A Better Meme for Republican Christians

Truth!

Franklin Graham--Republican Tool

So, that previous tweet went out from one of the most well known, most influential leaders of the American evangelical movement, Franklin Graham, who was basically telling a Democratic presidential candidate to repent for being gay.

On the other hand, this is the type of tweet that Graham consistently sends out for our current President, a Republican:

So, to summarize: being gay, which has been scientifically proven NOT to be a choice and which hurts no one, is a sin worthy of public repentance and a complete lifestyle overhaul; however, being adulterous and being racist and being rapacious and being deceitful and being gleefully antagonistic, all of which are personal choices and all of which have numerous victims, are what?  Taking a "stand for the Christian faith"?

Hypocrisy, Mr. Graham, is something that the Bible defines as a sin and is most certainly worthy of repentance.  You and Mr. Trump should both consider that fact.

Another Day, Another B.S. Republican Meme

Take a look at this one that's floating around the social media airwaves:

There is really sooooooo much to unpack here, so I'll try to get to everything.  Here we go:

• First, there is the obvious juxtaposition between Obama and Jesus (an awfully white Jesus, btw).  Because they are set up as opposites--both visually and verbally--then Obama MUST be the opposite of the Christ.  And for Christians, what is the opposite of the Christ?  Well, Satan, of course.
• Because of this juxtaposition and because of the Christian's belief in a spiritual dichotomy (i.e., if you're not for Jesus, you're against Him), then a transfer takes place; that is, everything that is specifically Christian is Republican/Trump (and vice versa), and everything that is specifically Satanic is Democratic/Obama (and vice versa).  
• Third, I want to go outside of the visual meme for a minute and focus on the diction above the meme.  Note the strong, pathos-laden words: This meme displays "TRUTH"; this meme is digging into "moral issues"; and this meme is calling for a "Biblical response."  All of this spiritual diction helps associate the Republican cause, which is evident in the meme itself, directly and overtly with the Christian cause; in fact, they are one in the same!  Moreover, because the speaker is a minister, these political issues are his "business," and, therefore, his appeals to ethos should be unquestioned.  Once again, Republican/Trump equals Christianity. (Note the hashtag that makes the entire purpose even clearer.)

So, here we are again--Republican and Trump equal Christian, and Democrat (and Obama, specifically in this case) equal Satanic.  That kind of obtuse equivalency, without a shred of evidence or even a hint of actual critical thinking, is EXACTLY that the Republican party is trying so desperately to create at this point, and, honestly, they are doing a pretty fine job of it.

However, when one actually digs just a tad and starts to look at the real issues (rather than, you know, allowing a bullshit meme to do the thinking for you), then one can plainly see that Trump and the Republican party ain't so very Christian in many areas after all.  Outside of Trump's habitual lying, juvenile bullying, recurrent marriage infidelities, and (most recently) blasphemous messianic complex (all of which are "only" personal failings, which should not be ignored by Christians but most certainly are), here's a handy-dandy chart that should remind us all of the Democratic support and Republican rejection of moral policy issues our country is facing right now:

Trump/Republican	Real Moral Issue	Democratic
No	Environmentalism/Proper stewardship of the planet	Yes
No	Actively helping the poor/needy/marginalized, even if that human being does not originate from this country	Yes
No	Considering healthcare a right, not a privilege	Yes
No	Equal, humane treatment for every human soul, no matter the race, gender, or sexual orientation	Yes

On the other hand, the far right has taken upon itself to morph peripheral, mundane, asinine non-issues into "moral issues" even when there is clearly nothing associated with morality or spirituality with any of them.  Here are a few recent ones that Republicans are claiming the "moral" high ground on:

Trump/Republican	NOT a Real Moral Issue	Democratic
Yes	Saying “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays”	Who cares?
Yes	Standing during the Pledge or the Star-Spangled Banner	Doesn’t matter
Yes	Jewish “loyalty” to the Republican party	WTH?
Yes	Purchasing Greenland	WTF?

I will grant that Republicans seem to have more of a moral high ground when it comes to the abortion issue, but if that's literally the only issue on which this meme was built, then, once again, the far right has "won" by convincing the evangelicals of a false equivalency; that is, the single issue of abortion equals ALL of the other issues combined.  (BTW, it doesn't and it shouldn't.) Thus, if one were to save an unborn, unviable, 6-week-old fetus, then s/he can screw over everyone and everything else, guilt free!   

Truly, this kind of cerebral and spiritual denseness from the typical evangelical Christian is EXACTLY what the Republican leaders are counting on.  And, sadly, they're winning.

Trump Is Not a Messiah (But He Thinks He Is)

If you are a "Christian" who is excusing and supporting Trump after this latest narcissistic, messianic-complex, spiritual blasphemy, you are a willfully ignorant, enabling fool.  And let there be no mistake: YOU are the problem!

Christians, Guns, Prayer, and the Problem with Facts

A popular talking point among Republicans when it comes to the gun debate in this nation concerns the place of the Christian God in our society.  And this issue goes well beyond the trite "thoughts and prayers" that robotically comes out of every Republican's mouth when the next mass shooting takes place.  What I'm talking about concerns where the Republicans tend to lay the blame of our nation's epidemic of mass shootings.  For example,

• In September, 2018, Ted Cruz stated that our nation's mass shootings have to do with "removing God from the public square."
• In August, 2019, Ohio state representative Candice Keller blamed mass shootings on, among other things, "the culture, which totally ignores the importance of God and the church."
• Also in August, 2019, VP Mike Pence stated that in our nation's dark hours (after mass shootings), we need to "turn to faith and prayer" because our modern society is "driving religion from the public square."
• Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick recently said that one of the "factors that go into these shootings" is that "we won't even let our kids pray in our schools."  (By the way, that is a false statement.  We do allow kids to pray in schools; meaning, they are not prohibited from doing so.  Rather, our government, correctly so, does not sponsor it by laying aside a specific time for school prayer.)
• And noted Republican-politician-turned-FoxNews-pundit Mike Huckabee has blamed school gun violence on the fact that "we have systematically removed God from our schools."

