Some conservatives are having a tough time with President Barack Obama’s reelection. Take social conservative leader Franklin Graham. In an interview with Newsmax.com, the Rev. Graham, a prominent evangelist and son of top-dog evangelist Billy Graham, maintained that Obama’s victory will put the country further along a “path of destruction.” And he suggested it would take a “complete economic collapse” to place the United States on a better course and return it to godliness. Graham equated the Obama years with a national rejection of God. “In the last four years, we have begun to turn our backs on God,” he said. “We have taken God out of our education system. We have taken him out of government. You have lawyers that sue you every time you mention the name of Jesus Christ in any kind of a public forum.”
It’s become as tiresome as it is ignorant and pointless. Religious Conservatives whining about how Barack Obama’s defeat of Mitt Romney flies in the face of God’s will…as if they have a direct line to the Almighty and can divine His every thought and whim.
I understand that many on the Rabid Right are besides themselves with disappointment and disillusionment. I get that they feel strongly that they enjoy the imprimatur of Almighty God, and that they know in their heart of hearts that He’s a Conservative Republican. And they REALLY hate Barack Obama…never mind that the President has made it amply clear that he’s a Christian.
That Rev. Franklin Graham can with a straight face hold forth on how the President is destroying the country and attracting the wrath of God is both comical and arrogant. How voting for Barack Obama could possibly be construed as a rejection of God involves a flight of logic and reason that only Graham could explain. The pretentiousness in assuming that God is a registered Republican and that Liberals and Democrats are agents of Satan is beyond absurd. Graham’s pathetic rant is symptomatic of a philosophy shared by most of the Rabid Religious Right- that they and ONLY they have the ear and approval of the Almighty.
To say that I find this attitude as offensive as it is dismissive almost goes without saying. I can’t imagine how God (IF He or She exists) could care about partisan politics. If someone can show me Scripture that conclusively demonstrates that I’m mistaken and that God is in fact a Conservative, I’ll admit my mistakes and issue the necessary mea culpas. I know I won’t have to, though…because there IS no Scripture that does that.
Franklin Graham has become an exercise in self-parody, useful primarily for comic relief…and Lord knows he’s providing no small amount of that.
Why not just admit the truth, Reverend? You hate the idea of a Black man (and a Democrat) in the White House. You’re a racist who’s unable to admit it to yourself or your fellow Americans…and so you maintain the charade that Barack Obama’s re-election runs counter to the will of God.
Religious Conservatives like Graham at the very least owe America the courtesy of being honest about their racism and bigotry. Or are dishonesty and a lack of personal integrity now Christian values?
