Thursday, May 29, 2008

An Evangelical Mindset III

An earthquake hits Northridge, California on January 17, 1994. The incredibly strong shocker registers a 6.8 on the Richter scale. Damage is well over $12 billion in the overpriced San Fernando Valley. Fifty-seven are officially proclaimed dead with approximately 12,000 injured. Scientists can easily explain the movement underground that causes large quakes like this one to hit California.

It is not much longer after the disaster has struck that some Evangelical leaders (including Pat Robertson) assert that God has struck Northridge due to the predominance of the porn industry within the city. For just a moment, a very short time indeed, one might actually see some kind of relationship with God being angry at the proliferation of cheap porn videos and the need to take down such a sinful industry. But that moment must fade fast when one sees the widespread destruction that hit many areas outside of Northridge proper. If the damage had been almost 100% to the porn participants, then Robertson might have a point. But alas, many innocent people (with zero ties to porn) had their apartments and homes destroyed,and received a plethora of physical and psychological injuries. If one could step back from the narrow focus on the porn studios, one could see that Northridge is the home to a large state universty, has many fine public and private schools, and basically is a wonderful suburban area outside of Los Angeles.

The extreme view that was proclaimed by these Evangelicals has been repeated in many other catastrophes. Hurricane Katrina was not seen as the result of poor planning and weak dikes but as another punishment for a city that likes to party and has a large gay population. Similar reasons were attached to the horrors of September 11th.

This narrow mindset if held by people who mean well. They read their Bible, usually try to live good, clean, wholesome lives, and through their churches do many charitable deeds in their communities. But what they are attempting to do is read God's will and God's hand in every and all situations. Science and common sense is tossed aside as they look to God as their partner in a never ending battle to undo all the world's perceived evils.

Additionally, many in this particular Evangelical strain are eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus with what is known as a premillennial rapture. Every news item is scrutinized as a part of a prophetic puzzle. An earthquake in China, a tsunami in Burma, and a war in Iraq are not things to frown about but events that one should rejoice over as signs that Jesus is coming soon. They have taken the Book of Revelation and overlaid it upon the world's events. Never mind that Jesus said not to take thought about when He would return. Never mind that He has not returned in over 2,000 earth years. Never mind, that many of these Evangelical leaders, who seem outwardly so excited about calamities and preach about Jesus' imminent return, continue to build their own large ministry kingdoms (with personal material gain for themselves and their families) with donations from those who look to them for guidance.

In the nexus of religion and politics, this prophetic conservative Evangelical bloc is a force to be reckoned with. When spurred on by hot button issues (i.e. gay marriage and all the other typical "evil" concerns that we all hear about every election), they can come out to the voting booth and make a huge difference. Even with three main candidates who do not espouse this type of Christianity, their push for a more "Christian" state cannot be ignored. Thus McCain seeks actual endorsements, while Obama and Clinton was publicly about their own church life.

It was not that long ago in American life, that religion was a more private matter. Yes, except for John Kennedy, all of our presidents have been Protestant. But the particular brand of Protestantism was not the end all and their was a healthy marriage of faith, sense, and science. Today, a conservative Evangelical bloc is viewing the world in a different light from the majority. Time honored practices such as public schools and the support for scientific research are under attack by those who live in this narrow world. The rest of us must broaden our view to understand these folk and do what we can to honor the good in them and work and pray to straighten out some of their misconceptions.

Monday, May 26, 2008

An Evangelical Mindset II


Before writing further, I want to take just a moment to let my readers know that I myself am an Evangelical Christian. I believe wholeheartedly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I trust the Bible to be my companion on my journey through this life and on to the next. I accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross as the payment for my own sins and trust Jesus to be my savior and guide.

I applaud all who are proclaiming Christ's name and going out to serve those in need of redemption, those who hunger, those who need health care, and those who have been stranded by a society hellbent towards material gain. Having said all this, it pains me to see the growing Fundamentalist drift within Evangelicalism.

