Within a period of a few months, America has been transformed from a Godless hell-bound nation into one that is not only more Christian, but one in which each individual is empowered to announce it publicly. It is now fashionable to be Christian. And this transformation owes its success to the stylistic leadership of President George Bush and his neoconservative entourage.
In his closing argument at the final debate of the 2004 presidential election, President Bush stated, “I believe that God wants everybody to be free. And that's been part of my foreign policy.” President Bush has also publicly announced that he approves of a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Indeed, the President is blurring the line between the 230 year-precedent of “separation of church and state.” So what does it mean? It means that the Bush Administration wants to make America moral by creating legislation, and the only way to do that is to amend the US Constitution.
For the New Moralists to improve morality, all pornography will have to be outlawed, as well as violence on television and video games. Amendment I of the Constitution will have to be dissolved and a new amendment created that will change the phrase, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” The new Amendment will also have to remove the clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” if the Bush Administration wants to modify the right to choose, or ban gay marriage.
But then again, the Bush Administration already possesses selective disregard for the Constitution, so why end now? We really don’t even need to amend the Constitution – the President finds ways around that. Amendment IV states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” George Bush’s Patriot Act insolently neglects this Constitutional right. Did the President not take an oath to uphold the US Constitution?
In its history, the United States has not seen such a blatant disrespect of our founding fathers’ sacrifices and triumphs, as well as the millions of lives lost for American Democracy. George Bush’s assault on the US Constitution and 230 years of established democratic precedent is the single-most important threat from the neoconservative and New Moral agenda.
Does Western Civilization need to reconsider its moral compass? I believe so. Is destroying the world’s pinnacle of democratic governance the means to accomplish this reconsideration? No. If the President truly wanted “everyone to be free,” he would end this assault on our most basic civil liberties.
November 9, 2004
November 8, 2004
A Mandate was Awarded
There was one politician in the 2004 Presidential election who received a mandate based on the American popular vote. It wasn’t the President, nor his rival Democratic Senator John Kerry, but a candidate running a popular race extra-Constitutionally. His campaign was not for the Presidency, however, but a campaign to win public support for his war on terror, and he has now received the Mandate he needed. Osama Bin Laden now has the license he needed to wage all-out war with the United States.
Bush stated (paraphrased), “Osama Bin Laden will do anything to destroy our American Way of Life, our values. He hates freedom.” If that’s true, Bin Laden now has more authority than ever to wage war against the American aggressors. According to the President, Bin Laden hates America, and as such, it was a brilliant political strategy on Bin Laden’s part to help convince Americans to vote for George Bush.
Neoconservatives immediately cried “Osama Bin Laden votes for Kerry,” and therefore logically determined that to remain safe, America needed to vote for Bush. After all, if Bin Laden endorses Kerry, wouldn’t it be prudent to have a president who will crush Bin Laden?
On the contrary, Bin Laden wanted Bush in power. Bush’s religious fanaticism reveals his Christian war to be more self-evident, which gives Bin Laden not only support from the actual terrorists, but the Muslim populace as well. Bin Laden is no longer seen as a fanatical fringe political terrorist, he now as the recognition as a legitimate freedom fighter for “Islamic” ideals against American aggression. Thanks to the brilliant campaign strategy of Karl Rove, the buffoonery of his elected President, and the unwitting wishes of the American politic, Osama Bin Laden now has a mandate to expand his evil war on the West. Bush’s move is next, and the thought of the subsequent Bin Laden action is frightening.
Bush stated (paraphrased), “Osama Bin Laden will do anything to destroy our American Way of Life, our values. He hates freedom.” If that’s true, Bin Laden now has more authority than ever to wage war against the American aggressors. According to the President, Bin Laden hates America, and as such, it was a brilliant political strategy on Bin Laden’s part to help convince Americans to vote for George Bush.
Neoconservatives immediately cried “Osama Bin Laden votes for Kerry,” and therefore logically determined that to remain safe, America needed to vote for Bush. After all, if Bin Laden endorses Kerry, wouldn’t it be prudent to have a president who will crush Bin Laden?
On the contrary, Bin Laden wanted Bush in power. Bush’s religious fanaticism reveals his Christian war to be more self-evident, which gives Bin Laden not only support from the actual terrorists, but the Muslim populace as well. Bin Laden is no longer seen as a fanatical fringe political terrorist, he now as the recognition as a legitimate freedom fighter for “Islamic” ideals against American aggression. Thanks to the brilliant campaign strategy of Karl Rove, the buffoonery of his elected President, and the unwitting wishes of the American politic, Osama Bin Laden now has a mandate to expand his evil war on the West. Bush’s move is next, and the thought of the subsequent Bin Laden action is frightening.
