Rick Perry's War On America

If you're living under a rock, then maybe you haven't seen Texas Governor Rick Perry's 'hail Mary' play for conservative voters, entitled "Strong".

Strolling through what appears to be a wooded park, wearing a suede jacket that has been ironically identified as a ringer for Heath Ledger's costume in Brokeback Mountain, Perry tells us:

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian. But you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school. As President, I'll end Obama's war on religion, and I'll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. Faith made America strong...it can make her strong again. I'm Rick Perry, and I approve this message.

Perry's video became instantly controversial, and it's easy to see why. It sounds homophobic (can we coin a new word for bigots like Perry? I propose homomisic, "gay hating"). It's ridiculous...who is stopping kids from celebrating Christmas? And it ties Obama to yet another atrocity he isn't committing, a "war on religion", and conveniently ties liberals to this fanciful war in one snappy sentence.

Perry's claims are alternately loathsome and absurd, but there's a more subtle message here that every American should be wary of. It's a popular theme with many conservative political candidates based on a fallacy of their own invention. That fallacy is the idea that the United States of America has a single religious heritage which has been somehow attacked, destroyed, or subjugated during Barack Obama's Presidency.

America does not now have, nor has it ever had, a single religion. Any schoolchild can tell you that many of America's first European settlers were fleeing religious persecution and settled here to worship as they pleased, but their own faiths were in no way compatible. They were Pilgrim Fathers (Brownist English Dissenters), Puritans (English Protestants), Quakers, Mennonites, Dunkers, Schwenkfelders, Moravians, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Anglicans.

The first amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof', ensuring not only that Americans will always be free to practice the religion of their choice, but that the United States itself does not and will not endorse any particular religion. Article Six provides that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States".

The forty-four Presidents of the United States represent no less than 12 different religious affiliations, the third most common being "none" (after Episcopalian and Presbyterian). Notable Presidents who had no specific religious affiliation include Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. Jefferson and Ben Franklin are considered by many to have been more properly Deists than Christians. Deism became prominent during the Age of Enlightenment among Christians who believed in God, but could not accept supernatural miracles, the infallibility of scripture, or the Trinity.

The phrase "In God We Trust" has appeared on U.S. coins since 1864, but it was not adopted as the official U.S. motto until 1956, a full 169 years after the Constitution was written. The country's previous unofficial motto was the wholly secular E pluribus unum, "Out of many, one". The Pledge of Allegiance was composed in 1892, but was not officially adopted as the country's pledge until 1942...and the phrase under God was not added until 1954, just 57 years ago.

In recent surveys 83% of Americans claimed to belong to a religious denomination, 60-75% of them being Christian. Between 4 and 5.5% of Americans are non-Christian...and another 15% of adult Americans claim to have no religious belief, or no affiliation, at all. And despite this seemingly high level of religiosity, in a 2008 poll only 9% of American adults said religion was the most important thing in their lives, compared to "family" at 45%, and "money" and "career" at 17%.

In 2011, the National Council of Churches of Christ published the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, which includes data on religious bodies reporting 60,000 or more members. In the U.S., no less than 73 different religious bodies were represented. President Obama is himself a Christian, and was a dedicated member of the United Church of Christ for more than 20 years until the media's focus on Reverend Jeremiah Wright's controversial statements led to his leaving it.

In short, America has no single religion or religious heritage to attack. In order to accuse Obama, or liberals, or atheists, or what have you, of attacking America's "faith", it is necessary for Governor Perry to wax poetic about an idyllic, fading America that has never existed outside of his imagination.

What exactly is this vague America Perry is nostalgic for? And why does he claim Barack Obama is at war with it? Republicans of every stripe loathed Bill Clinton, but none claimed he was at war with faith or religion.

I propose that the religiously unified America Rick Perry reminisces about was the America in which white male Christians had a stranglehold on our political power, our media, and our public dialogue. This cheerful America was firmly in place in the early 1950's, until African-Americans began to throw off the yoke of second-class citizenship they had worn since the Emancipation Proclamation. Still, white Christian men were safely ensconced in the White House until 2008, when Barack Obama took the oath of office. Obama, to my knowledge, is also the only President whose religion has been openly questioned (including accusations that he is secretly Muslim), and whose birth certificate's authenticity has been repeatedly challenged, in a public dialogue led exclusively by conservative and Republican politicians and media pundits. Coincidence?

The widening reach and influence of social media platforms such as Facebook won't make Rick Perry any happier. No one religion, political party, or philosophical outlook can control the voices of 800 million people interacting globally every day. No significant percentage of 800 million people will agree that homosexuals should not be serving in the U.S. military, or that Barack Obama is waging war on faith, or that Christian fundamentalism is the appropriate mission of the United States or its presidents.

If America can be said to have a heritage, it can be stated quite simply, and, in words primarily drafted by (Deist) President Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, it is this:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness.

