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To the Religious Right.
By
now you are probably wondering what went wrong. Your plan to take over
the nation was definitely on the ascendency during the long years of the
Bush administration. You had so many plans in the works, like converting
our secular government to a theocracy, harassing homosexuals and starting
Armageddon in the Middle East. Now, all of a sudden, your momentum has
stalled.
I remember how excited you got when George W. Bush
used all the right words that signaled that your time had come. He
was going to be your president, and lead your
movement. Too bad you didn't see his obvious inadequacies. Perhaps faith
without reason is more hazardous than you thought? Don't feel bad. You
are not the first to think that they were heralding the end of times.
That's why Jesus told us that the time would not be known, and that we
should be working for the good, instead of the end.
For some reason you concluded that the United States
belonged more to you than the rest of us. You used your preachers and
selected biblical texts to demonize everyone else, and limit the civil
rights of various groups. You should know that we resented that, and considered
it very un-American. Just as you don't like to be discriminated against,
neither do the rest of us. This also proves that your values are not as
exemplary as you think, just as you trusted leaders who were not worthy
of your trust.
Now is a good time to consider what happened and learn
from it. Maybe you can learn to accept that many of your fellow Americans
think differently than you, and maybe that's okay. Perhaps God is inscrutable
enough so that you don't know what his plans are, or exactly what he wants.
The most you can do is prepare yourselves to be instruments of his will,
rather than crusaders bent on destroying everything and everyone who disagrees
with you. In this respect, your opponents appear a lot more humane, and
closer to the teachings of Jesus. Faith is one thing. Blind faith is another.
Perhaps it is time that you don't accept the teachings of your leaders
unchallenged. Think for yourselves. For example, when Jesus tells us to
pray in silent, don't try to force school prayer. When he tells us not
to judge, why tempt his wrath by victimizing those who think or act differently
from you?
The nation has suffered greatly because of your support
of extreme conservatism. A divided nation. An unjust war. A broken economy.
Hate-mongers like Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and
Glenn Beck — conservatives all. We are told that we shall know
the people of God by their love, not by their hate. Seems to me you got
that one wrong too.
The reason you lost in your goals to create a theocracy
are hidden in the sub-text of our constitution. James Madison made
it clear in the Federalist papers that your impressive efforts and powerful
gains contained the seeds of your own ruin. He explained that a large,
complex nation like the United States, has many factions that compete
with one another. Some may gain dominance for a while, but their very
ascendency encourages other factions to bring them down. The nation is
diverse enough so this happens automatically. Your ascendency triggered
your fall. Your books about the end of times spawned books about atheism
and evolution. Your rhetoric and self-assured smiles brought fear. It
was only a matter of time before all those who disagree with your message
and aggressive attacks on people's freedoms rose to make their voices
heard. Of course, your waiting for miracles that never happened certainly
helped them, as did the ineptitude of your chosen president. You may have
actually done the nation an unexpected service by revealing how shallow
and hypocritical conservatism can be. That you now support the likes of
Sarah Palin over more intelligent choices, only confirms how limited
your vision really is.
You
need to face the fact that your beliefs are only one "faction"
among many. As a faction, you have more chance to flourish by respectfully
coexisting among other factions, then raising their ire by attacking them.
Proposition 8 in California is a prime example. The Mormon Church
felt as if they were asserting their values by preventing same sex marriage.
They did not see themselves as being oppressors of a factional minority
who only wanted the same civil rights as others. But that is exactly what
they were. No doubt you probably agree with their "defense of
marriage" crusade, but the truth is that gay marriage is no threat
to anyone, and you are denying fellow citizens their right to pursue happiness.
You will eventually lose this battle as fair-minded Americans assert themselves
into the fray, and there will be a backlash against you for being aggressively
intolerant. You are doing more harm than good for your cause.
I
invite you to stop all these histrionics and join with the rest of the
nation in a spirit of peace and a respect for freedom, as our founders
intended.
Can
you?
