Conversations with God vs. Divine Right

Michelle Bachmann freely admits that she has conversations with God.  God tells her things.  Rick Perry seems to allude to the same thing.  George W. Bush also said he would speak to God and get messages in return.  Now, I do understand the desire for many people to hold a personal belief in something intangible.  Provided that their faith makes them better people (and that seems to be the case for the silent majority of the faithful) I have no issues with that.* 
However, I do draw the line at candidates professing this level of devotion.  This is mainly because history has shown us so many times how devotion to something that can’t be proven, can be used to manipulate people into perpetrating evil.  But in the case of presidential candidates there is a much more fundamental reason for my outrage.  And that goes back to a doctrine that was in place in Europe during the colonization of America- the doctrine of Divine Right. 
For those that didn’t pay attention in high school, Divine Right is the notion that monarchs of countries were chosen by God, by sheer nature of their birth, to rule.  They were told from a young age that they and they alone could talk directly to God since they were chosen by Him and therefore, the messages they would receive were divine.  They had the same authority over life and death as God. 
Most of the people who fled to the colonies did so to escape religious persecution.  And the antithesis of this idea truly is the foundation of the Constitution.
When people like Michelle Bachmann or Rick Perry tout their “conversations” with God, they are employing a manipulative marketing technique to get people to vote for them.  They’re not saying, “I talk to God the same way you do.”  They’re saying, “I talk to God and He responds back to me.”  In other words, God had chosen him/her to be His messenger and spokesperson. 
That’s fine if they are a minister or a reverend.  But as a political leader, it’s setting the stage for the next step of “you voted for me because God told you to, which means that God must have sent me. Therefore, I’m not stepping down just because I was voted out or my term is up.”  Or worse, “God gave me the authority to execute anyone who disagrees with me.” 
Now I’m not saying that Bachmann or Perry would take it this far, but if we as a people vote for them, then the marketing technique they are employing will have proven to work.  The next thing we know, everyone will start using it.  Sooner or later a despotic type of person will be able to fool the public with his/her religious rhetoric and get elected.  That’s what we need to be on guard for, and as the old adage says, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Personally, I like democracy and don't want to have to cure what we would have instead. Vote responsibly.

*When it comes to “conversations” with God, I am assuming that the person doing the “hearing” is actually feeling or thinking things and not really hearing a voice from outside their body. I think it's safe to say that anyone hearing voices is most likely mentally ill and probably wouldn't make the best presidential candidate. 

The Evolution of a Liberal

I know I alluded to a blog about Rick Perry, and that's coming.  However, a dear friend of mine at the reunion this weekend suggested I blog about this, so consider this personal reflection a little something extra.

This past weekend, I attended my class reunion.  We were invited to bring our memorabilia to the event to share with everyone.  Tucked away in my sophomore yearbook were several old football programs and a basketball program that I thought would be fun to share with everyone.  Since it had been at least a decade since I had really looked at them, I eagerly glanced at them in order to remind myself about those days.  I began to giggle as I saw the stars I had put next to the football players I thought were so cute back then.  But my giggles turned to a huge gasp and utter shock when I saw that I had written “fag” next to the picture of one of the coaches.  Did I write that?  I don’t even remember that man.  I don’t think I ever talked to that man—EVER! 
Waves of shame washed over me as I quickly looked through all the programs, to exclude any that might have those references.  My first reaction was that I would bury the evidence hide the hideousness that had spewed forth from my hand.  Who was that girl who had written those things?  The woman reading them back certainly would have disliked her intensely had they come face to face. 

But then I remembered the insecure teenager who would do anything to get accepted and loved.  Those weren’t my words.  I have a vague recollection of liking someone who was on the football team and he called the coach that name.  Since I wanted to be liked and accepted, and group hatred is cheap and easy way to accomplish that goal (or so it would seem) I think I wrote the word so he (that is the guy I liked and admired so much that I defaced my football program, and yet haven’t the vaguest recollection of whom it might be) would like me.  It didn’t work.  Hatred never does. 

