David Horsey, political cartoonist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer drew this marvelous snipped of truth.I worry greatly [as regular visitors to this blog know] that religion and religious values are unduly influencing our political leaders. It is as if we, as a nation, are becoming more and more like those so-called 'islamofascists' that the right-wing loves to deride. Oddly, our right-wing and the Muslim right-wing don't seem to notice that they both preach from the same pulpit.
Mike Huckabee is but the most overt example of this mix of religion and politics, but it can be seen in each of the GOP candidates, save Ron Paul. Paul has become the laughing stock of the Republican Party for telling the truth; they seemingly are not interested in his, The Emperor Has No Clothes, story.
I find it sadly pathetic that most Republicans I listen to deny the basic tenets of the Gospel of Jesus while claiming to be 'believers.' His social agenda does not fit with theirs at all. 'Love one another' has an asterisk:
*except those who we deem as not worthy of our love and care. Like "illegal immigrants, gays, welfare cheats, and those too lazy to get a job."
Yet most embrace war as the answer to international tension. Most embrace cutting social programs while handing out billions to the Pentagon. Most love the death penalty and mandatory sentencing guidelines of criminals. They love tax cuts, believing in borrowing from future generations for their own financial welfare. Jesus would vomit at all of this.
Two days ago my wife [and two dozen other recipients]received an email from a Christian Republican called, The Bird Feeder. It begins innocuously enough about hanging a bird feeder to watch the birds come and feed. Then, the story becomes dark [pun intended]:
Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food. But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table ... everywhere Then some of the bird turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.And others birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be ... quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Surely you can imagine the connection between these 'birds' and those 'other people.' Yet, you really don't have to imagine the connection at all because the email makes the connection for you:
Now let's see ....
Our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.
Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder.
Jesus would approve, no doubt, because, after all, he was quite the social conservative, wasn't he?
