Reaction to the recent death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia underscores the ridiculousness of mixing religion and politics. Republicans are fond of implying (or openly proclaiming) that God is on their side. If that's truly the case, then God was either asleep at the wheel on February 13 (the day of Scalia's death) - or Satan is at the controls! But wait, what if God allowed Scalia to die in February of 2016 so that President Obama could nominate his successor? Senate Republicans: "No, that can't be. We're just going to have to help God out on this one by not even considering the President's nominee!"
The very conservative columnist Cal Thomas recently penned a commentary for USA Today that I wish my Republican friends would take to heart (and, for those of you who were wondering, I'm not a Democrat). The piece is titled "Republicans should cut the God talk" (www.usatoday.com).
In the piece, Thomas observed: "This political season is featuring an unusual amount of 'God talk' among the presidential candidates. As usual, Republicans seem to have cornered the market on religious rhetoric." He continued: "When Republicans lose an election, they respond that God must have gone on holiday, or that some evil force stronger than he must have taken over the country." Thomas went on to observe: "Politicians religious beliefs tell us little to nothing about their ability to be a president or member of Congress." He concluded: "Let the preachers fulfill their role on the moral questions (I would say 'let each individual's conscience fulfill its role on the moral questions') and the politicians theirs. Both will be better off for it, as will the country."
Oh wait, never mind! I can hear my Republican friends now, "Cal Thomas just isn't conservative enough!" My response: Get over it! God or fate (whichever one you prefer) has handed this one to the President!
"[Thomas] continued: 'When Republicans lose an election, they respond that God must have gone on holiday, or that some evil force stronger than he must have taken over the country.'"
ReplyDeleteIf any Republicans respond that way, they are few and far between. Irrespective of how conservative Thomas is (I don't know and don't care), that's simply an ill-informed statement.
It is true, however, that religious faith plays a significant part in molding the views of many Republican candidates for public office. For instance, most Republicans (but not all) strongly oppose any political party (or individual politician) that thinks of a particular class of human beings as property and gives the owners of said property the power of life or death over their property. Of course, the people who approve this evil call it "a woman's right to choose," thus softening it a bit.
But it must be said that the religious views of Democrats are also reflected in their political platforms. You may have heard Hillary passionately bellowing of a "WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE" to a cheering crowd. One cannot speak objectively of "rights" apart from religious and/or moral convictions.