American Hypocrisy
How many God-fearing, freedom-loving Christian Americans can attest to the wretched levels of morality in American society? How many loathe the loss of morals: the free sex, rape and murder rates, teen pregnancy rates, and abortion rates? Pedophilia? Who or what is to blame? The politicians? The Constitution? The family? The church, the State, or separation thereof? Schools? Islam? Is it Hollywood? Violence on television or video games? Immigrants? Why does our society seem to be spinning out of control toward an abyss of Biblical Doomsday with regard to morality? How can it be stopped? As Christians, can the majority of the American population put an end to it? I’m not sure of the answer, but I am sure that those same morality-preaching Christians are the culprits; they are both the offenders and the victims of their own hypocrisy.
How many of these same Moral Christians buy pornography? How many surf the web for tight teenage naked girls? How many “judge” lest be judged? How many steal, whether it be a car, a sandwich from the office refrigerator, or simply an innocent song from the internet? How many lie daily? My father preached morality, but when Playboy featured Madonna in the nude, he not only bought a copy, but he also let us children see it. I was in junior high – and it was great! But this story is not about my father specifically, but Christian America generally, and about a coworker who wants to change the US Constitution to make Christianity America’s “primary” religion.
His argument: the US is a Christian country founded on historically Christian values, and new immigrants (primarily Muslims) are coming to America to change “American way of life,” and he wants America restored to its “original” sense of values. The irony: he’s an immigrant from Canada. I don’t think I was ever able to make him see that he was guilty of the same “crime:” he is an immigrant trying to change my American way of life.
Amendment I of the Bill of Rights does not call to separate the church and state, per se, but states specifically that government “shall make no law establishing religion.” My coworker wants to replace this amendment to make Christianity the primary religion in America, to enforce American values. His main argument was that our laws were based Christian law, primarily the Ten Commandments, and that our Forefathers “intended” America to be a Christian society. He didn’t appreciate it when I suggested that, actually then, Judaism should be the primary religion, as the Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament.
“If America is to be primarily Christian,” I asked,”then why wasn’t it written as such in the Bill of Rights? Why be so vague?” His predictable argument was that our forefathers hadn’t considered other religions having such a high degree of political influence, and therefore weren’t considered into the thought process. Maybe so. But we can’t interpret the rules based on what someone may have intended 250 years ago – we have to apply the language to our modern society.
He tried to convince me of the superior morality of Christian life during the same day that he had earlier placed a cutout from a pornographic magazine in front of my face showing a woman’s vagina. This is Christian morality? This is the morality to which we need to return America by changing the Bill of Rights? Apparently he did he not see his hypocrisy.
He was raised Catholic in Windsor, Ontario, but immigrated to the US to seek lower tax rates (fortunately, he was not eligible to vote in the 2004 Presidential election – not that it matters now). His catholic girlfriend is unaware of the women he dates outside their relationship. He talks openly of crude sex acts that he would enjoy trying on random women. So, as you see, his moral argument for the superiority of Christian values was extremely thin.
Do these people, who are appalled at the lack of morality in our society, not realize that every time they buy a pornographic magazine they contribute to the decline of morality they so vehemently claim to defend? Do they not realize that having pre-marital sex is Biblically apprehensible, although they claim to be Christians, or specifically in this case, Catholics? I pointed out that he was violating the Commandments and his response was the classic Catholic Get Out of Jail Free Card, “Hey, I’m a sinner, and I’m not perfect.” Well, both labels are true here: according to his belief system, he is a sinner, and no, he’s not perfect, but it’s no excuse for actively contributing to moral decline.
How can such people be taken seriously? Almost every American male I know views pornography with testosterone-driven pride, freely downloads pornographic material from the internet, yet cannot understand why the morals are loosening in this country. I guess it’s easier to blame the Muslims than to modify their behavior. Both Islam and Christianity preach high values, but many Christians don’t practice high values. I reference pornography frequently in this commentary, but I'm not suggesting that pornography is the sole source of moral decline, nor its primary driver. Pornography is used here in reference to my hypocritical coworker. Are you reading this and claim Christianity as your religion? Do you purchase or view pornographic material? Do you solicit prostitutes? Do you wonder why there is a moral decline of society? Do you want a constitutional amendment to make Christianity the primary religion of the United State? Forcing others to accept a religion that many of its practitioners fail to practice will not reverse the moral decline of society, but it certainly will erode the fragile cultural relationships in society.
So I’m confused as to how changing the Bill of Rights to enforce Christianity will improve the moral decline of our society. I’m uncertain how Christian values are superior, when average Christians do not engage in moral behavior. My coworker is not yet American, but soon will be, and he will join the ranks of millions of other American hypocrites seeking the elusive reason for the decline of American values. Where is it? Who is to blame? The answer is in the soul of every American who does not practice their professed beliefs. Regardless of faith, it is adherence to the professed values of that faith that make morality – not the enforced subjection of others. So I’ll do my best to prevent another immigrant from attempting to change traditional American values.
