Once again, Christians are being played for fools.

[mopaul]

It never fails. They all mean well, and they are very sincere people. 99% of them are wonderful people, salt of the Earth types.
I know hundreds of Christians, who are just happy to keep their beliefs to themselves, and just be everyday people.

But ever since 1980, when ronald reagan pulled his coup de tat, the conquering republicans began their 25 year long relationship with the Christian Conservative movement. These people are counted on 100% to get out and vote for whichever republican is running, and they are extremely effective. We should learn from them, and get as excited as they do.

But the repubs always screw the CC's over in the end. (no pun)
And they always fail to remember how they always get screwed.
The g.o.p. played the abortion debate like a finely tuned orchestra.
And they hyped the 'immorality' of Clinton like a mantra. The bush loving hypnotized callers on C-span always mention the fact that they are happy a good Christian, moral man is finally in the White House.
What are these people smoking?

And this anti gay marriage amendment is exactly what it appears to be. A wedge issue, a polarizing smokescreen to distract us all from the total collapse of The United States of America. But it will bring in the CC voters, because they are utterly hypnotized by their fundamentalist opiate.

If American Christianity were a pie chart, only a tiny slice, about 2%, are troublemakers and nut cases. The vast majority of Christians in America are benevolent, moral and good people. And they don't deserve to be ridiculed and embarrassed by those few Jesus jerks who make all the noise and stink.

And we need to try to get through to those hard core few who are being played like chumps, again and again, by the republican party.
These men are not pious. They are not Christians by even the farthest stretch of the imagination. They don't give a good damn about gay marriage, or anything other than huge profits and unbridled power. But they do know their business well. And they know that if they attend church occasionally for the cameras, and quote a few choice scriptures out of context, they can choral in those herds of hypnotized voters. It never fails, and it's a damnable shame.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Hence the reason why I made my site

I put up all those links so that other Chrisitans like me would not feel so alone. :)

[Blue_Chill]

2. MoPaul?

What the heck happened to you? I mean you actually posted the most understanding post of this nature I've read in a while. Nice! Good to see you back, btw.

[mopaul]

3. nothing happened BC...

just re-adjusting my brain for the 21st century. been at the back of the cave, observing and re-adjusting. your modern 21st century ways confuse me, and my head hurts bad sometimes, but i'm trying

[nedlogg]

5. This thing cracks me up!

Thanks for making my day!

[orwell]

4. Amen Brothers and Sisters

Some Christians have responded to Republican overtures because they both have a moral framework in common. Both of them share the "strong father model" of the family which extends its morality into the social sphere we call politics. In other words, the Cons know who they are and have effectively presented their worldview to the marketplace.

The failure has been with Progressives to identify their moral model and effectively present it as a counter view to the public. Progressives are bound together as a loose collection of issue oriented special interests without a sense of the moral glue that binds them.

This type of identity politics is the key to taking back the moral high ground for Progressives. It will require a concerted effort lasting decades. The Cons have been crafting their infrastructure for almost 40 years at the cost of 2 billion dollars. They have funded think tanks to set the theoretical framework, linguists and media advisor's to craft the message, and purchased media outlets to spread "the gospel." If Progressives are unwilling to mount such an effort, they will be overwhelmed, effectively reduced to irrelevance.

The Progressive worldview is in keeping with the tenets of all great Religions. What it challenges is the fundamental structures of such religions. For example, the fundamental model of Catholicism is "strong paternal father." Structurally it has been historically hierarchical and dogmatic. Rules come from above. The priest is the conduit to God.

But the precepts of Catholicism purely Progressive. Love your neighbor as yourself. Charity is a noble virtue. Do not harm others. It is a universal message of love peace and understanding. This is the Progressive worldview, one of nurture rather than authoritarianism.

It is up to us to be inclusive, to reach out to our fellow citizens and explain who we are. Stop letting the other side frame our values as negative. We have a great story to tell. Let's tell it.

O