Those who advised George W. Bush were keenly aware of the large number of potential Evangelical Christians who would be voting in the presidential contests. These keen political consultants played up the social concerns of millions of Americans (i.e. gay marriage, gun control, abortion) to narrowly bring Bush victory in both 2000 and 2004. Karl Rove famously pushed Bush towards this base of "Right-Wing Christianity" and gambled that an inside straight would be the winning card.

As we now move from the era of Bush and Rove, the current Republican nominee is not as steeped in this religious right world. John McCain is more of a traditional Republican who increasingly has realized that without a large turnout of conservative Evangelicals, his chances of winning the White House will diminish. From keeping his distance from this group in the early months of 2000, McCain has reached out to prominent preachers such as Pat Robertson, John Hagee, and Rod Parsley in an effort to stir up the churched masses and get them excited about his campaign.

Unfortunately for McCain, the world has changed so much in just eight short years. The use of the internet as a tool to unmask almost anyone is being perfected everyday. Senator Obama learned this the hard way when the buzz over his own Pastor, Jeremiah Wright, became overwhelming and almost derailed his fine tuned presidential journey. Those on the left began to pay closer attention to those clerics who were publicly endorsing McCain; finding sound bites and video clips of these men which did not seem to fit neatly with more moderate mainstream Christian views.

So the question before us is what exactly did these religious McCain backers say and why would they hold to these beliefs. Robertson, the late Jerry Falwell, and Hagee all have seen the hand of God in man-made and natural disasters such as 9-11, the Northridge, California earthquake, and the flooding of New Orleans. These views have been widely reported before but in the charged atmosphere of this election have finally gotten much needed scrutiny. More obscure concepts such as Parsley's total abhorrence of Islam and Hagee's idea that God used the twentieth century's number one villain, Adolf Hitler, for His own purposes, have shocked many to the point where McCain had no choice but to disassociate himself with these two men.

With this background, the stage is set for our third entry in this series where we will look to the reasons that such strange utterances are being proclaimed by leaders in the Evangelical community. None of us should be afraid of uncovering the Truth. God is truth and light and if we let falsehood become widespread it can only bring hurt to the very people that Jesus came to help.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

An Evangelical Mindset I

What if we lived in a nation where a book was the main source of all laws and rules? What if that book said that women should not be employed outside the home? What if that book said that women should be covered in humility and that is taken to mean that women should be virtually covered when they leave their homes? What if that book saw all other sources of religion as false and the inhabitants of said nation go out of their way to destroy all statues, temples, and even some people who follow those "false" religions. What if every natural occurrence was interpreted as the will of the one who the book refers to? What if?

Obviously many of us in the USA would take all the what ifs above to mean the world of extreme Islam. A world that hinders the growth of females and fears modern advances. A world that we would see as populated by creepy Taliban and fellow travelers of Osama. A world that we would totally reject and indeed go to war against to rid an evil scourge from the face of the earth.

But what if the book in question is not the Qu'ran but the Bible. What if the roles of men and women are intrepreted through the pages of the Old and New Testaments. What if every religion in this land that does not 100% agree with the proponents of this type of Bible based religion is seen as apostate and demonic. And what if all natural episodes are seen as an extension of the hand of the one that the Bible refers to. What if?

This second series of propositions are the views and beliefs of an extreme but large group of Evangelicals. This group has been brought into the light of the public with the recent denunciations of Reverends Parsley and Hagee by Republican presidential candidate John McCain. Many do not understand (including McCain and his advisors) the theology of this Evangelical mindset. Because of this lack of understanding, McCain has been burnt and people are wondering exactly what type of religion do Parsley, Hagee, and others actually hold to.

In an upcoming entry we will examine a bit more about this group of Evangelicals who see the Bible as a guide to all things and as the source of all laws and rules. The irony is that this group that abhors the strict Islamic religion is a mirror image of that group. That they are so important that presidential candidates would want their support and blessing is a good reason for all of us to get a grasp on this form of fundamentalist religion.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Uncle Teddy


The news is bleak. The prognosis is even bleaker. Death is just around the corner. And yet at this moment of darkness, the light of Senator Edward M. Kennedy is shining brighter than ever before.

