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Title: Blue State Blues: America’s Divisions are Not Political — They’re Religious
Source:
Breitbart
URL Source: http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern ... sions-not-political-religious/
Published: Jun 30, 2017
Author: Joel B Pollack
Post Date: 2017-06-30 07:17:58 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 7337
Comments: 26
As we approach the Fourth of July, Americans remain deeply divided. But those divisions are not political. They are religious. On one side, there is a political party operating as a millenarian religious movement –clinging to long-discredited beliefs, obsessed with sex, afraid of science, determined to impose its bizarre views on others, and insisting that the government must control every hidden corner of private life. On the other side are the Republicans. Broadly, the Republican Party is concerned about governance. That is why, for example, repealing and replacing Obamacare is taking so long. The Republican leadership in Washington seems genuinely concerned about passing something that works. Most are also afraid of criticism from the media and a backlash from voters. But those fears relate to the challenge of governance, because they acknowledge the accountability mechanisms of our system. Democrats had few such qualms when they passed Obamacare in 2010, which was a leap of faith. The Democratic Party is often called the “party of government.” But aside from representing public sector unions, Democrats do not care about governing — at least, not anymore. To them, power is the means to achieve a kind of secular salvation: a placid world where all are equal, all needs are met, and all are validated — something like John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Many Democrats accept that the methods they use to achieve their utopia may be harsh, even violent. The ends justify the means. Thus it was fine to strip health insurance from millions of people under Obamacare — even if, according to the argument Democrats are now using to attack Republican health care proposals, that meant “killing” those people. Losing elections, and losing millions, were necessary sacrifices to bring Paradise that much closer. Another example: earlier this year, in Los Angeles, Democrat Mayor Eric Garcetti participated in an illegal protest that blocked flights from LAX. It might seem odd that a big-city mayor — whose voice plays constantly in announcements over the airport’s PA system — would want to irritate residents and annoy visitors. Yet his point was to posture with radicals on the basis of a spurious constitutional claim that was just tossed by the Supreme Court. Governance must yield to other priorities for Democrats. Things like budgets and borders are the preoccupations of the mundane, unenlightened petty-bourgeoisie. For the faithful who have had the religious experience of becoming “woke,” the real question is the kind of world they want to create, rather than the immediate problems of the human beings living in it. The two parties are not clashing: they are talking past each other, and only seem to be arguing. President Donald Trump has accused Democrats on Capitol Hill of “obstruction.” Barack Obama once had the same complaint about Republicans. But something different is happening now. Under Obama, Republicans provided an opposition. Against Trump, Democrats are mounting a “Resistance.” In extremis, that means taking up arms. For most Democrats, “resistance” means denying Trump’s legitimacy and denouncing the heresy of his supporters. This is not quite, as Dennis Prager suggests, a civil war. It is a religious schism. Democrats think Republicans are the religious nuts, because of the party’s stance on social issues. But even the Bible prescribes family values for reasons that are, at least in part, practical. “Honor your father and your mother,” the Bible says (Exodus 20:12), “in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you” (emphasis added, obviously). Republicans believe that faith and traditional values help individuals live more fulfilling lives in an orderly society. Democrats substitute the government for God — or, like Nancy Pelosi, seem to confuse the two. They have their own internal divisions, between leftists who want the state to do everything and those who simply want to tear it down along with every other institution. But both reject America’s founding idea of God-given individual liberty. The country seems to be tearing itself apart. But we can manage these divisions. American has been a religiously pluralistic society since the colonial era, thanks in part to the general separation of church and state. The way to deal with Democrats’ fanaticism is to describe it as what it is: a fundamentalist religious faith. Let them indulge their beliefs, and tolerate their mostly harmless ideals. But keep them as far away from political power as possible.
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#1. To: cranky, Liberator, CZ82, TooConservative (#0)
Good article. Yes, I frequent a Christian site where the mods work full-time this time of year fighting the onslaught of cults littering their site. The Dems are much like these cults. They have a 'rockbed' dogma that no matter how much you point out is in error, you get the 'party line.' Brainwashed minions I call them and the Dems are cut from the same cultic cloth.
The Bible refers to such persons as unteachable, having itching ears. And warns us to avoid them and to never fellowship with them or even so much as wish them Godspeed. The Dems have been trying to cobble together a fake version of Christianity for a long time. I think they have made a lot of progress. The result is the sharp drops in attending church or having anything to do with organized religion. It seems the bible of the Millenials is the Epistles of Harry Potter. I never did think it was religious per se. It does offer a competing and darker set of religious ideas than we find in the Bible.
The above (and the embedded link was quite hilarious and revealing) is what I deal with on other sites. There are professed Christians who believe the Sermon on the Mount discourse was for government. In fact when we make government the source of sustenance, we replace our reliance on God and His church--the ekklesia. Now if secular governments want to provide a safety net for the truly poor, that's fine and benefits those truly in need. But don't try to convince Christians that big government (a government which promotes abortion and other immoral practices) is God's answer to mankind. It's not. I see quite a few Christians mix up social programs with the Christian love of providing for the needy and sick. When I ask if they donate to their church to help with this cause or even a large (or even local) Christian charities (e.g. Samaritans Purse), I get silence. What is being promoted at some sites is the self proclaimed "Christian Left." Yes many in our country (and outside) always refer to this "Christian Right" as if this is an actual group or organization. When I ask if there is a "Christian Right" website, I get silence...No such site exists. The funny point is the "Christian Left" does have their own site. Take a look at it and then compare with the DNC vision of America: They seem to like Pope Frank too! Wonder if this site has anything to do with Hitlery's campaign strategy of creating fake Catholic and liberal church action groups to challenge orthodox beliefs? Remember that WikiLeaks memo? Musing about a "Catholic Spring" revolution being hatched by left leaning political organizers, John Halpin at the Center for American progress wrote that Catholics "must be attracted to the systematic thought and severely backwards gender relations." Clinton Campaign Disdain for Catholics and Evangelicals is 'Staggering'
The last refuge of a scoundrel, Marx, seems to be at the Vatican. I guess he already bankrupted North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela, not to mention dozens of other miserable regimes around the world. Pope Frank took that name for a reason: Francis of Assisi is the only Catholic ever admired by the godless international communist Left. Quite a number of their major figures over the years have expressed huge admiration for Francis, not for any other saint or for the apostles or for Christ Himself. So Pope Frank comes with a warning label of his own choosing. The only way he could advertise himself more as a pope of the Left would be if he'd chosen to be called Pope Che.
#12. To: redleghunter (#6)
Yes, Jimmy, you can! Peter was the first Pope, and there's more about him in the Bible than any other apostle!
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestOn one side, there is a political party operating as a millenarian religious movement –clinging to long-discredited beliefs, obsessed with sex, afraid of science, determined to impose its bizarre views on others, and insisting that the government must control every hidden corner of private life. On the other side are the Republicans.
#2. To: redleghunter (#1)
The Dems are much like these cults. They have a 'rockbed' dogma that no matter how much you point out is in error, you get the 'party line.'
#3. To: Tooconservative, Liberator (#2)
Democrats substitute the government for God — or, like Nancy Pelosi, seem to confuse the two.
#5. To: redleghunter (#3)
They seem to like Pope Frank too!
#6. To: Tooconservative (#5)
So Pope Frank comes with a warning label of his own choosing. The only way he could advertise himself more as a pope of the Left would be if he'd chosen to be called Pope Che.
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