And yet, I can’t help feeling that the worst part of this story is not the word itself (although I do not condone its use in anyway), but that it wasn’t my word.  It was the word of someone else which I regurgitated like a pea brained parrot, trying to get a treat.  The mind that was churning and the heart that was yearning to step up and say “this is wrong,” were igniting, but insecurity was dousing them at the slightest hint of a flame.  I wasn’t ready.  I didn’t know that picking up the cause of something that is good and right, just because it is good and right, and not because I get a direct benefit from it, is the truest and surest way to empowerment.  I didn’t know the strength that this one small girl had inside of her, if only she’d try.  And because I didn’t know, I must offer that truly dislikable girl an olive branch.  She can’t be faulted for what she didn’t know then, because she did learn from it.   And that girl and all of her mistakes would give birth to the woman I am today. 

So I gathered up those programs and took them with me to the reunion.  And really, no one cared what I wrote on them.  The fact is, my classmates were too thrilled by the memorabilia to be offended by the offhand comment of a 15 year-old school girl.  My goal was to bring joy to my fellow alumni, and I accomplished that.  I offered an apology for any offensive remarks, but I don’t think I even needed to do that.  The word “fag” didn’t brandish me as a hypocrite, because even as the seasoned woman I am today, I still have much to learn.  And today’s lesson is a review of the chapter “it’s not always about me.”

To Wisconsin and Beyond

Last November, the Tea Party claimed all sorts of victory when they took "back America."  Cries that the American people had spoken filled the air, and people like Michelle Bachmann and Eric Cantor, smugly pontificated about how the American system was broken and they were going to fix it.  But they never said exactly HOW.

Shortly after taking office in Wisconsin, the elected representatives of the Tea Party began implementing a plan that no one signed on for.  They systematically began an assault on one of the cornerstones of our American society: our worker's rights.  Rights that many of our grandparents fought for.  Rights that ensure that we in America have a standard of living which has been the envy of everyone else in the world.  Rights that many countries we used to look down our noses upon, have copied and implemented for their people.

Today, less than a year after the Tea Party "(Took) Back America," as our entire economy seems to be imploding, Wisconsin will be holding an election that may very well be our only hope for solvency.  They have the ability to erase much of the wrongs which happened last November and if they do, it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the country follows suit. 

I personally think that all the recalls will go through and that the entire state of Wisconsin will go blue.  However, I am also sheltered by my liberal friends and my emotional need at this time to keep hope alive by listening to people who, like me, think that the Tea Party didn't "Take Back America" as much as they "Kidnapped America, Beat it to a Pulp, Held it for Ransom and Will Probably Kill it Anyway."  Okay, so maybe it isn't the catchiest campaign slogan but it seems to be true. 

I am truly optimistic that tomorrow's election in Wisconsin will be the shot heard round the world.  Tomorrow's election will be the beginning of America fighting back.  Tomorrow's election will prove to the rest of the world that we the people are paying attention.  We the people do know exactly which  people are responsible for the economic mess we are in.

What I'm not so sure about is how long this message will last.  While I do believe it's true that the Tea Party is responsible for the actual policies and stall techniques that have brought us to this point, even more responsible are the people who don't vote.  The people who, up until now, haven't been paying attention.  People who spend nearly all their downtime watching sports or reality television because politics is "boring." 

To them I say this:  you know what's even more boring than politics?  Unemployment.  But you know what's not boring?  Poverty.  Get off your fat ass, turn off the television, wake up and look around!!! You have no one to blame but yourself if you didn't vote.  Today is your opportunity to make a difference.  Tea lies.  Tea is incompetent.  Tea doesn't really care about you half as much as it cares about the boss that fired you so there are all the facts you need.  Tea isn't about making your life better as much as it is about making sure they win at all costs. 

If you live in Wisconsin, you need to get out and vote today.  You need to recall all the jerks that were elected last November and you need to put the right people into place.  The right people who are true and patriotic Americans that love this country more than they love their party.  The rest of America is depending on you to fire back with a vengeance.  The rest of America is counting on you to reclaim our country.  The rest of America wants you to Flush the Tea.