25 April 2010 Bring on Palin and the tent revivalists

25 April 2010 Bring on Palin and the tent revivalists


I’ve been waiting for the renewal of outbursts about the “war against Christianity” from the American Taliban. The recent court decision finding the “National Day of Prayer” to be unconstitutional in concert with the revocation of Franklin Graham’s invitation to lead the NDOP rally at the Pentagon, must have the theocons and evangelicals mad enough to throw bricks through windows. Let’s be accurate with our use of language; “rally” is exactly the right word to use. This annual event is all about rallying the GOP’s religious base and pumping them up for another year’s attempts at replacing science and history with superstition and propaganda, of using poorly translated millennia-old religious books to justify another year of hatred, exclusion, and violence to mark those who look &/or think differently as “un-American” and “un-patriotic”

Right on cue, the shrill, voice of Palin, the resignator, issues forth in a strident attack upon the part of the citizenry who have actually studied science and history, who have learned to write a complete sentence, and who agree that the National Day of Prayer is best distanced from any government connection. She attacks the Pentagon’s decision to exclude Graham because of his anti-Islamic statements in the distant and recent past. Palin, along with her poorly-read cohorts, fails to understand the nature of our shaky-at-best alliances with the Islamic governments and military units of the nations where we currently have troops stationed and engaged in a shooting war.

The 9-11 attacks were, in part, due to Islamic fundamentalists’ objection to U.S. – read “Christian”- troops on Islamic soil; allowing a Christian fundamentalist to wave a “Crusader” flag at an event with government support and labeled “National” is an invitation to our opponents to depict all our troops as “Crusaders.” The people who we are currently allied with in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other “Stan” lands are often not that fond of their official governments. They are, however, heavily imprinted by Islam – sort of the way someone who believes she saw a fossilized human foot print inside one of a dinosaur might be imprinted. Which means that given the necessary incitement by a religious demagogue they would find it easy to view our troops as Crusaders sent to destroy mosques, desecrate the Koran, and deny them their faith. Maybe they might see Graham’s sanctioned appearance as a call for a “war on Islam.”

I’m willing to bet that a series of heavily publicized prayers for an “Islamic victory” over the “West” would anger many American citizens. I’m willing to bet that many of our better read folks could actually understand the mechanics of inciting a mob to violence over religious concerns. I know quite well that the appearance of a large number of soldiers from Iraq, Iran, or some other Islamic state on our soil with concurrent calls for the conversion of all infidels, and many public speeches about how evil Christianity is, would stir up a huge amount of animosity among our fundamentalists and evangelicals.

The Graham family has too deep a hook into American political and social life. They are hold-overs from the days of divine right kings and state religions. They belong in dusty tents on empty lots adjacent to small town churches; competing with a carnival for attendees. Somehow the Graham organization grew their brand of unctuous guilt-tripping into televised broadcasts from ballparks and arenas. They now have foundations, wear designer label suits, and somehow manage to intrude into political crises as if they were government officials.

I can live with them working tent revivals in Mississippi, preaching their brand of exclusionary religion while dozens of funeral home fans with garish, mawkish pictures of a semi-Nordic Jesus stir the dusty air. I cannot tolerate the Grahams, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, or any incorporated sky pilot intruding in our nation’s political life.

The Pentagon was correct in revoking Graham’s invitation. The Chaplain’s office is there to serve the needs of our men and women in uniform who may believe in Christianity; not to enhance the personal status of an incorporated preacher who values his religion more than the lives of our soldiers.

Ms. Palin has obviously not bothered to think this matter out. It has already been discussed intelligently and honestly in many major newspapers; which puts it out of her reach. It’s been discussed in many news broadcasts, with the exception of Fox News which simply ignores the reality of the war for the GOP talking points and mob incitement value it can find. Obviously Ms. Palin is willing to send other mothers’ sons and daughters out to die in a war labeled as a Crusade by our enemies. Her children are safe and she no longer need worry about them or try to understand why we have troops in two wars at all. She’s all too willing to incite a religious component to a war she won’t have to fight or worry about.

So Palin went to Eugene OR to attack the Pentagon’s decision and to attack the current administration, the press/media, and to be a highly paid cheerleader in a GOP rally. She’s taken lessons from the same teachers as the Grahams, Jessie Jackson, Al Sharpton, Oral Roberts, and the rest of the members of The Church of Shameless Self Promotion. She now commands posh accommodations and private air travel – since she can’t foist them off on the state of Alaska any more. Even worse, she excluded the very media/press she untruthfully attacks. There is the potential to disrupt her greed-driven plans. She commands special treatment because she gets a lot of attention from the media. In Eugene, she refused to be photographed, answered no questions, and required the media to view her performance from a separate room.

The media can be her undoing. If they publicize the demands she makes for personal appearances widely enough, her prima donna actions may backfire. If they document how many times her kids are out of school it may prove damaging to her “concerned mother” image. And if they simply quit covering any appearances, press conferences, or face book utterances, she may become the poorly educated, fundamentalist, nobody she was before McCain made the biggest mistake of his adult life.