politics

Religion Ugh!

So much of what I see going on in public policy today: Immigrant detention, ignoring the environment, racial injustice, voter suppression are policies championed by the most ardently religious among us.

It's things like this that make it very hard for me to contain my contempt for religion. I don't blame God -- I blame people. The vast majority of those supporting these inhumane policies are the most religious among and I want no part of this.

Forced migration, detention, internment. It was wrong when Hitler did it, it was wrong when Roosevelt did it, it was wrong when Jackson did it. No one can look to their better selves and see this as a conclusion.

If this is what your God tells you to do, you should find a new God.

The Beginning of a Theory

To engage in a bit of navel gazing, this rings true.

There is an element of cruelty or meanness that undergirds much of Christianity in these United States. I see it in family members, friends, caretakers, acquaintances. I was raised in it. It's judgmental and mean-spirited. It is sometimes disguised at the Protestant Work Ethic: It only values people by how hard they work. If someone is viewed as a hard worker, they are entitled to the country's great riches. If not, they can go die in a ditch.

This translates to overvaluation of the wealthy, because they earned it -- they must work hard. Conversely, the poor get nothing which is what they deserve, because they are lazy.

Of course, none of this is true. In this society, few work as hard for as little as immigrants. Yet, they are scorned and put down because in our cruel nature we have convinced ourselves that they are lazy and are only here to soak up government benefits (when not stealing our jobs).

Conversely, few work as little as the wealthy. As studies have shown the most likely indicator that you will be a billionaire is having a father who is a billionaire (sorry Tiffany, it's not a 1:1). Yet, we convince ourselves that they worked hard and earned and are worthy.

Now, Trump certainly epitomizes cruelty and is not overtly Christian. He was raised in the church of Norman Vincent Peale. The gospel according to Peale descended from this strain of Christianity as did Richard Nixon -- it became the underpinning of modern conservative thought.

So, yes, Trump espouses the politics of cruelty and many American lap it up because it's the theology they were raised on. It's a lot more complicated than that, but it's the beginning of a theory.

A Hurricane is on the Way

As Hurricane Florence heads toward the Carolinas there is a high likelihood that the sea islands that extend from the Georgia coast up through the Carolinas will sustain heavy damage. This damage will cost Americans billions through insurance premiums and debt service that will eventually become taxes).

For more than half a century these ecologically sensitive barrier islands have been developed into resorts, hotels, condos, and golf courses without a thought to the ecological or archaeological impact.

Not only do these islands protect the shore from storm surges, these islands should have been some of our greatest archaeological treasures. It was through these islands that many slave ships arrived. Now, most of the artifacts of Gullah and Geechee culture and Ibo Landing have been lost at the bottom of a sand trap.

We will now spend billions to replace development that paid nothing to rob us of priceless cultural heritage.