Underneath all the bluster and posturing for the nightly news clip on the evening broadcasts, there really is genuine admiration and friendship among political foes. A man who is now seventy-six, who has been demonized for a fateful nighttime trip with a female employee, a man who was once seen as the weakest link in the Kennedy chain, a man who epitomized arrogance when he lost the nomination to a sitting president, a man totally associated with all things left; this man is now finally being revealed as a true lion of our nation.

One can only hope that Senator Kennedy has become aware of all the accolades that are coming to him in this moment of twilight and final judgment. From all of the political spectrum, voices of praise and concern are being pronounced. Kennedy, a link to the days of "Camelot", not only served his Massachusetts constituents well, but was a fierce patriot who was willing to compromise in all areas to keep our nation moving forward.

In a time of fierce negative rhetoric, it is reassuring that away from the cameras, there are leaders who understand the role of government and the place of our country in the world. One may not always agree with the veteran senator, but one should marvel at his longevity, the passion of his beliefs, and his overriding desire to lead our country into a more glorious future.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Where Is China?

What if there was a terrible catastrophe that hit upon our shores? Perhaps a twister that runs through Oklahoma wrecking incredible havoc. Or an earthquake along the California coast that causes billions of damage and an incredible amount of death. Maybe floods hit a low lying city leaving it stranded without power, food, and a civil administration to keep law and order. If any of these scenarios were to take place would the cable news channels be able to bring the full scope of the horror to the rest of the nation? Would they?

Of course they would and they already have many times. Within hours of a major natural disaster, the big three of FOX News, CNN, and MSNBC would be up with their famous word titles (i.e. "Flaming California", "Slow Death in Louisiana", "Twisted Tennessee") and haunting music. Any and all other potential and on going news stories would be put on hold. For days on end we would have wall to wall coverage of the human misery.

And yet now, when a disaster of Herculean proportions hits the world's most populated nation of China, the event is seen as an annoying sidebar for the cable journalists. Little time has been spent over the past five days chronicling the scope of the Chinese earthquake. Somewhere between twenty to fifty thousand will perish in the 7.9 shocker. But for those glued to our number one source of news, little relevant information is reaching the audience. (In fairness, it has been FOX News of all channels, that has shown a bit more than CNN and MSNBC.)

But we should not be surprised by all of this. The cable news business has become cable magazine. Reporting budgets have been pared and executives have become completely preoccupied with the bottom line as portrayed in advertising ratings. The moguls have decided that a disaster involving Asian folks in a far off country just does not make for compelling viewing. Far better to spend endless hours on the late and perhaps meaningless West Virginia Primary on Tuesday night than on the growing Chinese crisis. Why spend money sending a host of reporters and cameramen halfway across the world when more viewers want to watch the continuing soap opera family squabble known as the Democratic nomination process. Why waste all that money when you can bring in a whole pack of talking heads into studio and inanely analyze the vote in a preordained Clinton victory.

It is alarming what is going on with our media. By paying attention to viewer preferences, we are receiving narrowcasts instead of broadcasts. The problems, conflicts, and situations in the U.S. and the world no longer control what we are going to see in our news. Instead, cable bigwigs are deciding what we will view, ingest, ponder, and know about. A small fire in Florida has gotten much more time on cable than has the earthquake. Obviously, the election is trumping everything else. With today's controversial California Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, expect much more debate on this issue in the coming days. So where does that leave the folks still trapped and isolated in China? Lost, forgotten, and most likely stripped of much needed public attention that can be translated into real help by the American people in donations to the Red Cross and other humanitarian causes. News as entertainment: fun but deadly!

Monday, May 12, 2008

To Praise Her Or To Bury Her

The next act in our Greek tragedy is what to do with the apparent loser in the Democratic nomination process.

A Death By A Thousand Cuts: They each took turns stabbing Caesar. Now the ultimate slap in the face is the trickle of superdelegates who come out each day to proclaim their allegiance to Obama. Two this day, four on another; not a mighty rush but just enough to make each day painful for Madame Clinton.