In the 235 years since those words were written, the citizens of the United States have been admirably, messily, and gloriously striving to make the promise of those words a reality. In 2011 a particular segment of Americans, gays, have achieved an equality never previously enjoyed, with 6 states and the District of Columbia legalizing gay marriage, and President Obama repealing the Clinton-era "Don't ask, don't tell" policy which prevented gays from serving openly in our military. This makes gays a prominent target of conservative religious politicians such as Perry, who are always looking for a new enemy to replace the ones which are no longer socially acceptable scapegoats: blacks, women, or what have you.

Rick Perry's already weak political star should fade fast in the wake of "Strong", but as it does, Americans must not only continue to reject Perry's portrait of an America where those who don't look, think, and pray like him are the enemy: we must reject this mythical America wherever it rears its ugly, divisive head. To paraphrase his now-infamous words, democracy is what made America strong, and it can make America strong again. Not Rick Perry's democracy, but our democracy...yours, mine, gays', straights', Christians', atheists', and everyones in between.

Hey, Guess What? Terrorists Get CNN.com Too!

The whole world has been watching the United States closely since 9/11, and very, very closely since the beginning of the Iraq war. And now, with Barack Obama the President-Elect, we're going to be constantly under the microscope. I've said it before, but it bears repeating. The time for pettiness and division is over. Hence my dismay when I found the following (word-for-word) reader responses to a CNN.com article about Rahm Emanuel's appointment as Obama's Chief of Staff:

"Amy-If you are a so called lawyer….I should have figured another crook in America……Lawywers are the lowest of the low….Stealing from anyone they can find……go figure…..I would not even admit I am lawyer….You are the joke of America and of all professions.Go find someone to steal from!!! No wonder you are on the Obama team."

"Hey Susanne, Why don't you give your dead beat relatives 20% of your income and see what happens to it. Last time I checked Liberals were also required to pay taxes as well…oh that's right you conservative small business owners like to skim off the top and do everything in cash so it can't be tracked. Just ask anyone that own's a bar or resturant 10% of the top in the back pocket and oh we are barely breaking even…go tell your sob story to your shrink!!!!!"

"Shut up republicans and take your proper place in the political food chain! The people have made their choice and you lost GET OVER IT!!"

"To all repubs and conservatives: you guys all have a brain,just get out of the market close up your businesses and layoff your employees ,and put the proceeds in tax free funds.I am sure all your financial planners are advising you to do this.On another note be grateful that no repub is in charge of this mess now.BUT PLEASE SHUTUP AND GIVE THIS GUY A CHANCE TO GOVERN!!you guys will most likely be in power 4-6years from now anyway.So please step aside and give him a chance to prove you wrong"

"Hey, right wingers, the election is over, you got slaughtered, get over it. you voted and we voted, we won this time.Lokk at what you put us thru for the past eight years, have you no shame. you just wanted to do it again, but it did not work.Now, you need to stop trying to tell PRESIDENT OBAMA, who to select for his cabinet and how to run the country. He will do it his way, just like Bush did it his. But I already know, that President Obama is a "TEAM PLAYER", which is something you don't know anything about., becasue you have never had a teamClebrate your new president, He will do us all proudIn the name of Jesus (I'm saying that), Amen
wow"

"Susan, just make it clear, Obama said he will take money from the rich to give to the poor. He did not say his money nor his party's money, nor his relative's money. So, who is rich or who works hold your pocket tight . For the poor or lazy slobs, dream on."

"I find it extremely funny that all you a##holes want to work together now that a Democrat has won office. But for the last 8 years you been bagging on Bush every chance you had!!! Now the will of the people has spoken for President, for anti gay marriage ammendments, and for affirmative action initiatives. And the only people I see not following the will fo the people are the left winged democrats out protesting in the streets because the didnt like the vote. I am republican and i wish obama the best, i hope he can do something positive for this country but come gay love crowd get over it, THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN!!"

"Rahm represents all that is evil and vile in politics. He is a thug. A bully. And a partisan hack. That Obama would pick him for anything shows Obama's true agenda.Just wait and see, Rahm is out for Rahm."

Here's the only one I could find that I agreed with:

"If the views of many who contribute to these blogs are anything to go by, God help us. We will never be united, regardless of who the President is."

The whole world is watching, people. And our enemies, whoever and wherever they may be, only need a laptop to log on and see this kind of crap being spewed. Weakness is what they want to see. And every time some self-righteous hatemonger from either side comes up with a "brilliant" post like these, weakness is exactly what they're getting.

Stop the Presses! Palin Actually Got Something Right!

Since John McCain lost his bid for the White House, there have been lots of interesting, and let's admit it, entertaining stories coming from "sources" inside his campaign regarding Sarah Palin's ignorance and propensity for appearing in towels in front of high-powered political associates. Naturally she objects to these stories, and in her folksy, mavericky way, thinks these unnamed persons are "jerks".

You know what? For the first time since I heard your name, Governor, I'm with ya.

Are these stories believable? Do they have a ring of truth? Oh my, yes. They extend very naturally from every "In what respect, Charlie?" and "hockey mom" and "Joe Six-Pack" she ever uttered. Maybe they're even true. But what's the point? I can only think of one: to undermine Sarah Palin's future on the national political stage.

