We should be concerned WHO and WHY and WHAT groups are trying to "tag" various Christian groups as taking over one party or another.
Upon further reflection, it occurred to me that I might be able to explain my perspective better than I did and not appear to be smearing Republicans or bashing Christians in the process. So here goes. Be warned. This post won't be short.
Back in the bad old days of Jim Crow, there were folks who trumpeted states rights. Some of them were probably principled Federalists. Most of them were simply white supremacists who latched onto states rights as an expedient code word, a legitimizing mantra for their bigotry. So when people espoused states rights, you couldn't tell easily which were which.
As a principled states-rightser, that made me very uncomfortable. I had been active in the civil rights movement and the last thing I wanted was to be associated with bigots and hypocrites. That business is what turned me away from the Republican Party, my natural home, and I've been a staunch independent ever since.
Fast forward to the present where I see a parallel. I have a libertarian's love of individual rights, all of them, including freedom of religion. But I'm distressed by those who use "freedom of religion" as code words for "onward Christian soldiers." I don't want any part of Christian supremacists, either. Just as with states rights, I cannot easily tell whether people are speaking of freedom of religion in the same way I do or whether they're using code words. I cannot tell how many Christian Republicans are coding or making the distinction or ignoring the distinction for political purposes or are simply ignorant of the distinction between freedom of religion and Christian supremacy. So I don't know if the "Christian soldiers" are taking over the Republican Party or not any more than I knew if the Southern Democratic racists who moved to the Republican party were taking it over or not. Both have been major influences, at least. Fortunately, the white supremacists seem to have mostly died out or died off. The Christian supremacists are still with us, though.
Thus I am wary. I really detest bigots of all stripes. And I feel I must stand against them whenever they would impose themselves in a way that would take away the rights of others whether or not I am part of the target group. With racism, I was not part of the target group. With Christian supremacy, I am. I don't like it either way. |
