September 20, 2015 6:14 AM

Hatred, intolerance, and exclusion is no way to run a railroad...or a country

Actress and self-described “tiny Canadian” Ellen Page showed up at the Iowa State Fair today and confronted Sen. Ted Cruz about “the persecution of gays in the workplace and LGBT rights.”…. When Page asked the Republican presidential candidate about people being gay or transgender, the senator reframed their mini-debate around religious liberty…. “Well, what we’re seeing right now, we’re seeing Bible-believing Christians being persecuted for living according to their faith,” Cruz said. Their exchange also touched on the persecution of gays under ISIS, Iran, anti-gay violence in Jamaica, and whether or not a “gay florist” should be forced to cater to a wedding ceremony for two evangelicals.

It’s a question I find myself struggling with from time to time: Is Ted Cruz truly the embodiment of Evil? Or is he merely the corporeal locus of the forces of ignorance, hatred, and intolerance? It astonishes me that someone so thoroughly steeped in the politics of hatred and exclusion- all in the name of Jesus Christ, of course- can have a following sufficient to allow him to believe he’s qualified to be President. How can someone who seemingly has nothing positive, nothing even remotely of value to offer this country- save for his own self-interest and narcissism- honestly believe he’s qualified to be the most powerful person in the world?

Among Cruz’ very public delusions is the belief that “Liberal Fascists” have developed a “hatred and intolerance for Christians.” The obvious projection behind those sentiments aside, Cruz has tapped into a rich vein of Fundamentalist resentment. These are people who believe that “religious freedom” means the absolute, unquestioned right to indulge their hatred and prejudice…as long as it’s done in the name of Jesus Christ. The idea of “Bible-believing Christians being persecuted for living according to their faith” is as absurd as it is self-serving and just plain wrong. Though there’s nothing in the Bible that justifies anti-LGBT discrimination or opposition to same-sex marriage (unless your “Christianity” is of the cherry-picked variety). Cruz is appealing to a demographic that’s “Christian” in name only, yet believes their faith to be the One, True, and Only Faith. Most of them wouldn’t recognize Christian charity, tolerance, and acceptance if Jesus arrived in their midst with ice cream sodas, but they believe themselves to be the Chosen Ones…and they’re Cruz’ base.

Somewhere warm and breezy, Jesus Christ weeps softly into his Dos Equis….

CRUZ: Imagine if this were inverted. Imagine if there were a gay florist — now I know that’s hard to imagine, a gay florist — but just go with the hypo[thetical] for a second. Imagine if two evangelical Christians came to a gay florist and they wanted to get married, and the florist said, “You know what? I disagree with your faith. I have problems with your faith.” You have no entitlement to force that florist to provide flowers at the Christians’ wedding. We are a pluralistic nation that tolerates diversity.

Historically, it’s been considered the job of a President to bring the nation together, to remind us that we’re Americans and we can-and must- do what needs to be done. Cruz’ campaign represents the exact opposite, based as it is on hatred, discrimination, religious intolerance, and exclusion. His appeal to those who believe America is by rights the property of Conservative White Christians holds no potential for bringing diverse sections of the electorate together. In fact, it’s a recipe for a culture war, one that holds the promise of becoming violent should Cruz become President.

Ted Cruz is so committed to hatred and divisiveness that he’s campaigning on the idea that “religious freedom” is absolute…for Conservative White Christians. He’s endorsed the idea that “tolerating diversity” means accepting all manner of discrimination for virtually anything that can be justified on religious grounds.

We’re better than this…aren’t we??

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on September 20, 2015 6:14 AM.

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