If this is the agenda of these cowardly tattlers, it probably won't work. Sarah Palin energized a large segment of the GOP, and many claim she is brilliant, focused, and canny. She had fans that lasted to the end, regardless of the many boneheaded things she did say. I don't totally get that, but I guess for some people the attachment to a candidate is like an obsession for a certain kind of music. I mean, we all know Bon Jovi sucks, but some people still love them.

The real issue for the GOP is their need to rebuild. Presumably they want the White House back in 2012. They shouldn't waste another day pointing fingers and mudslinging. After eight years of Bush and the stinging rebuke of the Obama landslide, America made a statement: meanness, insults, politics-as-usual? That's so 20th century...and so was the man leading the Republican ticket. The GOP needs to start looking right now to its young, charismatic, 21st century leaders...their Bobby Jindals, their Paul Ryans, their Tim Pawlenty's, and maybe even...their Sarah Palins?

The GOP's John Boehner Not Ready To Play Nice

So, the election is barely two days old, and it looks like at least one notable member of the GOP didn't catch the unsubtle message sent by voters that we want a new direction in Washington, a President who will buckle down and get to work on the myriad complex problems created by the outgoing administration.

Almost any Presidential staff pick has the potential for controversy, and Barack Obama's will be more scrutinized than most. So it's not a surprise that his pick of Representative Rahm Emanuel raised a few eyebrows. What are Washington insiders saying about him?

"Rahm knows the Hill, and he knows the White House. He is a brilliant strategic thinker and someone who knows how to get things done."

"Rahm understands politics is the art of compromise. He's got a deeply held set of views, but he also understands to get things done you have to compromise."

Knows the Hill, knows the White House, brilliant, strategic, thinker, knows how to get things done, understands to get things done you have to compromise? Sounds like the perfect guy, doesn't he? I mean, we want Obama to get things done, compromise...surely everyone can get behind that, right? And anyway, even if you're not crazy about the pick, surely this is the time to start working on that bipartisanship Washington is always paying lip service to?

Uh, well...maybe not. None less than House Minority leader John Boehner had this to say in a statement: "This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil and govern from the center."

Maybe. But you know what's not ironic, or surprising at all? That some members of the GOP are so very eager to play us vs. them just a few days after the most historic election in American history, an election in which disparate segments of the American population, many of which have never been on the same page before, came together with a common goal: to elect a President we can actually believe in. For some members of the GOP, partisan politics seems to be their be-all and end-all.

Boehner does have some more forward-thinking colleagues. Republican Lindsey Graham called Rep. Emanuel a "wise choice".

"Rahm knows Capitol Hill and has great political skills. He can be a tough partisan but also understands the need to work together. He is well-suited for the position of White House chief of staff," Graham said.

Lindsey Graham won re-election this year, so he'll serve through Obama's first term. At least there's one member of the Republican party with his priorities straight. John Boehner was re-elected this year too. Here's hoping he spends the next two years working with Obama, not against him, or maybe his constituents will send him packing in favor of someone who can put ego aside and do the right thing---for a change---by the American people.

A Message For Every American

For most Americans, the shock hasn't worn off this morning. Senator Barack Obama has defeated Senator John McCain and will be the next President of the United States of America.
For Senator Obama's supporters, this will be easy to embrace. For Senator McCain's, maybe not so much.

I wouldn't expect any of them to "get over it" any time soon. What I would hope to see them do, starting today, is to start working through it. This election was long, and it was bitter, and it was tough. But the United States cannot reclaim its past glories as a divided country. If you supported and/or voted for John McCain, Barack Obama will be your next President. Will you work with him, or work against him?

If you were a John McCain supporter, I encourage you to take the words of his classy, eloquent, and extremely heartfelt concession speech to heart. I've excerpted some of it below (italics mine). Please read it carefully. We need you. We all need each other.

"Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.

"My friends, we have -- we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly.

"A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Sen. Barack Obama to congratulate him.
To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.

"This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Sen. Obama believes that, too.

"But we both recognize that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound. A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

"Sen. Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.

"Sen. Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain. These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

"I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited. Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that . . .

"I would not -- I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.
Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.
Tonight -- tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Sen. Obama -- whether they supported me or Sen. Obama.

"I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

"Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much."

The Day Is One!

We did it.

America finally started growing up tonight. We left our adolescence behind.

This is an historic result, obviously. More than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, we've elected a black President. What African-Americans can feel right now, I can only try to imagine.

But calling this an African-American victory would be shortsighted. We all did this. We looked past race. We have bigger fish to fry. And tomorrow, we have to start frying them.

We need to leave the most divisive, vitriolic Presidential campaign in American history behind us. We need to unite, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, everyone, behind our President. We need to have faith in our system, we need that faith now more than ever.

The world will see us with new eyes now. We could have played it safe, we could have fallen prey to our fears. We took a risk. We took a leap, a leap of faith.

We are the change we'd been waiting for.