The Fundamentalist Problem
Well, so much for my plans to relocate to Austin or Marfa, Texas. Both places are progressive and liberal, although virtually lost in the vast sea of conservative idiocy that permeates the rest of the state.
The final blow, the one that convinces me the state has completely fallen off the cliff of reason is a recent decision by the Texas School Board to rewrite the history books. Children in Texas will now be force fed a steady stream of whitewashed, slanted propaganda Stonewall Jackson would surely love. Religious beliefs become science. The Republican Party is presented as a champion of civil rights. The Constitution says nothing about the separation of church and state.
These people are completely koo koo. As dangerous as the Taliban. Hell, maybe they’re even worse than the Taliban, since at least the Taliban places its agenda right on the table. Fundamentalist Christians are sneaky about it. They dress it up in a nice little package and make it seem like it’s something it’s not.
When the United States government and white settlers began their program of cultural genocide against American Indians, the basic foundation of the program was Christianity and the role of the mission. Historian Elliot West states in his work The Last Indian War that “aggressive Christianity was an essential partner,” and presents clear and compelling evidence that Washington made Christian conversion a “prime goal.”
Senator James Rood Doolittle of Wisconsin was an ardent Baptist who believed the United States was the chief agent of God’s will. He considered the Declaration of Independence “the new gospel of man’s redemption.” President Grant formerly married religion and federal governance by replacing reservation agents with missionaries.
Westward expansion essentially became spiritual conquest.
And why is this history lesson important? It’s important, because this is the Christian mission. This is spiritual conquest. Yeah, the Indians were told they were free to worship as they pleased (wink, wink), but the government and churches made it very clear their primary goal was to convert the “savages” to Christianity. For those that resisted, well, the result was pretty clear.
Guess who’s next? Liberals, agnostics, atheists, gays…anyone that doesn’t follow the conservative, fundamentalist Christian mantra. The Christian world view in the United States has expanded to include politics and economics. Not only should you follow Jesus, but you should be a Republican, support militarism and military-industrial complex. Their goal is to marginalize and remove any and all opposition to their world view from power. You’re either on board or you’re politically and economically ostracized. Sorta like being “on the rez.”
A few, like Glenn Beck, most likely harbor the same sentiment as western locals in the 1870′s. Kill ‘em. Kill ‘em all. You haven’t heard this yet in the United States, except from a handful of radical extremists, but wait. It’s coming. “If you don’t like it, leave!” will soon morph into something more sinister. Liberalism will become a “terrorist philosophy” since liberals are trying to destroy America. And once that sentiment is in place, it’s open season.
Just ask the American Indians. Those that remain, that is.
Categories: Community, Miscellany
Tags: American Indian, Christians, texas
Comments: 1 Comment.
It’s interesting when you get to the Left Coast the Christian thing drops away. I think it gets worn out in Utah.
Oh, there are Christians here, a-plenty. But they don’t have the overwheening presence they do in the lesser states to the east.
There are more conservatives here than most people think. Don’t forget Ronald Reagan. The folks in my camp usually ignore them as they have little sway.
Far worse are the bleeding heart liberals, who latch on to every issue and whine at it until it succumbs.