Yes, the long war on Christianity. I pray that one day we may live in an America where Christians can worship freely! In broad daylight! Openly wearing the symbols of their religion… perhaps around their necks? And maybe — dare I dream it? — maybe one day there can be an openly Christian President. Or, perhaps, 43 of them. Consecutively.
- Jon Stewart
It’s only her first year in office, and Rep. Hartzler has wasted little time in establishing herself as one of the staunchest, most intolerant Republican Christocrats in Congress. This week, this representative of the People demonstrated just how intolerant she is of those who happen not to share her enlightened Christianity.
To Hartzler’s way of thinking, one of the roles of government is to support and advance the cause of Christianity (it’s the majority religion, don’tchaknow?), but NOT other, lesser, false, “fringe” religions. That would be un-American and unconstitutional.
In an interview with Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, both Hartzler and Perkins were condeming the Air Force Academy’s decision to construct an outdoor worship space designed to accommodate all religions. This, to their way of thinking, is unconscionable and offensive to any decent, right-thinking American patriot.
PERKINS: Do you see this as a part of a growing trend that we see that there is really kind of a marginalization of Christianity and almost a promotion of other forms of, I would have to say, fringe religions?
HARTZLER: I agree, I think so. Christianity is the main religion in our country and as a policy for the Department of Defense we need to defend the practice of religion but we do not have to obligate taxpayer funds to facilitate or accommodate it or pay for it.
PERKINS: Is it the government’s role to try to put all religions on the same plane?
HARTZLER: No, it’s not their role at all. Their role is to facilitate basic policy for our country and to not to try to lift up one religion over the other. They should be defending the basic rights that we have, that freedom of religion here, and certainly not facilitating or accommodating fringe religions. It’s crazy.
In other words, Hartzler has no problem with paying for the propagation and advancement of Christianity (and only Christianity). The millions of Americans who happen to profess a different faith are evidently lesser Americans unworthy of the same benefits and support that accrue to the Christian majority. It’s OK for government to support and fund her flavor of Christianity, but to do the same for any other religion is an unconscionable, immoral waste of taxpayer dollars. That fact that non-Christians also pay taxes seems not to have registered with Hartzler.
Perhaps if Hartzler spent a bit more time with the Constitution she took an oath to uphold, she might realize that it’s unconstitutional to establish her belief system as law. Equally unconstitutional is preventing Americans from freely engaging in the exercise of whatever their religious belief happens to be.
Of course, it’s not as if this sort of behavior is out of character for Hartzler. She seems to think that Jesus taught that it’s OK to hate and marginalize those whose beliefs, behavior, and/or lifestyle you happen to despise. If this is indeed what Jesus taught (and I recognize that it’s most definitely NOT), count me among those glad to be non-Christians.
Somewhere warm and breezy, Jesus weeps into his Corona….
