Religion


No doubt, many sense that not is all right with our society. What some do not seem to realize is a wave of civil terrorism afoot, and not by those we are being led to believe through “hitleresque” propaganda and fear mongering. Do we really think the likes of the KKK and Skin Heads have simply gone away? It is my observation that no, they have simply made their way into religion and politics, continuing to drive an agenda of hatred, preying on existing fears that all is not right with the world, seeking their sense of entitlement to supreme power.

The tyranny our forefathers saw to obstruct by creating a constitutional republic was not, in fact, that of government but of the existing governing body, a ruling class of royalty – a class of the financially and power entitled. Our forefathers sought, with the constitution and the formation of a democratic republic, to obstruct the ability of tyranny against the individual by any organized power. They sought to build a governing body elected and thereby in essence ruled by the citizenry of this great country. Our constitutional government has, over its mere two centuries, existed to preserve the rights of the individual, and still seeks to do so for the most part, but in more recent decades has been slowly infiltrated by the likes of civil terrorists, often in the name of religion, looking to undo the rights of the individual so that their agenda of entitlement to superiority might be driven.

So, in this effort, the likes of the KKK and Skin Heads have joined ranks with what is too quickly becoming a ruling oligarchy, preying on our fears with rhetoric of a tyrannical government when in truth it is their ruling class form of tyranny they espouse and pursue. Have we not all heard the phrases, “takes one to know one” and “the pot calling the kettle black”? We left a ruling class of elitist royalty but have now entered an era of an elitist oligarchy supported by an elitist army of white supremacists. This, too, unfortunately, is an historical part of our founding, given the machine of slavery for which our forefathers and this country are infamous, yet perhaps too forgiven.

Why else does our education system continue to lag the rest of the free world? Perhaps to enable a tyrannical class to infiltrate and upend the very system our forefathers put into place to avoid, that this would-be ruling class would have us believe is the very problem. And perhaps it is indeed becoming so?  It has been a slow coup, and many probably haven’t even realized their part in it. It can be seen in the erosion of politics as a short-term service to the populace into a long-term career opportunity; in the gerrymandering of voting districts to remain in power; in the likes of Citizens United – which is, I would hope obvious by now – a uniting of the ruling oligarchy and supremacists by making ownership of business representative of those they employ. Really? Do we really think that everyone in an organization would knowingly support the wishes of an entitled would-be ruling class? Well, we do. Our fear is great enough, and they are wily enough to convince us to do so, because in truth, it is simply human nature at work. They may not, excepting a few, even recognize themselves as the civil terrorists they are. Power simply has an unruly effect, and when the same had already been hiding out in the name of religion, our sensibilities on that front had been eroded, except where – in our primary case – Christ’s own anti-tyranny message has gotten through despite best efforts otherwise.

I am hearing again that we need a businessman to lead our government. I am not sure this is the case for a number of reasons.

For one, government does not work like business, and it isn’t supposed to do so. When it works efficiently – and you’ll get no argument from me that there are plenty efficiencies and adjustments that could be pursued in government programs – it acts as a counter-balance to our private sector.

Reason two. Good people are in business. However, there is much to indicate that America is permeated with the need to win. Winning in business translates to making the most money.  As humans, good people fall prey to this ideal, and when they do, they lose sight of their fellow Americans, indeed their fellow humans, and our need to support one another. In fact, as Christian Americans, we are called to do all things in love for – in service to – one another.  Unfortunately, as humans, we fall prey to the idea that winning is a competition of one against another.  If we are a Christian nation, in my view, we should be pursuing ideals that win for us all.

Reason three.  As I recall, Bush was a businessman, as were many on his cabinet.  There are plenty of indications, Halliburton for one, that led good people in government to capitalize on their position and subordinate duty to country.  We see it also in legislation passed that removes our government bodies from the laws they make.

Being in service to our fellow Americans, in fact humans, is a tall order, and too many well-intended people, simply either never know this concept out of lack of experiential context or lose sight of it all in the name of winning the money game.  It happens in the private sector, and it happens in government.  Our perspective can draw us to see this issue to be in either the private or government sector, but its really an issue of our humanity.  There are plenty able to voice their interpretations of the Word of God, but as in all things, the doing of God’s Word – through whomever S/He has spoken – is key and the most challenging of tasks.

When we find our religious practice, in truth, I have faith that we’ll find our way to evolving the greatness of our country to put each other before the dollar.

Respectfully,

~ Jacqueline