(6 minute read)

“One of the biggest changes in politics in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. It has come in from the fringe, to sit in the seat of power in the Oval Office and in Congress.”

“For the first time in our history, ideology and theology hold a monopoly of power in Washington. Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality.”

“The offspring of ideology and theology are not always bad but they are always blind. And that is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts.”

– Bill Moyers, Blind Faith, In These Times, Feb. 9, 2005 (emphasis mine, retrieved 12/21/2024)

Dear Christian Evangelical/Fundamentalist/Nationalist, etc.,

Despite the spiritual high you are riding right now you are dead wrong about your political fervor. Actually you are DEAD WRONG about a lot of things, but I’m happy to start here with this article. Baby steps, as they say.

What qualifies me to disavow your penchant for perverted politics? I once counted myself a soldier in your very army …some three decades ago. During that time I did and said some things that I am ashamed of. All in the name of “defending the faith.”

This post is directed at those of you considering themselves as THE ‘true’ believers. You have only one interpretation of the Bible, a literal, inerrant one. You insist the world was created in six days and that the Noah myth was real. You believe Jesus was the original Cirque du’ Soleil performer by turning water into wine and walking on water. You also think that Revelations details how the world ends.

You can’t be blamed for your attraction to religion. As a species we have been drawn to religious superstitions at breathtaking speeds. To date there have been well over 4,000 brands of religion. 4,000! From a purely anthropological standpoint humans certainly seem to have a penchant for gravitating towards the mystical.

Yet, the atrocities committed in the name of those religions have left deep scars on the human race. It’s an easy argument to say that religions have done more more harm than good. While you and I were not directly involved in those atrocities, nonetheless, we are guilty by association. Denying that is nothing more than turning the proverbial blind eye.

It is the equivalency of voting for a convicted felon, sexual predator, and embezzler to occupy the White House. What is more staggering is that his behavior is so anti-Jesus that it staggers the reasoned mind.

Blind Faith In Politics

You may be surprised to read the quote from journalist Bill Moyers posted at the top of this column. Especially since it was written in 2005. Do yourself a favor and read it again. A third reading might not hurt either. The quote is just as relevant today. At that time G.W. Bush occupied the Oval Office. In late January 2025 it will be D.J. Trump.

One would hope that we would have gotten rid of all this silly fundamental bullshit by now. Yet, here we are. So let me layout for you the argument that your political fervor is wrong at worst, misguided at best.

“Delusion Is No Longer Marginal”

First, Trump is not your King Cyrus or Nebuchadnezzar. Anyone not familiar with that comparison can easily look that one up. I refuse to spend any cyberspace discounting that brand of delusional bullshit.

Nor is he “god’s instrument” e.g., Balaam’s talking donkey. “Surely if god used an ass for his plans he could use anything or anyone,” (see Numbers 22). Well, Trump IS an ass, something every New Yorker has known since the late 1970s. He is a buffoon, a conman, a self-promoting bible salesman, a failed bankrupt businessman, and bombastic game show host.

He is a LOT of things. But He Is NOT an instrument for your god.

Second, you have no business in politics.

Now, before you object to that one, notice I wrote no business. Of course you have the same rights and privileges given to all American citizens. Nevertheless, your religious zealotry precludes you from making informed, intelligent, or reasoned decisions because you systematically choose feelings over facts.

Third, you purposely wake up every morning and decide not to live in reality. Instead, you exist in a fantasy world full of invisible beings and unproven realms. You might as well tell people that you attend Hogwarts School or your house is located in Middle Earth. Same thing.

Your faith is based more on fiction than it is on fact.

In other words, you are very silly individuals. A serious people you are not.

“Ideologues Hold Stoutly To A Worldview Despite Being Contradicted By What Is Generally Accepted As Reality“

“In 2004 a senior advisor to President George W. Bush famously told journalist Ron Suskind that people like Suskind lived in ‘the reality-based community,’ believing that people could find solutions to problems based on their real-world observations. But such a worldview was obsolete, the aide said. ‘That’s not the way the world really works anymore.… We are an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality….’

-Heather Cox Richardson, Letters From An American, 12/9/2024 (retrieved 12/22/2024).

It is a dangerous proposition to claim “we are an empire.” How egotistical or maniacal must one be to claim that “real-world observations” are no longer relevant? “We make our own reality?” Imagine the chaos that would ensue if every student proclaimed that to their teacher after taking a test?

An empire based on a subjective reality? In war, how much “reality” does one need to march around a walled city to take possession it? “Encircle the city with an army, march seven times around it, blow a horn, and watch the wall come down.”

Who wants to propose that strategy at the next U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff meeting? Even Leroy Jenkins knows that is a bad move.

Read Pt. 2 of Reality Check

Sources

• The Age of American Reason, Susan Jacoby, Pantheon Books/Random House, 2008
• PR! A Social History of Spin, Stuart Ewen, Basic Books/Perseus Books Group, 1996
• One Nation Under God: How Corporate America Invented Christian America, Basic Books/Perseus Books Group, 2015