Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the insidious replacement of facts with faith in all areas of life, but most harmfully, in politics.
How many times has President Bush said he prays for this or that group of people? Yet our compliant press never questions him further after he invokes his "faith." Journamalists and pundits even ask politicians if they pray for the troops. What difference could that possibly make? Are the troops less dead because Nancy Pelosi or anyone else prays for them? Are their wounds less grevious, are their hearts less broken, are their families less destroyed? And what about the millions of dead, wounded and displaced Iraqis? Have prayers helped them?
But no one seems to ask those questions - they're taboo in our current faith-based society. Apparently, professing faith is a magic wand that waves all responsibility away and stops all brains from processing. It's amazing how none of the traditional media point out that some of the world's most nefarious politicians claimed to have faith. Hitler comes to mind - not only was he possessed of a terrifying faith in the German myth of the Superman, but he was also insistent on establishing Christianity as the One True Religion.
I am so proud of the founders of our country for putting a firm separation between church and State into the Constitution. But thanks to the far-right Fascist movement that has taken over our discourse, we now need a separation of faith and state.
We have gone so far backwards in our thinking that we have "faith-based initiatives" instead of programs that actually help people with real problems. Prayer can never replace governmental action and responsibility: rebuilding levees and cities destroyed by natural disasters; caring for our sick, our weak and our poor; creating jobs; rebuilding infrastructure; planning for the future of our planet; and on and on.
These feelings are one reason why I am so gung-ho on Al Gore, who wrote a book dealing with this subject. I would like a President who believes in science and facts, not prayer, as solutions to real-world problems.
Would that be so much to ask?
How many times has President Bush said he prays for this or that group of people? Yet our compliant press never questions him further after he invokes his "faith." Journamalists and pundits even ask politicians if they pray for the troops. What difference could that possibly make? Are the troops less dead because Nancy Pelosi or anyone else prays for them? Are their wounds less grevious, are their hearts less broken, are their families less destroyed? And what about the millions of dead, wounded and displaced Iraqis? Have prayers helped them?
But no one seems to ask those questions - they're taboo in our current faith-based society. Apparently, professing faith is a magic wand that waves all responsibility away and stops all brains from processing. It's amazing how none of the traditional media point out that some of the world's most nefarious politicians claimed to have faith. Hitler comes to mind - not only was he possessed of a terrifying faith in the German myth of the Superman, but he was also insistent on establishing Christianity as the One True Religion.
I am so proud of the founders of our country for putting a firm separation between church and State into the Constitution. But thanks to the far-right Fascist movement that has taken over our discourse, we now need a separation of faith and state.
We have gone so far backwards in our thinking that we have "faith-based initiatives" instead of programs that actually help people with real problems. Prayer can never replace governmental action and responsibility: rebuilding levees and cities destroyed by natural disasters; caring for our sick, our weak and our poor; creating jobs; rebuilding infrastructure; planning for the future of our planet; and on and on.
These feelings are one reason why I am so gung-ho on Al Gore, who wrote a book dealing with this subject. I would like a President who believes in science and facts, not prayer, as solutions to real-world problems.
Would that be so much to ask?
1 comment:
I would like a President who believes in science and facts, not prayer, as solutions to real-world problems.
from your mouth to god's ears...
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