I received a very perceptive note from a reader recently that made a very
valid point. Inspired by my web site’s main theme that God hates
Republicans, he wrote in part;
“Spiritual teachers (Christ was a man... a teacher...)
DEMONSTRATE anger and stricture at the false prophets, the
scribes and Pharisees as a SYMBOLIC LESSON to those who
would learn the teachings. But the truth of a great teacher's
message seems to be, "all is love."
“All is well.
“All is love.”
"Hating Republicans" which I do... is good when it is symbolic...
meaning "identifying the darkness and shadow of blocked truth that
republicans cling to for false power"
“But actually hating... is toxic to the hater.” By the author of http:
//www.myspace.com/reregulation
He’s right of course, we’re told by Jesus to love our enemies.
Contrary to the common perception, that doesn’t mean we’re supposed
to just surrender and let our enemies run riot. But it does mean we’re
supposed to treat them as human beings also created in the image of
God. While I know that the architects of America’s misguided pro-torture
stance will burn in Hell for their sins against their fellow human beings, I’d
never condone water-boarding them as a punishment. (See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding for a concise account of what C.I.A and
U.S military interrogators are doing in our names.)
And while Christ and the Prophets commanded us to name the face of
Evil, we were also admonished to never assume that we’re always
good. No human being has the right to assume they are always in the
right. Pride of this magnitude is a sin and it is perhaps the greatest
current sin of all Republicans. (I suggest
http://foi.missouri.edu/voicesdissent/sinofpride.html for a fuller discussion of this topic.)
However God, YHVH, The Great Maker, “The Big Electron” or however
you wish to think of The Deity is, by definition, free from sin. I’m rather
fond of this passage from Proverbs, which I’ll reprint in a couple of
translations.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (King James Version)
six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto
him:
A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in
running to mischief,
A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord
among brethren.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (New International Version)
There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to
him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush
into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up
dissension among brothers.
It’s always important to remember that in The Old Testament, the various
Prophets and authors most often spoke in the negative; what NOT to do.
Jesus spoke of what we were to DO. So let us look at this passage both
in the negative sense of what the Republicans are doing that is wrong,
and then turn it around into positives to see what we SHOULD be trying
to do.
“A proud look” can describe many negative things. For example there is
the proud look of someone sneering at the misfortune of others. There is
the look of a person judging another human being as being unworthy of
being treated as an equal. There is also the way of seeing the world and
everything in it as something to be owned rather than shared. In short
any time a mere mortal looks down his nose at another, or seeing the
world with an utter lack of humility. All of these are traits of modern
conservative Republicans. It’s also notable that in a list of the things God
hates, the first one mentioned is pride.
This sin doesn’t just describe the attitudes and behaviors of elected
Republicans, or their media cheerleaders. Every Republican voter and
supporter is guilty of the sin of Pride, of looking at the world with a lack of
humility. (The rest of us aren’t free from this sin either, it’s just that the
Republican world view is based upon looking at the world as if they are
superior based on their politics.)
The sin of pride is being committed by every driver with a “KEEP
WORKING! MILLIONS ON WELFARE DEPEND ON YOU!” bumper
sticker on their SUV. Every beat up pick up truck with a “NUKE THEIR
ASS TAKE THEIR GAS” sticker is driven by eyes clouds by Pride.
“A lying tongue” is certainly one of the most recognizable traits of the
Republican Party. Our “leaders” seem to lie reflexively, even when the
truth would serve them better. They hide the truth whenever possible,
they speak in lies and denounce those who speak the truth. I can’t take
the time to list their various assaults on Truth. I suggest anyone who
doubts me to check my links page for sources of the proof they may
need, or read THE BOOK ON BUSH by Eric Alterman and Mark Green.
Or just go to
http://www.bushwatch.com/bushlies.htm“Hands that shed innocent blood” doesn’t just apply to those who get
their hands dirty with harming and slaying the blameless. It describes the
hands of those who support those who shed innocent blood as well.
It applies to those who give their silent consent to the hundreds of
thousands of dead casually dismissed as “collateral damage” in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
It applies to every voter who doesn’t care about the many poor children
who die of preventable causes every day in America because of the lack
of health care, as long as their political leaders promise tax cuts and to
“keep the government off your backs.”