Et Tu, Brute: It is one thing to have nameless party hacks turn their back on you. But starting weeks ago with long time personal friend, Governor Bill Richardson's defection, the tide has been turned. Many who owe their place in the political scene to the Clintons, have now betrayed their long time acquaintance and mentor and have gone on to the other side.

She Continues To Rise Until The Bitter End: So who will be the white knight to finally put our evil damsel to death. Lords Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana have failed in this mission. For a defeated foe, Hillary still has some tricks up her sleeve. West Virginia and Kentucky seem poised to follow her charms. Perhaps the final sword will be thrust by Count Oregon.

The Fight For Her Mantle: Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian fought for the open spot left by Caesar. Obama will be king but who will be his court jester. Word has already leaked out that Mrs. Obama and leading wizard, Edward Kennedy, will have nothing to do with the suddenly downtrodden Clinton. Watch as a myriad of names come pouring forth in the veep sweepstakes.

Watch Out For The Wrath Of A Woman Scorned: Remember that Obama's victory will be by the slimmest of margins. Remember that two of the big ones - Florida and Michigan - were not properly accounted for. Remember that the presumptive nominee is about to get his ass kicked in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico (yes it counts!). Hillary, like it or not, represents millions of women who can easily take revenge and stay home in November. Don't be so presumptive. No matter how many heads Obama and his warriors cut off from the so called Clinton monster, there will always be a head remaining. She is still alive and powerful. Deal with her in a straight forward and honorable manner or be ready to pay for your disdainful spirit.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Ninety-Two Percent

So who is she? Does she dress up in white robes at night? Does she secretly attend white supremacist meetings? Does she make a practice of not hiring anyone of a different skin color? Did she grow up on the dusty fields of "Tobacco Road"? Were her parents, spouse, or child noted bigots?

What is it about Hillary Clinton that made ninety-two percent of the African-Americans who went to vote in North Carolina, come out against her and support her rival? In state after state with significant African-American populations (i.e. Georgia, South & North Carolina, DC, Maryland, Virginia, etc.) Hillary Clinton has garnered between 6% to about 15% of the black vote. With odds like that, there is no doubt about why so many southern states went in to the Obama column.

Yet where is the ranting, raving, and suspicious inquiries into this phenomenon? Hillary Clinton (and her husband Bill) have been great champions for African-Americans. Early on in the campaign many prominent Black Americans came to support Hillary. This impressive list included BET head Robert Johnson, actress Whoppi Goldberg, Congresspeople John Lewis and Sheila Jackson Lee, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. But as the election has gone on, her vote totals have slipped below what even George W Bush was able to garner in his winning runs for the presidency.

If things were reversed, pundits would be all over this issue pointing out racism. Indeed, even with Clinton pulling some 60% plus of the white vote, analysts have murmured about a white racist trend. But is this fair? Obviously, Obama has won caucus states that are considered white (i.e. Utah, Maine, etc.) and has won such white primary states as Wisconsin and Washington. When a large majority of whites vote for Clinton in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina, that still means a significant minority pulled the lever for Senator Obama.

So we come back to the original question. Why would so many African-Americans completely back the African-American candidate? One could understand if the competition was the person we asked about in the first paragraph. Obviously, Hillary Clinton does not fit any of those bigoted stereotypes and has given her life to spread compassion and equality for all Americans. If the election was progressing the way the whites have been voting, then it would be expected that Clinton should still be receiving somewhere between twenty to thirty percent of the black vote. In the southern states that she lost, this higher percentage would most definitely put her in the ball game and make these southern primaries a lot closer than they actually have been.

It is high time that we all have the boldness to tackle this question. It is high time that we all have the courage to even state this question. Is there a racist element at play in the African-American Democratic vote that is propelling Barack Obama to victory?

Monday, May 5, 2008

The Twi-Night Doubleheader


(Kudos to MSBC's Chris Matthews for coining Tuesday's big primaries as "the twi-night doubleheader".)

It was not that long ago that baseball fans could get a two for one deal. Two games for the price of one!! Almost every other Sunday and holiday was set up as a doubleheader. This usually meant that the first game would start at 1 pm (instead of the normal 2 pm matinee time). When games were played quickly, as they were in the fifties and sixties, the second contest would start around 4.

