With Representatives Like These...

...no wonder we've got problems. North Carolina's 8th District Representative Robin Hayes has shared his vision for how to solve Iraq's problems (and presumably all of the Middle East's): pick up where the Crusades left off. He says the key is "spreading the message of Jesus Christ" and that "[e]verything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior." So all we need to do is set up Christian schools all over Iraq (presumably by force, because it's doubtful the warring Shiites and Sunnis will let that happen peacefully) and provide a Bible for every person. Yeah, THAT'll work. Without delving into the fascistic implications of such a prescription, this is at best pathologically unrealistic. Further, people like these (along with that military bozo who blurted out that his God was better than the Islamic God [they're the same God of Abraham; please read a history book once in a while]; and President Bush himself, who actually used the word "crusade" to describe our war on terror [was that out of ignorance or did he actually read a history book and employ the full baggage of that term deliberately?]) are providing perfect fodder for the jihadists and terrorists who continue to warn their sympathizers and followers about Western Crusaders. This is not a fire we should want to be feeding. As Paris's Le Monde put it, "If this 'war' takes a form that affronts moderate Arab opinion, if it has the air of a clash of civilizations, there is a strong risk that it will contribute to Osama bin Laden's goal: a conflict between the Arab-Muslim world and the West."

In fact, fundamentalist Islamist militants and Christian militants are cut from similar philosophical cloth: the answer to the world's problems is to convert everyone to MY version of religion. Here's what such small-minded people fail to grasp: God is bigger than YOUR idea of Him; He is not limited to your tribe or your religion or your holy book; He is capable of reaching different people in different ways, some of which you are ignorant of and should therefore leave alone; and it's likely He isn't happy with the violence and cruelty being perpetrated in His name by the (self-?) righteous People of the Book. Arrogance and ignorance go hand-in-hand, and unfortunately that's all too often a lethal combination. The people who know the least are certain they know the most and, as night follows day, are the most willing to impose themselves on the rest of us.

And a thump on the head to Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who, in commenting on newly elected Rep. Keith Ellison's desire to have his picture taken with his hand on the Koran rather than the Bible, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/20/AR2006122001318.html, "[t]he Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." But that's just it, Rep. Goode: a Muslim was elected by the voters. Get used to it. Many have called for Ellison to be forced to swear on the Bible, despite the fact that he's not a Christian. It's quite revealing that Goode chose the words "Virgil Goode position" to describe his anti-immigrant, bigoted, ignorant view of Muslims. He doesn't seem to know (care?) that Keith Ellison is an American, as are many Muslims who are descendants of immigrants like the rest of us and therefore have just as much of a right to be here as non-Muslims do, and are just as entitled to the full freedoms this country offers, including freedom of religion and the right to hold public office.

Here's a little lesson in American civics 101 for Goode and his supporters: Representatives in America gain power not by virtue of their allegiance to Jesus Christ, but by virtue of the will of the voters. The voters in this case made their choice, and Rep. Goode can't overturn that result with all the anti-immigration laws he could ever hope to pass. I find it scary and astonishing that someone elected to Congress does not know (or care?) that the Constitution forbids any religious test for high office, and that the Bible (or any book) is not a requirement for taking an oath of office, and that representatives swear simply by raising their right hand. After taking the official oath, representatives are allowed to have a public ceremony during which many choose to put their hand on the Bible while photos are taken, but (I repeat) the Bible is not a requirement. Some would like to change that law and we must stop them. The people of Rep. Ellison's district knew he was a Muslim when they elected him. Personally, I'd be happier if everyone swore on a copy of the Constitution, because that is what you have been elected to uphold, Mr. Goode.

Here is my prayer for this holy season: May God save us all from the work of small minds. In the meantime, we must do our best to save ourselves from them and to protect our freedoms, our Constitution, and our way of life, which have been wildly successful thus far. Let's not allow the arrogant and the ignorant to take us all back to the Dark Ages.
Tags: Ellison, theocracy, Virgil Goode, Robin Hayes