Religion and American Politics

Being a Christian is an unspoken rule, if you’re going to run for President of the United States of America. Any deviation from this, or even a suspicion of deviation, and all hell breaks loose (pardon the pun). But why? What makes Candidate Christian better than Candidate Other? What makes the one more qualified to be President than the other? Why do we consistently confuse religious values with American values. Because prejudice is in our DNA, and so is hypocrisy. It’s the reason a candidate like Bernie Sanders will have a fight because he doesn’t have any particular religious affiliation (an excellent quality, if you ask me); it’s the reason Hillary Clinton feels compelled to declare over and over again that she was raised a Methodist, and got her values from that type of upbringing. It’s the reason Barack Obama was almost nailed to the cross over the perception that he was Muslim. And it’s the reason Donald Trump is still in the race. It’s the pervasive trust/fear factor that is infused into not just elections, but everyday life. And everyday people, who live everyday lives, vote.

In America, land of the free and home of the brave; gold standard for democracy, free speech, religious freedom, and all manner of human rights (well, at least on paper it is), there is this little problem. The people. Ahh the people. We are a whole other story. Steeped in our rich tradition of contempt for diversity, a segregationist paradigm has shifted somewhat, morphed into a broader, more contemporary, yet covert version of itself – religious segregation. Because, oh I don’t know, maybe it’s more palatable these days to condemn people who don’t believe like we do than it is to condemn people who don’t look like we do. Maybe it makes us a little deeper, as in don’t judge a book by its cover (that is, color). But who knew? I suppose your religion (or lack thereof) says a lot more about you than your skin, so there.

Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I long to live in a country where people will not be judged by the color of their skin, or their religious affiliations, or their sexual orientation, or their financial status, or their political affiliation, or any of the million things that define us as individuals or groups, but by the content of their character. Waaaay in the recesses of my mind.

The courage to live

Life is not kind to the faint of heart. You MUST have courage. Courage to go where you want to go, say what you need to say, be who you’re meant to be. Because if not, you’ll find yourself pulled away from yourself, succumbing to the dogma of others, who themselves did not have the courage to find themselves.

And if people are not brave, bold, strong and determined, they become spectators in their own lives. And in doing so, they betray their own soul.

So take a breath if you need to; or take a few, and move forward.

Free From Fear

I talk about faith a lot. I guess it’s on my mind a lot because it was so much a part of my formative education. And I sometimes wonder what that early community would think of me now. Me 2.0.  My stance (Church? No thanks). My journey (Religion? No thanks).  What would they think? What would they say? And I imagine they would postulate and opine about how I have lost my faith, turned my back on God, or “forgotten my first love.” I can almost hear the sermon, feel the genuine concern. I can anticipate the discourse almost verbatim. In reality though, what they are saying is, “don’t take control of your own life, your own thoughts, your own beliefs, your own journey. Let us do that for you. We know what is good for you. Believe what we believe, and all will be well.” And they would say, of course, that they are praying for me (if it makes you feel better, be my guest).  Well, I decided to take the red pill. And I was able to do so because of this one thing: my faith was never in the church, never in religion. It was always in God. So let there be peace. I have not lost my faith. What I have lost is my fear. Finally.

Man in the Mirror

What do you and I have in common? Our humanity. What Thich Nhat Hanh, Ellen Degeneres and Oprah Winfrey have in common? Their humanity. One is a Buddhist monk, one is a lesbian talk show host, and one owns her own TV network. But they all understand the power of love, of kindness, of giving, of caring.

So for those of you who are struggling with accepting gay people, or people of another faith, or people who struggle with addiction, or people who are rich, or people who are poor, or people whose current circumstances are simply different from yours in whatever way – the problem is you, not them. Stop praying for God to fix them, and fix yourself.

“If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change.”