Veterans' Day: Is this what they fought for and protected? I don't think so.



Heather Cox Richardson is a smart, astute professor of history and American politics. She provides an in-depth, fair, and reasoned discussion just about daily to help the rest of us make some sense of the circus in Washington and elsewhere around the country. Last night, her letter rang a bell for me:

"In Washington, Republicans have empowered Christian extremist Mike Johnson (R-LA) to lead the House of Representatives as speaker, and today we learned that outside his office he displays a flag associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) network that wants to place the United States government under the control of right-wing Christians. On January 6, 2021, rioters took these flags with them into the U.S. Capitol.

Johnson is also associated with a right-wing movement to call a convention of states to rewrite the Constitution" (Richardson).

That is a disturbing idea: placing the United States under a rigid version of Christian government. Even the staunchest Catholic would not be safe-- this would be, in effect, a religious autocracy. And to rewrite the Constitution to reflect this world view would be the absolute end of the United States as we know it. 

I'm not a fool; I can see where this is headed. I don't want to live in a tidal wave of history that would remake the way the world operates. While change is a necessary thing, and we should be able to shift with current needs, this ideology is not a sustaining or sustainable response to global problems. It may, in fact, hasten the end. Maybe that is what they want? I'm not ready for Rapture, thanks. I'm damned sure that this is not the vision of the country or the world that our veterans fought and died for. Among all the Veterans' Day sales and events, the poppies and flags, maybe we should be keeping an eye on the forces within our country that would dishonor their efforts and sacrifices by stealing the country and remaking it in a way that few of us would be welcome in.

It's a sobering call to all of us to serve.

C



Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by!

Popular posts from this blog

Keep good thoughts, please...

Image
If you've been following along the blog this summer, then you probably already know that today, G has surgery on his foot to (we pray) correct the ongoing injury so that it will finally heal. If you are a praying person, please keep him in yours. It has been a very long summer of "hurry up and wait" and he's anxious and growly, and he wants to get back to doing. To get back to work. To stop sitting and thinking about all of it.  I'll be online in my writing conference (isn't it always the way, things have to collide like this?), but since it's day surgery, I should have an update early on. Thank God for Meg, as she is running point on the medical side of things.  I hope I have good news to share tomorrow.  C
Read more

More prayers-- there's so much to pray for--

Image
Hey folks, things are unsettled --even more than they have been-- and your prayers, good thoughts, and positive vibes are needed and welcome. Geoff continues to heal (we hope), but that road is rocky and uncertain. He's pretty much out of commission for the foreseeable future, even though he *thinks* he can do more than he is supposed to. Crutches are a pain, but are critically necessary. Thus, he has next to no practical mobility. Tim is back in hospital in Boston, and they will be trying to ascertain the source of the fever he's running and has been for a couple of days now. I have zero idea what is up, but we pray it's not another huge hurdle. Meg is doing her best, but it ain't easy. She's headed to Boston in a few hours, and we hope she'll be able to come home in a few days. She is once again not able to get to go to work, so help is always appreciated. G and I have Holly, a friend of Meg's has the new puppy, and we're just gonna do our best.  The r
Read more

A change in plans, and I'm glad to live here...

Image
Well, today started out a little different than what I'd originally thought it would-- but all to the better, in a lot of ways. It's a good thing for everyone that Meg et al live next door; her furnace was on the fritz again, and we got up to her letting herself in to bring Holly where it was warm while she waiting for the furnace guru to show up and figure it out.  Long story short, the furnace is fixed, and we got a chance to have an impromptu Sunday breakfast together: Finnish Pancake (a type of dutch baby custard), maple sausage, and fresh raspberries. And hot coffee. Lots. G had to go to work, so it was just us three, and it has been delightful. Yes, I didn't go to in-person church, but the last time I checked, God is everywhere, and He would likely rather I was home to help in this mini-situation. And we have livestream Mass, so that works.  What's interesting, too, is how, in Littleton, it seems that our young adults are bucking a national trend of some decades&#
Read more