I received an email yesterday about how politicians have invoked the name of God more and more over the last forty years. In this email, the author said that it is politically advantageous for politicians to get their constituents to believe that God is somehow on their side, regardless if this God is the hard line authoritative God found in the Old Testament, or the softer, more compassionate God found in the New. Both Gods have their benefits and their drawbacks, and both are dangerous when tossed into the political mix.
There is a mistaken notion that we were founded as a "Christian" nation; frankly, that's bullshit. First of all, not all of the Founding Fathers were Christian; some, like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were deists (and Benjamin Franklin was in a class all his own). And of those that were Christian, most believed firmly in the Separation of Church and State. In fact, in the Treaty of Tripoli, signed by John Adams in 1797, it clearly states that the United States was founded in no way on the Christian religion. Of course, when I point that out to someone, the first words I almost always hear is: "Then why does it say 'In God We Trust' on our money, and why do we say 'One Nation Under God' in our pledge?" This is usually followed by a smug look of "I showed you" satisfaction, until I tell this person he or she obviously needs a history lesson, or 20, for that matter. (Neither phrase is original to the Founding Fathers; "In God We Trust" didn't appear on our currency until 1865, and "Under God" didn't show up in our pledge until 1954.) And even the phrase "endowed by their creator" found in the Declaration of Independence is not a declaration of God or Christianity, but simply a statement that each person has the right to believe in the creator of his or her choice. (And if I really want to start a fight, I point out that John Adams was vehemently anti-Catholic; he absolutely hated the Catholic Church.)
Religion has a long and nasty history, and its influence on our nation's legacy is no different; it has been used as justification for slavery and the denial of equal rights for women, among other things. And it isn't the fault of the religion, but the people claiming it. So why is the push on again to force it down our throats? The answer, at least for me, is fairly simple...Religion is a great leash; when someone starts to question, the best answer is: "Because God Said So!", even if God didn't say it at all. And if a person believes God said it, then he or she is going to look to the candidate who agrees that God said it, even if what God supposedly said is against that person's best interest. This often leads me to wonder if even half of these politicians believe what they spout from their soapboxes, or if they are just claiming "God" to get elected.
Not only that, but by pandering only to those who "believe" the same way they do, our "elected" officials are discounting entire groups of people; not everyone in this country are of the Christian persuasion. However, it's like we don't matter (especially the atheists). Oh sure...they will take our donations and they will love our votes, but other than that, they would just assume we didn't exist. Why? Because we can't be led around by the "God" ring in the nose.
It's stupid, really; it these people actually thought about it, they would find that atheists are who they want in their corners. Why? Because we believe what we believe based on our own knowledge, research and ethics, and we don't need a book that can't even keep its own stories straight to justify our stances. This isn't a conservative or liberal issue, either; we are found on both sides of the political spectrum. However, if they do cater to us, then we are going to hold them accountable for their platforms, and that's a hard position to be in when you can't just blame God.
Furthermore, by incorporating "God" into your politics, you are leaving yourself open to attack by someone whose definition of God is different than your own. They may all go by the same name, but they are far from the same entity, and when you start screaming: "God says I'm right!", you are really going to piss off the person who God has told you are full of shit. History is rife with examples of the dangers of mixing politics and religion, but somehow, we still haven't learned.
Personally, if one of our modern day politicians stood up and said, "I'm an atheist, and proud of it!", I would vote for that person regardless of his or her political leaning. Why? Because to do that would take honesty, integrity, and, most importantly, balls, and there is very little, if any, of that left in Washington, or anywhere else.
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