Rants and Ramblings

The Joe Schutte Manifesto (of sorts)

The following is a rant of mine that has been a long time coming.

There are many out in the world today who don’t believe the way I do about religion; the right to marriage for gay and lesbian couples; repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; affordable health care for all, even if it must be provided by the government; equality for all; not shooting illegal immigrants on sight; if you were born here you’re an American citizen; regulation of Wall Street and big business to prevent another Great Recession and ease the financial burden of the family and individual; a robust and vibrant small business environment.

I believe we are not taking the best care of our fighting men and women, who deserve great health care, on us, for the rest of their lives; money to go to college; low interest loans for buying a home and our undying gratitude for doing what we ask of them, without question. Our men and women in the military deserve to go into battle with the best equipment money can buy. No soldier should fear dishonorable discharge because of their sexuality.

These beliefs don’t make me a communist, a socialist or an enemy combatant. I know there is give and take in life, in the political process and the business world. But right now no one is giving and everyone is taking. That’s their right and their prerogative. But it’s beginning to piss me off.

Over the last year I have opened and read some horrible and truly frightening emails about our President, Democratic leaders of Congress, immigrants, gays, blacks, Muslims and whatever else inspires prejudice in some people. I have friends whom I disagree with politically, but they don’t send these emails. Theirs are always funny, fair jabs addressing the President, Democrats and current administration policies they may disagree with. I can give as good as I get. The result? No hard feelings and everyone is talking to each other at the end of the day.

The others? For the most part they are forwarded to me by some who think they know me, but obviously don’t.
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Please note the interchangeable use of genders when I am speaking of God. I don’t think He/She is all that worried about it. (Some readers may disagree.) I have also erred on the side of caution when capitalizing honorifics, such as those associated with our government; i.e. President, Congressman/woman, etc.
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So, if after reading this little rambling preamble you don’t want to use my silhouette as a target at the rifle range, and you think you’re up for it, read on McDuff. (By the way, it’s all over the place. So hang on tight it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.)

It’s been a whirlwind time of groundbreaking rulings and anniversaries. Most importantly, there is the overturning of Prop 8 in California. All I can say is, hurrah! In case you’ve been living in a cave, Proposition 8 overturned California’s law allowing gay marriage. Gay marriage seems to scare the living crap out of people in a way I have never understood. Especially some in the church.

I am not speaking about all churches or all religions, mind you. Just those religions that believe they, above all others, hold the monopoly on speaking for God Herself. As it best suits their prejudices here on this earth.

As a disillusioned Catholic, I can not reconcile the church’s vehement refusal to extend the sacrament of marriage to gay couples when some (but not all) straight couples--which the church supports--wreak havoc on the family unit in ways that are both horrific and demeaning. These couples or individuals can be ultimately forgiven through the sacrament of reconciliation (confession) and still continue their sin; running and hiding behind the grace bestowed by the sacrament in the confessional.
                                          
I am well aware there are many who don’t hold my viewpoint, and they are entitled to their opinion. In this case I believe they are wrong. As much as they believe I’m going to burn in hell. Gay marriage isn’t going to bring on the apocalypse, the rise of the machines or rampant pedophilia (a game favorite of those who use their stature and power to demean and abuse those weaker then they, who look to them for counsel and guidance.)

But it doesn’t end there. The scary stuff is just beginning and gets scarier and scarier by the day.

Did you know?  
Those who oppose, or do not subscribe to the tenants of the Republican party, the Tea Party, radical right-wing political pundits and the religious far right are considered to be either unpatriotic, anti-American or worse. It’s the worse that I’m worried about.

A fallback to a new age of McCarthy-ism is a frightening, and all too real, prospect. If you don’t believe me, a well-known Republican senatorial candidate from Nevada has twice said she believes there are people within Congress whom she claims are “domestic enemies”. Really? She of course refuses to specifically name anyone. Yet.

The President and the Democratically controlled Congress can’t seem to reign in a Republican party run amok. A party whose main goal in life appears to be obstructing any legislation, good or bad, that may benefit the disadvantaged or the middle class. Is it out of political spite? Or fear of a constituency they no longer understand?

Less concerned about the common good, should Republicans regain leadership of even one house of Congress this nation could be thrown into a modern day "dark age”. An age where science, education and the will of the people are repressed by a government giving sway to a small but powerful witch-hunting, right-wing conservative group of demagogues in big business, the right-wing media and a politically active, ultra-conservative church.