Growing up in New York, this is how the Mets were able to capitalize on the bedsheets and other materials fans would bring to games to cheer on their lowly but popular club. The most exciting of these doubleheaders, was the yearly "Banner Day", when literally thousands of participants would carry their homemade signs in a parade around the field. Prizes would be awarded in numerous categories.

A variance on the Sunday afternoon twofer, would be the aforementioned twi-night affair. In an era when many ball games began at 8 pm, the first game of this mid-week endurance contest would start at 5. If all played out according to normal situations, game two would literally start at the same time as a single game (8 pm!).

So how exciting it will be, that all of us will be treated to the modern equivalent of the long lost twi-nighter. Tuesday night, many political junkies and those who are just curious, will turn in to their cablecasts, and settle down for pennant chasing matches in two key states: Indiana and North Carolina. Whereas we just witnessed the important single game played in Pennsylvania, we will have the excitement of two close contests between the eternal Democratic candidates - Obama and Clinton.

The scenarios are pretty much out there:
Obama sweeps both games and goes home with the championship.
Clinton takes both and inches closer to a miracle comeback.
The two split and ....
This is where things get difficult.
If Obama wins big in North Carolina and Clinton in Indiana nothing much changes except that Obama is that much closer to mathematically clinching things.
If Obama wins a narrow vote in NC (with little white support) and Clinton romps in Indy; well that is why we will be switching from CNN to MSNBC to FOX to get the commentary that best suits our own position.

So, break out some cold brews, barbecue some dogs, snap open the peanuts, and enjoy a once in the twenty-first century happening: a real old fashioned twi-nighter!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

So What Did You Think Would Happen?


Four current hot news stories. Four very logical results. So what did you think would happen?

* Miley Cyrus (aka Hannah Montana) becomes sexual. So? Isn't this the same route that most pretty cable TV kid show stars follow? Miley sat for a photo shoot with world famous photographer, Anne Leibovitz, and lo and behold, she is peering out at us with a lot of skin and a provocative look. Hey, she is all of fifteen and one can't stay pigeon holed in that tween universe forever! What does shock, is the physical nature of the photo she took with her singing dad, Billy Ray.

* Reverend Jeremiah Wright is close to moving in to new suburban Chicago digs. The now famous/infamous preacher will be residing in retirement splendor in a 10,000 square foot, $1.6 million home. So after all those years preaching about the poor and disenfranchised, the good reverend will be getting his monetary rewards. After Senator Obama continued to support his one time spiritual mentor, it only made sense that Rev. Wright would turn out (at least at this late part of his life) to be an ego driven soul who hogged the limelight this past weekend in various televised speeches designed to one up the aspiring young senator. And of course, his new house will be locked from the rest of his congregation in an exclusive gated community.

* Deborah Jeanne Palfrey commits suicide in Florida. Maybe the name does not ring a bell but her working title, the "D.C. Madam" probably does. Palfrey was waiting to start a prison sentence and the weight of her problems and the fear of being jailed got the best of her. This woman grabbed headlines a year ago, claiming to have the hot list of horny elected officials who used her company's services. Besides Senator David Vitter and a few other lesser lights, the D.C. Madam's clientele was not particularly "A" list material. Unfortunately, reality superseded her moments of fame, and she is now gone from all of us.

* The gray wolf were recently delisted from the Endangered Species Act by the "pro-environment" Bush administration. With a whopping 1,500 wolves existing in the large states of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, the government caved in to the hunter lust that permeates some of the pro-gun persuasion. Each state has taken steps to ease the right of hunters to shoot and kill the beautiful and intelligent creatures. Now the environmental lobby is going full bore to reverse the ruling before the wolves once again face extinction and the government will be forced to spend millions of dollars to help the animal.

A busy but predictable day in a nation preoccupied with everything but a war that daily kills innocent Iraqis and brave American soldiers. But then again, what did you think would happen when a nation was told exactly five years ago that the war was a "mission accomplished"?