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Hi. I'm pretty new here, and this is my first thread I've started at DU, so I'm a little nervous, but I could use your help.
I am a former Republican, in recovery for the past 8 or 9 years now (since Clinton's second term). I'm also a freelance writer. Below is an article I've written out of frustration for often being put in a box labeled 'religious right' because I call myself a Christian. I'm about to begin searching for a newspaper/magazine home for it. I would really appreciate any critiques, comments, feedback, concerns about it, and would welcome suggestions for places to submit this. My main concern is that I do not want to offend progressives (Christian or otherwise) by assuming anything--my feelings about how Christians as a whole are sometimes viewed by progressives are meant to inform, not to offend. Can you tell me if this is offensive?
Crying Out Loud
by Lisa McMann
As a woman of faith whose mind is boggled by the forceful, imposing politics of the Religious Right, I wonder where my peers are hiding. What has become of you? And why are we allowing society to stereotype all Christians as supporters of the radically conservative agenda? Is it because the Right is talking so loudly that we cannot think on our own? I cry out to troubled Christians to speak up and separate your values from the rhetoric of those who try to impose political rights and wrongs upon faith.
If you use Christ as your guide, simply re-examine his teachings. Jesus is the epitome of love for all people. He never condemned anyone based on race, color, creed, or sexual preference. He cried out to his followers to feed the hungry and provide for the less fortunate. He separated God and Caesar. He spoke out against hypocrites, and those who judge others. As a Christian, I cannot support the Religious Right’s leaders who judge my relationship with my God based upon my political views. Faith is personal, and being politically conservative is not a prerequisite for salvation through Christ.
As a Christian, I support the rights of all people, black or white, male or female, gay or straight. I realize that family values are based on mutual love, respect, and sacrifice for each other. I notice that even though we’ve not allowed gays to marry each other, our nation’s divorce rate is higher than ever. And when I observe the dedicated relationships my homosexual friends are in, I see stronger bonds than in many heterosexual marriages. I see kids with two mommies or two daddies being raised to love and live without bigotry. And I see a group of people whose American rights are violated. How can I refuse to acknowledge this? How could I possibly believe that their marriages to each other could be harmful to my family values? What exactly are Christians so afraid of--being wrong?
I see people dying of incurable diseases in this country, and I see a way to conquer that through stem-cell research, using embryos which otherwise would be discarded. I also see so many living, breathing babies who need to be adopted far more desperately than frozen embryos do.
I see homelessness and poverty on the rise, children living out of vehicles. They sit on curbs of dirty streets, eating out of smashed Burger King bags which have been tossed as trash from passing vehicles. While conservatives incessantly pound the table on behalf of the unborn, they turn a blind eye to the already born.
I see our country’s budget in shambles, and I hear people laugh, “If this administration can’t balance their budget, why should I balance mine?” Hand in hand with the President, we forget that ‘wants’ are not ‘needs’, and we go into collective, exorbitant debt. Then we wonder why so many people file bankruptcy or lose their homes to bank foreclosure. And we wonder, as we drive past homeless shelters while playing Christian music in our SUVs, why these places are so full that they are forced to turn families away—yes, children too. But moments after passing that shelter, we forget again.
Our Veterans, schools, and Medicare patients are suffering from budget cuts. Our health care system is designed for corporate America. People with curable illnesses are denied life-saving procedures because they have no health insurance, and they can’t pay the cost up front. Yet Terri Schiavo’s life was apparently worth the millions of our tax dollars spent in getting Congress involved. At the same time, a baby in Texas was taken off life support against the parents’ wishes, because state law, signed in place by then-Governor George W. Bush, demanded it. Indeed, I hope the family of that child understands. I hope the eleven million children in this country who are not covered by any health plan can understand. What have we become, when we piously proclaim “The Passion of the Christ” and forget the compassion of Christ?
We are in an unjust and unjustified war. Our faithful troops and their families suffer without adequate pay or sufficient armor. And some of them suffer a loss from which they’ll never fully recover. This administration’s “War on Terror” is against a country who did not threaten us, who did not direct planes to fly into U.S. buildings, who did not have Weapons of Mass Destruction. Recently, the Downing Street Memo implicated our President in fixing Intelligence to justify this war—this war that didn’t need to happen. Yet Republican Congressional leaders want to ignore it--put it in the basement where nobody has to look at it. America is becoming known as the bully who tortures foreign prisoners and mocks their religious beliefs, and our administration would rather deny it or point fingers than make it right. And somewhere along the way, before our very eyes, our President turned Osama bin Laden into Saddam Hussein…because he can. Because we let him. How many times will we let him deceive us? Meanwhile, the blood of 100,000 of God’s own people is on our hands.
As a Christian, I am horrified by what this nation has become under the current administration, where our God-fearing president is unable or unwilling to humble himself before the American people and apologize when he is wrong. I think again to Jesus, the humblest of all, who spoke often of forgiveness. Jesus, the gentle leader, who was noted for hanging out with the unpopular crowd. Sometimes, Christians who speak out against popular Religious Right views may not appear quite as holy as the others. But such is the nature of Jesus—he had no goals of impressing anyone.
Some of you might agree to consider my words. If so, take a fresh look at the actions of the progressive leaders in this country. Are they passionate about the poor in spirit and those who mourn? Are they speaking up for the less fortunate? Do they consider the lilies, and the rest of this world that we believe God gave us? Reconsider your reasons for your political stance, and look for those whose hearts are generous and whose actions mimic what Jesus taught.
Above all, please don’t allow your Christian beliefs to be determined by a political party. Rather, let your beliefs help you decide what issues are important. Christians must strive to be on God’s side, rather than manipulate God to conform to a political party’s side. I hope you’ll stand firm in your faith, determine your political concerns, and cry out loud in hopes someone will hear you and join in when you say: I am a Christian, and the Religious Right does not speak for me.
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Many thanks in advance for taking the time to read it.
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