The Family, theocracy, and "the divine right of kings".

[arbusto_baboso]

Rachel Maddow ahs been hammering away at the C Street house, the Family, and its connections to Sanford, Ensign, Coburn, and a number of other prominent Republican politicos.

Tha Family is troubling to me, not because they are a fundie theocratic group who want to "mind everyone else's business" while being completely hypocritical themselves. After all, complete and utter hypocricy is the modus operandi of fundamentalist christianity. It's the fact that the Family actually seems to have *succeeded* in infiltrating government, the military and the CIA at very high levels that worries me. A LOT.

What is particularly bothersome is their "ends justify the means" philosophy, and their view that the "elect" can do pretty much anything they want to do. This is EXACTLY a redux of the medieval "divine right of kings" school of thought; they believe they are powerful and wealthy because they have been "chosen of God", so anything they do is okay.

Personally, I think this "thinking" springs up from the wealthy and privileged that are stupid. After all, if you are mentally dim (like a certain recent President we all know), you can't claim to be where you are through any kind of intellectual ability or merit. Therefore.....

God must favor you.

Am I the only one who realizes how dangerous this delusional thinking is? Why aren't progressives shouting this from the rooftops and writing copious LTTEs and calling their congress critters?

[monmouth]

1. This is most definitely the mindset of Sarah...n/t

[RandomThoughts]

2. It is also a question of discernment.

If you reach power by doing evil, or through a system that does not match the teachings of God. (Not saying all people in power reach positions like that, some believe in honesty and the better things like justice and compassion)

But if someone reaches power by doing bad things to people, then maybe their 'power' is not divine but from some different side.


This is my conjecture, a person that claims a dictatorial right through brutal, selfish, and greedy actions, is powered by something other then the divine. Which explains why they also need secrecy, since most people have enough discernment to figure it out.

Again many people in power got there with honest caring for people, some got their through brutal self interest. And usually the way they act in government or the private sector is the same as how they got there, and the same as the system that got them there.

[haele]

3. That's because people sliding into authoritarian team thinking

"us v them" - and the divine right of kings mentality can easily develop as people give up personal power and responsibility to be able to comfortably belong to the winning team.

There are many people who think that if they let those who "merit" it become their overlords, they'll be taken care of. Of course, these people are the same ones who have pretty much spent all their lives in passive, obedient acceptance of their lot in life, no matter how hopeless and angry they are on the inside.

Haele

[wtbymark]

4. This is "The Fellowship"

go to my journal, follow the link. These people took control of our country and are now losing it and will do anything to retain the power that they still have

[arbusto_baboso]

13. Are they actually losing it, though?

That's what bothers me.

[BolivarianHero]

5. We should do to them what Venezuela did to the New Tribes fascists...

Two options: Leave or we make you leave.

[blm]

6. Yes, RW fascists are spotlighted, but, let's not go easy on prominent Dem members of 'The Family'

because THEY are the real reason that the RWers were ABLE to succeed at pushing the fascist agenda that found protection under a few powerful Democrats.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080331/ehrenreich

[BolivarianHero]

7. Ahh...

You mean like Lieberdouche? Send the bastard to Gaza.

[blm]

10. MUCH more powerful and influential than Lieberman from 1993-2008.

>>>>>

At the heart of The Family's American branch is a collection of powerful right-wing politicos, who include, or have included, Sam Brownback, Ed Meese, John Ashcroft, James Inhofe and Rick Santorum. They get to use The Family's spacious estate on the Potomac, The Cedars, which is maintained by young men in Family group homes and where meals are served by The Family's young women's group. And, at The Family's frequent prayer gatherings, they get powerful jolts of spiritual refreshment, tailored to the already powerful.

Clinton fell in with The Family in 1993, when she joined a Bible study group composed of wives of conservative leaders like Jack Kemp and James Baker. When she ascended to the Senate, she was promoted to what Sharlet calls the Family's "most elite cell," the weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast, which included, until his downfall, Virginia's notoriously racist Senator George Allen. This has not been a casual connection for Clinton. She has written of Doug Coe, The Family's publicity-averse leader, that he is "a unique presence in Washington: a genuinely loving spiritual mentor and guide to anyone, regardless of party or faith, who wants to deepen his or her relationship with God."

>>>>>>

Dems LOVE to point to Lieberman as their biggest problem, but both Clintons were on the exact same page as Lieberman the entire time. Lieberman was the lightning rod.

[arbusto_baboso]

11. Either Coe has a great false persona, or we need to keep an eye on Hillary.

Just sayin'.

[blm]

12. Remember - Bushes had NO PROBLEM at all with Clintons in the WH, and they fully expected

she would follow W.

BCCI report didn't bury itself in 1993, did it? Neither did Iraqgate and CIA drugrunning report.

[BolivarianHero]

14. Between this and the DLC, thank God you guys went with Obama...

I have serious problems with him, but it's better than letting those twits run the party to the ground.

[troubledamerican]

16. Where are you writing from?

I didn't know Latin American progressives were allowed on this board. The moderators only protect the pro-oligarch pro-landed gentry pro-neofeudalists, as far as I know.

[agent46]

8. Interesting

This cultlike groupthink is the same everywhere in the new dumbed-down Amerika. Couple money and political influence with great big gobs of religious crazy and you have a new kind of statist religion. The particular dogmas don't matter as long as there's a divinely ordained license to kill at the end of every equation. It gives a moral justification for rapacious greed and stupidity - Amerika's only remaining trademarks.

[Blue For You]

9. Theocratic immunity, the fundie version of diplomatic immunity.

Another thing, I was wondering if all this right-wing "family values" crap is some kind of code-speak for The Family.

[stopbush]

15. Like bushco, they believe they are creating a new reality for themselves.

Pretty sick shit.

[blm]

18. You nailed it. And by controlling most mainstream media the last 2 decades, they

set themselves up to FORCE their version of reality onto an unsuspecting America.

[arbusto_baboso]

20. They may need more than control of information sources to continue, though...

Things are getting out about them...

A conspiracy loses effectiveness when everyone knows about it.

[Stephanie]

17. Interesting interview with Sharlet >

http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/795/christ_ueber_alles_1/

[blm]

19. This is so relevant to everything happening today - this belief system feeds into the

utter lack of sympathy displayed for regular people and their problems like proper healthcare and fair compensation.

[AntiFascist]

21. This is why they idolize Hitler....

they probably can't understand why most Americans aren't willing to go all out and eradicate all Muslims after 9-11, which should have been far more persuasive than the Reichstag fire.