The Right Reaction to Perry's Christianist Ad

Of course we've seen the Rick Perry ad, entitled "Strong," where the Texas Governor believed something was wrong in the country when "gays can serve openly in the military" while children aren't allowed to pray in school or celebrate Christmas. 


It's typical cultural war stuff done by a candidate who is desperately appealing to his Christianist base. Andrew Sullivan has his usual impeccable commentary on it.


That is not why I write this. 


I'm concerned with how some of us on the left reacting to it. There is a nasty tendency among us to use the nonsense utter by Christianists and expand it to a vitriolic condemnation of all religion, often accompanied with jest in the tone of "look at those freaks."

Consider this video:





I don't think those on the left who engage in this realize the kind of damage that reaction results in. I believe that one can be a devout Christian and a liberal at the same time. Yet often I think that such Christians wind up with the GOP and Conservatism because they are left with the impression, based upon the left wing response to religious right rhetoric, that the left consists of people who hate religion and hold religious people in contempt. 


A better response from the left would a video done in earnest where a person dressed in the same way as Perry would have looked in the camera and said something like this: 


"I'm not ashamed to love Religious Liberty


"As Americans, we may or may not sit in the pews on Sunday, but we all know that we have the right to express or not express our religious conviction. It is a right given by the founders.  It belongs to me as an American. Rick Perry's opinion on faith is neither warranted, nor necessary, nor means anything to me.


"One of the great things about being an American is Religious Liberty. It has made us strong. And it continues to make us strong today. 


"I'm a proud American and I approve this message."

Run for Pastor

Rick Perry is not ashamed to talk about his Christianity and vows to fight against liberal attacks on "our religious heritage." 



Mitt Romney proclaims he has been married to the same woman for over 40 years and has belonged to the same church all of his life. As President, he would stay true to his family and his faith.





Good for you, guys. Go run for pastor somewhere. The rest of us need a competent President.

How Can A Conservative Be Happy?

The title insinuates that I will be referring to all conservatives in this piece. I don't. It's nonsensical and inaccurate to paint an entire group in large swaths. As many of us are aware, conservatives come in different swipes. Christianist Conservatives. Social Conservatives. Economic Conservatives, and Conservatives that are a sliver away from pure libertarianism just to name a few. 

The conservative I speak of is the one who listens to conservative talk radio. On my way to work at the local community college in the morning, I turn into hear mid-morning nationally syndicated talker Glenn Beck. I cannot take it for long. It's not that I am angry at Beck for his loopy and conspiracy laced opinions, often given in preachy shrillness. It's the fact Beck is so depressing. 

The local talk radio station, KXEL begins airing conservative talk radio at 8 a.m. and does not stop until 9 p.m. (with the exception of an hour break at 5 p.m. for a local sports talk radio host. The big names are on there. Beck. Limbaugh. Hannity. Levin. 

Limbaugh in particular has repeated statements from time to time emphasizing that Conservatives are happy people. Listening to these talk shows gives a window into a world that is anything but. The rhetoric of conservative talk radio, at least among the four mentioned here, is that of fear. Fear of Muslims. Fear of sharia law. Fear of Democrats. Fear of Obama. Fear of gays. Fear of blacks that do not conduct themselves like a Herman Cain or a J.C. Watts. Fear of modernity. Fear of compromise. Fear of Hispanics. Fear that that America is about to collapse. Fear of the Chinese. Fear of the Iranians.

Threats abound. There is always conspiracy that is lurking in the shadows that is posing an immediate threat to the American way of life. The "American Way" of life as they explain it is merely in vague generalized terms like "liberty" "freedom" and "free market." But these things are not celebrated. Nothing is. There are too many dark clouds circling. Everyone has to be on edge at all times. Glenn Beck is insinuating that people need to leave big cities and head into the country until after the coming collapse of society has passed. Sean Hannity has said that that the 2012 is "the most important election in our lifetime. This is the same thing he said regarding the 2004 and 2008 elections. He will probably say it again in the 2016 cycle. 


If you are a conservative who listens to this stuff all day, how can you be happy if you are afraid of everything?