Last month I gave a remembrance at a funeral service for a friend. The church wasn’t Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, or Episcopalian. It was “other.”
No pews, kneelers, hymnals, or crosses.
But there was an American flag. Front and center. On stage.
Alas, alas, this was one of those ten-thousand-some-odd evangelical churches fueling the Trump cult.
Oh me, oh my.
I was the last to speak. I eulogized my late friend and sat down.
And then a “praise band” suddenly appeared on stage to lead us in singing “God Bless America” while American flags rippled on two jumbotrons. It wasn’t spontaneous. It was premeditated.
Premeditated idolatry.
CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM.
Oh me, oh my.
My seatmates stood reverently.
I didn’t.
It’s not that I don’t love my country. I do. But I don’t idolize it. If anything, I idolize the First Amendment (free speech; separation of church and state).
I’m a patriot, not a nationalist. Patriots love their country. Nationalists worship it. (Hitler, as you may recall, promoted “German nationalism.”)
The service ended. The casket was escorted out with “Country Roads” playing over the sound system.
(Call me a hypocrite, but I was okay with that.)
These days I worry about my country. I grieve (and fume) that nearly half our people willfully adore a man they call a messiah (anointed by God). A man who lies incessantly, mocks the disabled, denigrates women, and defiantly betrays the Constitution.
There’s no justification for that.
None.
By the way, these are not stupid people. (Well, maybe a few are.) Stupidity is forgivable. That’s a condition. Willful ignorance is not. That’s a choice.
Last week at Betty’s Restaurant I was declaiming about Trump’s utter unfitness for office when a voice in the booth behind me says:
Oh, yeah? What about Comrade Kamala? She’s a Marxist fascist communist! She hates America!
See what I mean? Willful ignorance.
Oh me, oh my.
GOD, BLESS AMERICA.
Please.
Bless America with enlightenment.
Bless America with discernment.
Bless America with sanity.
Bless America with laughter.
Bless America with joy.
Bless America with civility.
BLESS AMERICA WITH A WOMAN PRESIDENT.
It’s not that we dislike men per se. It’s just that ONE CERTAIN MAN scares the bejesus out of us.
And, oh yeah, one more thing (if you don’t mind):
DO NOT SEND US ANY MORE MESSIAHS.
We’re a democracy and we’d like to keep it that way.
* * *
* Learn about the threat of Christian Nationalism. Watch “God & Country” streaming on PrimeVideo
_______________________
See Paula’s photo (Aialik Glacier) on home page. Scroll down to “visual explorations.”
Share this post with friends. Use links below.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe here. Free. No ads. Unsubscribe anytime.