The Christian right has taken over the country! I knew the Shrub was going to win the election, but the overwhelming attack from the far right is VERY disturbing. I just read an op/ed piece about how this election wasn’t about parties or issues at all, it was about MORALS – a very astute observation.
The candidates didn’t really talk about the issues facing the country: deficit, jobs, a lost cause “war”, civil rights, the environment. No, this election was all about whose morality is the right one for this country. And the Christians have spoken!
This election was all about what kind of America we want and how we’re gonna legislate behaviour to ensure that the right wing Christian ideal is enforced. Is that really the America we want? What happened to the American ideal of freedom of expression? Or equal rights for EVERYONE no matter his sexual preference or religious beliefs? Or the separation of church and state? Or the triumph of science without religious restrictions?
And let’s not forget the Supreme Court, that will be changed for our lifetimes by Bush and the Conservative Christians he represents. It’s guaranteed that Chief Justice Rehnquist will be replaced, with a possibility of two more justices during Bush’s term. This is truly frightening. This could change our rights in ways that I don’t even want to think about. How about overturning Roe v Wade? How about letting the 10 Commandments be used in the judicial system? Google search about the role of the Chief Justice and the scenarios that could be played out under the Bush regime. You won’t like it.
It’s clear that this country has chosen to turn away from acceptance and fairness and turn towards legislating morality. It saddens me to think that I live in a country where bigotry and intolerance thrive while the government hides its abuses of our basic rights behind religion. It’s disheartening to think that 80% of this country is perfectly fine with legislating morality and getting rid of our freedoms. It is disappointing that every single state that had gay marriage bans on the ballot passed them with flying colors.
So, where does that leave me? I’m NOT a Christian. I’m FOR gay rights. I’m AGAINST allowing religion into our judicial system. I do NOT want my civil rights taken away by a paranoid regime that’s determined to gain enough power to be able to jail citizens for any offense real or imagined. Isn’t this how the Nazi regime got its start? It all seems innocuous at first. “Oh,” you think, “it’s just letting the government go after ‘BAD’ people, it doesn’t affect me.” “It’s just tightening up our lax security. It won’t affect upstanding citizens like me.” “Who cares about the 10 Commandments being in a hick courtroom? It’s not like allowing that will change the law.”
Well, folks it DOES matter. It’s a death by 1000 cuts. We’re sitting around watching bad reality TV while our civil rights are being eroded right and left. This country just re-elected a regime whose agenda is to bring back the morality of this country by legislating it. It’s a helluva lot easier to KEEP our Constitution intact than it is to rebuild it once it’s shredded. Understand that allowing our country to be taken over by the religious right has far reaching implications.
If we can hold the line against this Nazi-esque attempt to run citizens’ lives for 4 more years, then we may be all right. But if Bush has his way, we’ll have ultra conservative Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of our government. That means no checks and balances, people. I don’t know about you, but many people have fought and died for our civil rights and I don’t plan to give them up anytime soon. The Bushies have a conservative Christian plan to remake this country, but hopefully 4 more years won’t be enough time to do lasting damage.
My America is just a memory right now, but I’m sure if enough of us pinko commie tree hugging hippies ban together, we can get it back. Here’s to 4 more years of holding the line and working towards getting OUR America back!