Religion and the Politics of War
NOTE by Author: The recent merger
of the Christian Right and the Republican Party has given rise to a
lot of critical thinking on religion and its effects on politics, as
well as the other way around. While the topic of sex, politics and
religion at the office and in office has long intrigued Americans,
once the Christian Right cemented its relationship with the
Republican Party, the gloves came off whenever hypocrisy rears its
ugly head.
The great equalizer of self-righteous
rantings against OPS -- "Other People's Sins" -- is that your own
eventually will jump up to smack you.
Recall the history of Matt Glavin of
the now defunct Hannibal Hamlin Institute in Hallowell. ME in the
1980s and darling of the religious right in Maine. He was caught --
not once, but twice -- for certain unsavory activities at a public
park in Georgia, following his successful disbarment suit against
President Clinton in Arkansas.
What is captivating about the latest
congressional scandal triggered by Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., is the
thundering silence from a Christian Right more intent on securing
its professed agenda of family values than policing the rotten
apples in its own political machine.
It is now clear that Foley has long
been notorious for hitting on underage legislative pages --
high-achieving sons of proud American parents. It is clear, as well,
that Foley's antics have been no secret in the seats of Republican
power in Washington. His atonement was to serve as chairman of the
Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus.
Yet, this predation was swept into the
category of "simply naughty e-mails," a term coined by the erudite
Tony Snow, the president's press secretary. Snow points us to a lot
worse things that go on in Washington: "Look, I hate to tell you but
it's not always pretty up there on Capitol Hill, and there have been
other scandals, as you know, that have been more than simply, uh,
uh, uh, naughty e-mails."
Uh, uh, really! Tell us about it!
So, Foley has apologized, resigned and
played the "alcoholic" card by admitting himself into a locked
facility, God only knows where. Speaker J. Dennis Hastert refuses to
step down for enabling him and thus putting other children in
jeopardy, and we are now embarked on more important missions such as
stopping North Korea from testing nuclear missiles.
Sort of fills you with confidence,
doesn't it?
Here is a news item for you: The
Christian Coalition gave Foley an 84 percent rating.
Out there with Foley on the proverbial
limb is Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., the National Republican
Congressional Committee chairman, who, after hearing about Foley's
"naughty e-mails," demanded $100,000 from Foley for his campaign
coffers instead of demanding his resignation. Nobody, it seems,
thought to alert the pages' organization about the danger its
members were in.
Earlier this week, it was my privilege
to be invited to sign on with 15 other religious leaders nationwide
to a letter to Hastert. We demanded resignations from all those
involved in the coverup of Foley's proclivities. The letter came out
of Chicago from an organization called Faithful Democrats,
www.faithfuldemocrats.org. Here are excerpts:
"We were deeply saddened to learn of
the appalling behavior of Congressman Mark Foley. His sending
sexually explicit instant messages and e-mails to numerous
congressional pages ... shocked America ... The bitter irony is that
the leaders of a political party that emphasizes family values may
have deliberately betrayed those values for political gain. This is
a moral failure -- and a symptom of a Congress that has lost its
moral compass ...
"We therefore call for the repentance
and resignation of all members of Congress who knew about Foley's
misdeeds yet failed to stop them. Investigations into this scandal
must be immediate, independent, bipartisan, and mindful not only of
Foley's crimes, but also of the possible efforts to hide them ..."
George Bernard Shaw, when asked about
the adage, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,"
had this to say: "Power does not corrupt. But fools in positions of
power corrupt power."
Three years ago, I relinquished my
lifelong Republican Party membership on grounds of Christian
conscience, a decision that affirms itself with each passing day.
It was not an easy decision, but it
was the right one for me.
To the Christian gentleman who held
prayer meetings, asking his god for my defeat in 2004; to the
Christian friend who called to inform me that I had sold out to
Satan; to my president, who has divided the world into his own
version of good and evil, Foley stands as a one-word warning:
"Checkmate!"
The lesson is very clear. Wherever you
find someone ranting about OPS -- "Other People's Sins" -- keep an
eye on your kids. Fools are about!
Rep. Stan
Moody, D-Manchester, retiring after two terms in the Maine House of
Representatives, is the author of "McChurched: 300 Million Served
and Still Hungry," published by Just-Write-Books. Moody pastors the
North Manchester Meeting House Church in Manchester and is founder
of the Christian Policy Institute, "A Voice for Thoughtful
Believers," www.christianpolicyinstitute.org
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