The Religious Right: Not Right, Not Religious

[rug]

By: Ian Gurvitz
Ian Gurvitz is the author of "Welcome to Dumbfuckistan: The Dumbed-Down, Disinformed, Dysfunctional, Disunited States of America."
MAY 30TH 2016

With the furious debate over North Carolina’s HB-2, it’s now official: our political dialogue has gone into the toilet. Once again, a significant step forward in civil rights has sent evangelicals into a full-metal freak-out, this time over where transgender people can go potty.

While in the throes of his campaign’s final death rattle, Ted Cruz fretted over the dangers his daughters might face from strange, sexually ambiguous predators lurking in public restrooms. Meanwhile, the Texas Lt. Governor has been railing against the president’s action to make public schools open their bathrooms to everyone, cleverly employing the phrase “30 pieces of silver,” because obviously this is a betrayal of Biblical proportions. (Didn’t two guys kiss in a garden in that story?) And just to show they won’t be out-crazied by Texas, the Republican-controlled Oklahoma legislature wants to impeach the president over the issue.

The evangelical right (Americanus Relignoramus) has a history of battling social progress in this country dating back to the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial and the 1962 Supreme Court decision outlawing prayer in public school. They’re still reeling from the legalization of gay marriage and still hell-bent on overturning Roe v. Wade. And the only reason they’re not popping open the non-alcoholic cider to celebrate a Supreme Court decision allowing corporations to opt out of providing contraception under the ACA is the untimely demise of Justice Scalia.

It seems there’s nothing these people love more than whipping themselves into a self-righteous frenzy, all based on a literal interpretation of one book, written thousands of years ago, that is riddled with myth, prejudice, superstition, misogyny, and homophobia. Someone needs to tell them that the Bible isn’t a sex manual. Nor is it a science book. That idiotic notion has saddled us with the pseudoscience of creationism, which can now be taught in public schools in 14 U.S. states as a valid alternative theory to evolution.

http://www.attn.com/stories/8667/what-the-religious-right-gets-wrong-about-religion

[RKP5637]

1. It's another form of politics, and an ugly one at that! n/t

[potone]

2. It is all very depressing!

This is what the unholy marriage of the religious right and the Republican party have wrought. Thank you, Ronald Reagan! We are still living in the aftermath of his "revolution." Bernie's campaign is the only serious challenge to this nightmare, and it looks like he won't succeed.

I am finding it increasingly difficult to feel optimistic about this country. But enough--I don't want to drag anyone else down.

Have a happy and safe Memorial Day, everyone! Hug a veteran, if you know any, and let's work to try to avoid getting into more unnecessary wars.

[rug]

3. It's only a matter of time before that ideology is rejected, like most ideologies of hate have been.