Fear and loathing in the name of Jesus and Jefferson

So, as I was scrolling through Facebook today, I ran across a video about people who "are not religious, but spiritual." It was actually a comical short about people who pick and choose things from different religions or belief systems to create their own sense of spirituality. While I found it humorous, it also struck a little bit of a chord with me. I have always been fascinated with religion, and have found myself with various opportunities to learn about, and explore different faiths. You might say I dabble.

I am not a Christian, but quite honestly, I am a fan. And when I say that, I mean I don't know that I can accept the supernatural elements, but I am a fan of Jesus. I'm a fan of the way he is reported in the Gospels to have conducted himself, and encouraged others to do the same. He was the kind of guy who looked at the people on the fringes, and not only tolerated them, but cared for and advocated for them. He had this habit of treating people with kindness, generosity, dignity and compassion. He sought to protect the poor, maligned and disenfranchised. 

Those are ideas I can get behind. Most religions purport values I can get behind. But it seems to me that many--not all--people use their religious beliefs to justify behaviors that are completely disconnected from the beliefs they claim to hold so dear. In fact, it seems like many people hide behind  not only religion, but other high ideals as well. 

When I look around lately, it almost seems like our world is on fire. Everywhere I look, people are shunning each other, attacking each other, ganging up on each other, and killing and/or maiming each other--all in the name of whichever god or ideal in which they claim to believe.

And while I am not a person of faith, it still makes me angry. I think faith is a good thing. In your darkest hour, it can shed enough light to keep you from losing every bit of hope that you have. Sometimes people survive the unthinkable because of that tiny sliver of light. 

That's why I find it so abhorrent when people do real and true harm to others and shift responsibility for their actions to their faith. In my opinion, when you do that, you are spitting in the "face" of any higher power you represent.

We are afraid of people who do not look like us, act like us, and believe like us. Pure and simple. The witch hunts in Europe. The witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts. The Holocaust. These are just a few examples of this fear. If you look different, act differently, or believe differently, we fear you, and even hate you. And you can frequently add that if you are a female who expresses intelligence, independent thought, assertiveness or sexuality, you are also worthy of fear and hatred.

It's a pattern within humanity that has played out, over and over, and over. And it's playing out again, all over the world today. 

Difference breeds fear. Fear breeds hate. Stop trying to make it about something else. I call bullshit on your bullshit. 

You don't need to pass legislation limiting the rights of the LGBT community because of your faith or because you feel traditional marriage is threatened. You need to do it because you personally feel threatened by that which is different from you. If you are scared gays, lesbians and transgendered people are going to assault you or your children in restrooms, you don't understand much about sexual predators or pedophilia? You don't need to limit a woman's right to control her reproductive destiny because you are pro-life and ready to fulfill the path of Jesus by making sure all of the children conceived in our country have a good home with appropriate clothing, food and shelter. You need to do it because the power of women to control procreation scares you as men. You may really believe that "all lives matter," but you weren't shouting it from the rooftops until the African American community finally got tired of their youth being considered thugs first and humans second. 

If you are going to fear something or hate it, at least own your fear and hatred. You don't have the right to hijack legitimately high ideals such as faith or patriotism to justify your personal agenda. 

It saddens me to no end that these scenarios are still playing out in a nation founded on the idea that we are all equal, and that we all are entitled to the same rights. Now, I know that there are clearly some issues with our founding fathers, and the way they expressed these ideals in real life. But I choose to believe that they had the best of intentions, and I believe that equality and freedom were the cornerstones of the nation they were trying to build. 

I do not believe they intended religion to have a place in our government. It was never intended that America was going to be a Christian nation. Sometimes, it seems like people argue as much about the meaning behind their words as they do the words of Jesus and his dad. I know people argue about who our founding fathers were on the spectrum of faith. Undoubtedly, some were Christians, but some were also uncertain like me, and I believe that while they probably never conceived of the idea that our nation's makeup would become so diverse, the groundwork they laid was intended to allow for any possibility, and ultimately, to uphold the ideals of equality and freedom. 

And yet here we find ourselves in a nation torn apart by "faithful patriots," stretching and twisting the words of god(s) and people whose ideals so clearly disconnect from the actions and words done and said in their name. 

It absolutely boggles my mind. 

In the name of God, you are not entitled to fairness in employment, housing, commerce or care if you look different, act different or believe different. This can apply to people of color, different sexuality and gender identities, and religions. In the name of patriotism, you are not entitled to a chance at refuge, or safely living your life as an American citizen because a minuscule percentage of your fellow believers have committed heinous acts in the name of your religion. In the name of God, if you are a woman, you are not entitled to the same rights to control, care for, or protect your body that men are. You are still considered, on some level, to be a commodity. 

Up until now, these "truths" were masked. They were ideas that your crazy uncle expressed at a very uncomfortable dinner table. They were the gnarled backbone of euphemistic rhetoric in the political arena. 

But now, the "mask" is off. And to be honest, the "winners" of our upcoming elections--presidential and otherwise--hardly matter, because exposing this dark side of ourselves so blatantly and shamelessly makes losers of every single one of us. We are all poorer for the existence of so much fear, hatred, and open discrimination, whether hidden or not.

How have we not come further? How have we failed to follow in the words of our faiths?  How have we so atrociously failed at fulfilling the promise of those original patriots who took the first much scarier steps toward equality and freedom? How have we lived with justifying harm to others in the names of these brilliant ideals of faith, and forward thinking? And what will become of us? 

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