During the 2004 Presidential campaign many of the Bush voters cited “morality” as a reason why they voted for Bush. Interestingly, Churchill County, Nevada not only voted to re-elect Bush, but they also voted to keep open the brothels (by a 2-1 margin). Hmm…Morality for Bush, Brothels for Everyone Else. Now that’s American Hypocrisy.
How many of these same Moral Christians buy pornography? How many surf the web for tight teenage naked girls? How many “judge” lest be judged? How many steal, whether it be a car, a sandwich from the office refrigerator, or simply an innocent song from the internet? How many lie daily? My father preached morality, but when Playboy featured Madonna in the nude, he not only bought a copy, but he also let us children see it. I was in junior high – and it was great! But this story is not about my father specifically, but Christian America generally, and about a coworker who wants to change the US Constitution to make Christianity America’s “primary” religion.
His argument: the US is a Christian country founded on historically Christian values, and new immigrants (primarily Muslims) are coming to America to change “American way of life,” and he wants America restored to its “original” sense of values. The irony: he’s an immigrant from Canada. I don’t think I was ever able to make him see that he was guilty of the same “crime:” he is an immigrant trying to change my American way of life.
Amendment I of the Bill of Rights does not call to separate the church and state, per se, but states specifically that government “shall make no law establishing religion.” My coworker wants to replace this amendment to make Christianity the primary religion in America, to enforce American values. His main argument was that our laws were based Christian law, primarily the Ten Commandments, and that our Forefathers “intended” America to be a Christian society. He didn’t appreciate it when I suggested that, actually then, Judaism should be the primary religion, as the Ten Commandments are in the Old Testament.
“If America is to be primarily Christian,” I asked,”then why wasn’t it written as such in the Bill of Rights? Why be so vague?” His predictable argument was that our forefathers hadn’t considered other religions having such a high degree of political influence, and therefore weren’t considered into the thought process. Maybe so. But we can’t interpret the rules based on what someone may have intended 250 years ago – we have to apply the language to our modern society.
He tried to convince me of the superior morality of Christian life during the same day that he had earlier placed a cutout from a pornographic magazine in front of my face showing a woman’s vagina. This is Christian morality? This is the morality to which we need to return America by changing the Bill of Rights? Apparently he did he not see his hypocrisy.
He was raised Catholic in Windsor, Ontario, but immigrated to the US to seek lower tax rates (fortunately, he was not eligible to vote in the 2004 Presidential election – not that it matters now). His catholic girlfriend is unaware of the women he dates outside their relationship. He talks openly of crude sex acts that he would enjoy trying on random women. So, as you see, his moral argument for the superiority of Christian values was extremely thin.
Do these people, who are appalled at the lack of morality in our society, not realize that every time they buy a pornographic magazine they contribute to the decline of morality they so vehemently claim to defend? Do they not realize that having pre-marital sex is Biblically apprehensible, although they claim to be Christians, or specifically in this case, Catholics? I pointed out that he was violating the Commandments and his response was the classic Catholic Get Out of Jail Free Card, “Hey, I’m a sinner, and I’m not perfect.” Well, both labels are true here: according to his belief system, he is a sinner, and no, he’s not perfect, but it’s no excuse for actively contributing to moral decline.
How can such people be taken seriously? Almost every American male I know views pornography with testosterone-driven pride, freely downloads pornographic material from the internet, yet cannot understand why the morals are loosening in this country. I guess it’s easier to blame the Muslims than to modify their behavior. Both Islam and Christianity preach high values, but many Christians don’t practice high values. I reference pornography frequently in this commentary, but I'm not suggesting that pornography is the sole source of moral decline, nor its primary driver. Pornography is used here in reference to my hypocritical coworker. Are you reading this and claim Christianity as your religion? Do you purchase or view pornographic material? Do you solicit prostitutes? Do you wonder why there is a moral decline of society? Do you want a constitutional amendment to make Christianity the primary religion of the United State? Forcing others to accept a religion that many of its practitioners fail to practice will not reverse the moral decline of society, but it certainly will erode the fragile cultural relationships in society.
So I’m confused as to how changing the Bill of Rights to enforce Christianity will improve the moral decline of our society. I’m uncertain how Christian values are superior, when average Christians do not engage in moral behavior. My coworker is not yet American, but soon will be, and he will join the ranks of millions of other American hypocrites seeking the elusive reason for the decline of American values. Where is it? Who is to blame? The answer is in the soul of every American who does not practice their professed beliefs. Regardless of faith, it is adherence to the professed values of that faith that make morality – not the enforced subjection of others. So I’ll do my best to prevent another immigrant from attempting to change traditional American values.
During the 2004 Presidential campaign many of the Bush voters cited “morality” as a reason why they voted for Bush. Interestingly, Churchill County, Nevada not only voted to re-elect Bush, but they also voted to keep open the brothels (by a 2-1 margin). Hmm…Morality for Bush, Brothels for Everyone Else. Now that’s American Hypocrisy.
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