“A heart that devises wicked schemes” certainly covers the Neo-
conservative planners who decided to lie to the American people about
Saddam Hussein’s non-existent connection to Al Qaeda in order to send
us into a disastrous and pointless war. It also covers the minds behind
the ‘SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH” scam that fooled 51% of
the American public into thinking a decorated war hero was a coward.
“Feet that be swift in running to mischief” describes many of the darker
chapters of recent Republican politics. The career of Karl Rove in the
making of the G.W. Bush presidency alone makes for an interesting
cross-section of this sort of sin God hates. I suggest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Rove as a good place to start.
But it also covers those who make decisions too quickly to evaluate if the
plan itself is good or evil. The Iraqi War was rushed into place by people
who assumed we’d “be greeted as liberators” and democracy would
naturally flower in the Middle East as soon as the bombs stopped falling.
If the leaders who drove us off of the cliff had taken the time to listen to
those of us screaming to pull over, many lives would have been saved,
not to mention billions of dollars saved.
“A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren.” That pretty much sums up the entire political strategy of the
Republicans ever since the 1968 Nixon campaign. Ever since 1968, they
have won elections by turning Americans against each other. Their
relying on getting their “base” to vote against their economic interests by
lying about social issues is well documented.
So how can we turn these things God hates into a list of positive virtues
we could strive for, to overturn these dark monsters that squat over the
country tearing at our soft underbelly? How can we drive these demons
out, and exorcise the body politic?
We have to look at the world through eyes of humility.
We can’t think we have all the answers for everybody on the planet.
That’s what God hates, remember? The good news is that we can be
comfortable knowing that NOBODY ELSE has all the answers either.
That is the essential logic behind democracy; if enough people are part
of the decision making process, maybe we’ll all come up with a better
plan than any one of us could on their own. We have to save the
country, but still leave people the freedom to think and decide for
themselves.
We have to be completely honest and forthright at all times.
I know, it’s tempting to start screaming things in public like “Rupert
Murdoch eats babies! Dick Cheney is a cyborg! Ann Coulter dances
with Satan by moonlight!” But unless we can find photographs to prove
it, we can’t say it. We can’t defeat liars with more lies. The good news is
we have Truth on our side. A few decent muckraking reporters and a
wide spread way of spreading the truth could save us all. So don’t even
make up a fact over dinner with your right wing brother-in-law. Rely on
truth, it’s all we need.
We must remain non-violent and anti-war.
Even though we face murderers and thieves, we can’t use their weapons
against them. Even if you aren’t driven by God as I am, always
remember this. Mahatma Gandhi and his followers defeated the British
Empire without firing a shot. The Irish Republican Army did guerrilla
warfare better than anybody, and never got Northern Ireland back on
their own. In the long run, bloodshed doesn’t help you in politics. Ignore
those who preach violent revolt, they are tools of the enemy.
Keep our strategy positive.
If I had the money, I’d steal the Salvation Army’s method of giving the
poor and homeless food and shelter for the night in exchange for
preaching to them about the glories of The New Deal. If you want to
convince people you can help them, show them by HELPING THEM.
We have to find ways to show that the ideals of compassion, equality and
justice just plain WORK BETTER than hatred, oligarchy and rule by
force.
Plan carefully, but keep moving forward.
Always remember, the struggle for pulling humanity up to where it should
be is a marathon, not a sprint. There are no short cuts.
Find ways to bring the world back together.
Turning brother against brother and sister against sister is the tactic of
the enemy. Instead find ways to get everyone to pull together.
After all, we’re all on the same planet; we’re kind of stuck together. Talk
to people in their own language in ways they can relate to, but always
with the goal of explaining how we’re all connected. Even Republicans
can rejoin the rest of us, once they renounce their political affiliations.
Usually I try to end these text sermons with a Biblical quote, but this time I’
d like to close with a passage Bill Hicks closed his shows with sometimes.
“I'm gonna share with you a vision that I had, cause I love you. And you
feel it. You know all that money we spend on nuclear weapons and
defense each year, trillions of dollars, correct? Instead -- just play with
this -- if we spent that money feeding and clothing the poor of the world
-- and it would pay for it many times over, not one human being
excluded -- we can explore space together, both inner and outer, forever
in peace. Thank you very much. You've been great, I hope you enjoyed
it.”
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