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There Is No Greater Danger To Our Constitution Than Religious Frenzy

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cleanhippie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 11:17 AM
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There Is No Greater Danger To Our Constitution Than Religious Frenzy
America’s experiment as a sort-of democratic republic has lasted for about 235 years, and for the most part, the system has worked relatively well. Since 1980 though, there has been a movement to change the nature of this country and the Republicans’ man-turned-god, Ronald Reagan, is responsible for unleashing the Religious Right on the nation and they are close to achieving their goals after the 2010 midterm elections that gave power to malignant teabaggers to collapse the government. Republicans are awash with funding from religious groups to enforce biblical laws against gays and women, but there is a bigger threat from Dominionists to form a theocratic government that is just now becoming evident to many Americans.

Two weeks ago this column addressed the Mississippi ballot initiative that replicates the personhood amendments many states have attempted to enact at the behest of fundamentalist Christian groups, the Catholic Church, and the American Family Association (AFA). The article pointed out that Mississippi’s ballot initiative 26 will most certainly pass and will withstand court challenges because the state supreme court’s bench is filled with 7 devout Christians reflecting Mississippi’s population that is fervently Christian (82%). The amendment is undoubtedly an attack on women’s right to choose their own reproductive health, but there is an insidious motive beyond just restricting contraceptives, stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, and abortion.

--snip--

Most Americans are not aware of Christian Reconstructionists or Dominionism, but they should be. The problem is not necessarily all Christians, but given the choice of supporting the Constitution or the bible, there are few Christians who will opt for the Constitution. There is nothing as dangerous as religious frenzy and although the religious right has been involved in the government since Reagan gave them a voice, they are making progress towards establishing a theocracy. It is important to remember that not all Germans were anti-Semites, but as the movement gained momentum and nationalism became intertwined with Hitler’s final solution, it was not long before exterminating Jews became a national movement. The fanatics in the Dominionist movement are having success with the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation, and with support from groups like the tea party that dreams of collapsing the government to reshape it into a Christian, family-values theocracy, a religious takeover could happen before decent Americans knew what hit them.

The question still remains; where are the Christian voices who are not fanatical extremists? Apparently, they either condone a theocratic takeover by Dominionists or they are too frightened to speak out against the fundamentalist threat. Now that nearly all of the Republican presidential contenders are unapologetic Christians who tout their faith as a positive attribute, the threat is more credible than ever. However, there is a dysfunctional belief in this country among most of the population that Christians are basically good folk who can do no harm and it plays a role in helping Dominionists reach their goal. It is a goal of the bible as the rule of law and an Inquisition to root out non-believers for punitive regulation and the first victims will be those who are speaking out and attempting to warn Americans that democracy is finished unless the Dominionists are stopped. It may be unbelievable, but just ask people who face death threats from Christians every day.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/constitution-religious-frenzy
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RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 11:19 AM
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1. Excellent!!! K&R!!! n/t
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cliffordu Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 11:29 AM
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2. K&R. Nice post.
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Sal316 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 12:25 PM
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3. No.
The greatest danger is corporatism.
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cleanhippie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 01:50 PM
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5. I would agree, except that it is really supply-side jesus corporatism.
Its all interconnected, especially the dominionism/corporate connection.
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rrneck Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 02:03 PM
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6. +1000000. nt
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Sal316 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Oct-01-11 12:45 AM
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11. I would agree if...
corporatists were a subset of the supply side Jesus folks.

But, it's the other way around.

If tomorrow all the SSJ folks disappeared, you'd still have corporatism and all the power they wield today.. If you got rid of corporatism, you'd have a substantially neutered SSJ crowd who would be essentially marginalized.

One doesn't have to be part of the SSJ to be a corporatist.
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trotsky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 02:31 PM
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7. Corporatism has a tradition within Christianity too.
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PETRUS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 10:08 PM
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10. I don't exactly disagree
with you or with the OP. But in some ways, they are both just weapons wielded by the ruling class. If we want to disarm them (and we do, right?), corporatism can be dispatched by designing a better legal framework. Without that, and the money and power it brings, the a-holes in charge would have a harder time mobilizing the fanatics on their behalf and using their odious divide and conquer strategies. Of course, if we want to retain freedom of speech and association (and we do, right?), what's to stop a scary charismatic populist from mobilizing the fanatics? Maybe free, quality education for everyone and true equality of opportunity for all? I don't know, I'm typing as I ponder...

I worry that we will always have some people trying to consolidate power and dominate others. Clearly we do not have nearly enough safeguards in place. Think, people! (I'm not smart enough.) This is a fundamental problem we have yet to solve.

Occupy Wall Street.
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rug Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 12:27 PM
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4. I can think of a half dozen, starting with Wall Street.
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Deep13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 03:07 PM
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8. Well that and a handful of families who have vast amounts of wealth.
The religion is often a tool of the super rich to convince people to oppose their own interests.
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cleanhippie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 04:03 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. +1
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