, as well as someone with a fair comprehension of multi-syllabic words… maybe GW Bush isn’t so dumb after all… and I’m curious, who are the “Extraordinary Americans” who would be immune to the cold-blooded cunning of Private Petroleum? -
Anonymous Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 4:06 pmI give Bush no credit whatsoever. I am not comparing Bush with the fictional character in “It Can’t Happen Here”, but what I am saying is that this administration is using tactics from the old right-wing playbook: ultra-nationalism, attacks on intellectuals and minorities, manipulation of religious beliefs, social division, fearmongering, perpetual war, spying on citizens…we’ve seen it all before. Bush is ignorant but not dumb, there is a big difference. History will not judge GWB kindly.
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Anglofille Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 8:22 pmI’m not going to debate abortion with you. I have had this debate with plenty of conservatives, including people in my own family. Neither of us will budge from our points of view. This could go on forever. Thanks for your comments.
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Yeah, no need to drum up an abortion debate… Just stating an opinion. I hope you keep writing interesting stuff, for a lack of a more eloquent way of putting it. I would only hope that you could be open to the idea that as absurd as it may seem, the conservative/republican/etc end of the political spectrum does actually contain people with good intentions. Not all of us are corrupt corporate types within the good ol’ boy oil network… If you can sift through our often inane anecdotes, you might have find some further insight into the right-wing mindset on our blog… back to cleaning house.