The damage they’ll do could set this country back 150 years in terms of equal rights for minorities and women, the stagnation of scientific and medical advancement and research, and, if they could swing it, the return of the Cold War. Small comforts, I suppose. The devil you know and all...

I must again reiterate that everyone has a right to speak their mind. The Bill of Rights protects the right of a certain segment of society to spew hatred and sow fear into the minds and hearts of people who are left to feel they are in some way disadvantaged by people they don’t understand. People who don’t look like them, speak like them, or have the same color skin.

That same Bill of Rights protects my right to advance my disappointment and outright fear of that group of people I believe are going to gleefully destroy what’s left of the middle class and increase the plight of the poor by dismantling medicare, medicaid, social security and affordable health care because we do not deserve the same entitlements as the rich and powerful. Unless we mortgage the farm to do so. Forget that. Big Banks aren’t lending.

Then there is the promise of taking the sting out of, or even the rescinding of, hate crime laws. Laws protecting minorities, the gay and lesbian community, women, the trans-gendered, the poor, the immigrant, and anyone left who doesn’t fall into the category of old, white and filthy rich. (As said by a guy who is old, white, and far less than rich.)

It has taken years to get these laws into place and it is hard enough to get enforcement as it is.

The courts will protect us?
Fear not a supposed liberal, elite-minded, activist judiciary. Turn to the current conservative-leaning Supreme court which has consistently voted on the side of big business, the insurance industry and Wall Street. Thanks to a recent Supreme Court ruling, any group that can pony up millions of dollars of corporate funds to support and buy influence in federal election campaigns is now free to do so, trumping the individual and giving even greater power and influence to big business and Wall Street.

I grant you, those who espouse the need for smaller federal government may have a point. There should be less governmental interference in our lives. A bloated and broken federal system is in need of an overhaul. But dismantling it altogether is asking for nothing less than anarchy. A country this large needs governance, not with a heavy hand, but with wisdom and decency. A government run by flesh and blood individuals, not corporations.

Does this make me anti-business? Not in the least. It makes me pro-government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’. There is no place in our federal or state governance for a senator “Wall Street” or congresswoman “Insurance Lobby”. But today’s Supreme Court would have it so. Who’s the activist now?

As for those who believe we must turn to some form of faith-based (Christian) government? Well...no. I have great faith in our ability to manage our nation with compassion, common sense and an underlying morality handed down to us thousands of years ago by God in her many manifestations. But not specifically in His Name.

As a Roman Catholic (lapsed and disillusioned, but I made that point already) I don’t want the Vatican calling the shots anymore than I would the Missouri Synod or the 700 Club. Anyone who says they are governing or wish to govern in God’s name is lying. It’s not what God wants, it’s what those who would embrace a Christian, faith-based government want. The fact they want to force it upon everyone else makes it even more wrong. And yet they still persist. It’s not power to the people. It’s more like “power over the people”. Can I have a witness? Amen!

Just say No to theocracy      
For those who wish to declare the United States a Christian Nation I have this to say, “The God of Abraham, the God of Mohammed, Gaia, the Great Spirit, and the God of many others doesn’t want the job of running the country. She wants us to run it. For ours is a country of Christians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans, Neo-Pagans, Greek Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Agnostics, Athiests and a whole lot more.”

Don’t you see? The United States of America is a Christian nation, a Jewish nation, a Hindu nation, a Wiccan nation. The list goes on. This nation belongs to all religions. All religions have the freedom to flourish in this country. That’s what makes it great. That’s what makes it the United States of America. Not the United States of the Judeo-Christian belief system.

Even if the population is predominately Christian we must welcome all to practice their faith freely without interference. I pulled this little ditty, in part, from the United States Constitution: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ;". Seems pretty straight forward to me.

Oh, and guess what everyone? We have a black president. (Actually, our president enjoys a dual racial heritage. Being the son of a white mother and a black father.) He’s an American citizen, a Christian (not that it should matter), an orator, a lawyer, our president. He’s not perfect. Right now I feel he is listening to the wrong people in regard to the economy and jobs. I’m not happy about it. But, I can deal with it. Because the alternative, as I have mentioned, frightens me more. Boo!

As I have stated more times than are probably necessary, there are many out in real life who do not feel as I do. They’ve made their voices heard and their thoughts known. In some very unsavory ways. This is my voice. These are my thoughts. Not as eloquent and smart as some people I admire, such as Rachel Maddow. Nor am I as completely informed as Anderson Cooper. I can only dream to have the wit, humor and satire of Jon Stewart. It would be nice though.

This is who I am. And this is how I feel. Thanks for hearing me out.