Now, here's the glitch in this popular, go-to, meme-worthy Republican argument: FACTS.  Here are a few:

• In recent polls, 71% of the United States citizens identified as Christian.  On the other hand, only 2% of Japanese citizens identify as such.
• Now, correlate those numbers with these: Since 2009, the United States has had 288 school shootings; Japan has had 0.
• To be more specific, 53% of Texas citizens identify as Christian.
• More correlation: Since 1970, Texas has had 133 school shootings; Japan has had 0.

So, according to this very clear data, there is literally no correlation whatsoever between a nation's or state's Christian status and that nation's or state's mass shootings.  To repeat, NONE.

However, when one looks at some other data, there does seem to be a correlative force involved:

So, the FACTS are clear: (1) "more Christian" does NOT equal fewer mass shootings, yet (2) more guns owned per capita DOES equal more gun deaths.  Those. Are. Facts.  Full stop.

However, because Christians are taught to rely on faith, they, many times, will simply ignore any facts that do not align perfectly with what they have been told to believe or what they want to believe.  That's called cognitive dissonance, a condition in which the adherent to a belief begins with the belief and will hold onto that belief even in the face of factual data that fully disproves said belief.  Thus, the facts are ignored rather than the belief changed.  (BTW, that is the exact opposite of the approved scientific method.)

And here's the rub: Republicans, who are heavily financed by the gun lobby, are preying on that very trait of the evangelical Christian.  They want to switch the mass-shooting narrative away from the obvious facts concerning our nation's obsession with guns and to the God thing.  Evangelicals LOVE that argument and are, therefore, easily swayed to it even though (now listen very carefully) the FACTS DISPROVE THEIR BELIEFS.

It's high time for this Christian willful ignorance to stop holding our nation in check.  We are not a theocracy, and those false notions simply need to be swept aside so that factual information can help us make intelligent, rational decisions.

   

"The New Colossus" Isn't Trump

"The New Colossus" is the title of the poem, by Emma Lazarus, that is inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty.  Here is the entirety of its text:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Now, most of us are at least vaguely familiar with the last 5 lines, but when one takes in the totality of this sonnet, it becomes even clearer that the United States is a nation of immigrants.  We started as one (with great and sincere apologies to the Native Americans who were already here) and have taken great pride in being the world's "Mother of Exiles."

I would also argue that without being specifically Christian (for, just a reminder, we are NOT a Christian nation, otherwise known as a theocracy), this poem certainly reflects so much of Jesus's words and actions.  He was a friend of the destitute, the marginalized, the oppressed, the weary; he condemned the rich, the powerful, the elite.  This poem reflects so much of the great Christian virtue of human compassion.  (Citation: the entire New Testament)

And yet, a Trump official recently decided to make changes to the great poem that has stood since 1883 as the great proclamation to the world of our great compassion towards the "less-thans."  On August 12, Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, stated, "Give me your tired, your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge."  He stated this nonsense in an interview while specifically defending a new Trump policy that penalizes immigrants who apply for public assistance.

Two things: (1) No, Ken, that's not what the poem says; nor is it what is implied.  Full stop. You can't change history. And (2) more importantly for the focus of this blog, that is not what Jesus ever said or implied.  Compassion and empathy and love are to be unconditional; that is the charge to the Christ followers of the world.  (Citation: the entire New Testament)

So, this becomes another great example of the Republican party's adding a qualifier/conditional to an openly Christ-like virtue in order to support a very non-Christ-like policy.  And if you are a "Christian" Republican nodding your head and clapping and yahooing when Trump's administration changes both history and policy to make sure all those dirty "less-thans" of the world (you know, the "tired," the "poor," the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free") don't receive our compassion and help, then please do us all a favor and drop the first half of that moniker.  At least then you could display some personal integrity, a trait that you are sorely lacking right now.  

Trump, Epstein, and Christian Values

In the wake of the Epstein suicide, it didn't take long for Trump to remind us as to how little he knows or cares about the tenets of Christianity.

So, he does this: "Trump promotes Epstein-Clintons conspiracy theory, the latest in a pattern of baseless claims spread by President."

He peddles this baseless, corrupt bullshit quite frequently, yet I'm pretty sure one of the Ten Commandments says this: "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."  Why, then, does he continue, guiltlessly, to bear false witness against others?  Because he cares only about himself, his power, his image; he cares nothing about supportable truth or basic human decency (or even the biblical commandments).

And for those (including Trump himself) who have forgotten about his conscious disconnection from the truth, here's a little visual reminder into Trump's past:

Yes, he had quite a cozy relationship himself with this billionaire pedophile, the one about whose death Trump is spreading conspiracy theories that link his political enemies to this same man.  Maybe another basic tenet of Christianity would be helpful here:   "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3)

Christians, it is high time for you to call out his flagrant, shameless, unscrupulous lying and hypocrisy.  Otherwise, you are thoroughly and utterly complicit yourselves.