The Myth of the "Conservative Christian"

"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." — Ayn Rand

This is how convoluted the conservative "Christians" are in their thinking when it comes to their politics. Much of the conservative political ideology is based on Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism. I won't get into any lengthy explanation of just what objectivism is, but you can Google it and research it in detail if you like and I hope that you will. In a nutshell Ayn Rand's philosophy amounts to militant views on the virtue of selfishness and the “evil” of helping others, combined with a strident opposition to any social safety nets or government regulation of the economy. It has many natural affinities with the Tea Party and Republican ideology. Ayn Rand was a staunch atheist who absolutely rejected Christ’s teachings. Her goal was the replacing of religion with her belief system that man's greatest virtue was in pursuing happiness based upon his own self interests, something that stands in absolute opposition to all that which true Christian faith is based. Yet this is what those who claim to be Christian are supporting wholeheartedly with their consistent and fervent support for the Republican party and it's ideology. 

If you are questioning this in any way, please research Paul Ryan, Rand Paul and others who are, or have been, avowed Ayn Rand followers.   Ryan, the Republican Speaker of the House, once said that Ayn Rand’s philosophy was the reason that he got into Public service.  Kentucky Republican Rand Paul told supporters in 2009 that he cut his teeth on Ayn Rand in high school and that he has read all of her novels. 

There are plenty of other present day Republicans, and others from the past who have also praised the Rand philosophy of objectivism.  Ronald Reagan, for example, expressed his admiration for Rand, something that should surprise no one, and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas hosts a screening of the 1949 film version of her novel, The Fountain Head, for his new law clerks.

The Republican party claims to be the party of family values and thousands upon thousands of conservative “Christians” in America seem to believe that they are, not only the family values party (which they obviously are not) but also the party of Christian values.  This is a sham.  A cruel hoax. A clear distortion of Christianity. It's based on a huge deception that many who claim to follow Christ have been duped into believing....that somehow conservative political ideology and Christianity are one and the same when, in actuality, the moniker "Conservative Christian" has become an oxymoron of major proportions.

One wonders what Jesus would have to say about all of this.  Perhaps we might find the answer in this passage from the Bible:  "He who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich - both come to poverty." - Proverbs 22:16.

Thoughts On The Day After The Election

Sexism, racism, misogyny, nativism, and xenophobia are alive and well in a vast part of America. We should all be ashamed.

With Trump and the Republicans now holding control of the lawmakers in Congress and soon the Supreme Court, who knows in what direction we are headed. My great fear, and it has been since the possibility of a Trump Presidency first reared its ugly head, is that we will no longer be the land of the free and the brave, the model of democracy, the benevolent friend to people and nations across the planet who are suffering from oppression and tyranny, the refuge for the "tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free". I fear now that we will be seen as, and will become, the bully of nations, an unwelcoming giant to be feared, a symbol of greed and arrogance, etc. That is not my country...not the country that I have known and loved. I hope I'm wrong but I have serious doubts and great fear that I am not.

I'm grieving today for the millions of American's who will, once again, be without health insurance and left to fend, (and die) for themselves.

I'm grieving today for the loyal citizens of the United States who are Muslim and now must live in fear not knowing what their future in this country holds for them and their children and grandchildren....and for all of the refugees from the middle east who have been devastated by war and forced out of their homelands. The torch of the mighty woman on Liberty Island has gone out and no longer glows with a world-wide welcome.

I 'm grieving today for people of color in America now that a clearly racist, xenophobic man like Trump has been elected President giving so many other racist xenophobes throughout the land carte blanch to profile, persecute and assert their hatred upon them.

I'm  grieving today for women in America who are now fearful that men, more than ever before,  will feel emboldened to treat them as chattel or objects of sexual conquest, and, if they should resist, be subject to a crass beratement.

I'm grieving today for the poor and disadvantaged of America, who once again have had their spirit, and their hope for a better future dashed. 

I'm grieving today for senior citizens (of which I am one) who have paid hard earned money over the course of their working years into the Social Security system and now, in retirement,  depend on the program for financial safeguard, because Trump has promised, for "moral reasons",  to slash it to the bare bones.

I'm grieving today for Christianity which has been hijacked by a conservative political agenda commonly known as  Conservative “Christian" that has turned its back on one of the central tenets of the Bible. The tenet that Jesus said was “The sum of the law and all the prophets” to love God and your neighbor as you do yourself”

And I grieve today, perhaps most of all, for the children of America. At a time in their lives when they need positive roll models, they have a President of the United States who models bullying, makes fun of the disabled, lies incessantly, treats women like sex objects or verbal punching bags, believes in "getting even" and shows no compassion, no remorse, or no willingness to admit that he is ever wrong.

I could go on....there are many more to grieve for, but I'm tired....I've been up all night...grieving for my country.
 
So now the election is over, the electoral college system, if not the majority of American people, has determined that Donald Trump will be our next President.  I must accept that outcome, and I do, albeit with great fear and trepidation. I can only hope and pray that, when the Trump Presidency is over,  we will still be the country that I've been proud to call my homeland for almost seventy years, the land of the free and the brave, with liberty and justice for all.  The future of our children and grandchildren depend on it.

It Was A Dark and Stormy Night!

I woke up this past Sunday morning surprised to see that it had snowed over night.  It wasn't any major snowfall, only an inch or so, but just enough to cover the driveway and sidewalk.  I was surprised because the forecast for the week hadn't mentioned anything about snow, only that the temperatures were going to be unseasonably high for the next five days. When I saw the white stuff on the ground I couldn't help thinking back to thirty six years ago, just this time of year, in fact, to another unexpected snow event that will stay in my memory forever.

It was the third weekend in February of 1980 and my wife and I had just been blessed, through adoption, with a baby girl.  Our daughter, Lindsay, had arrived on this earth on January 14 of that year and six weeks later, on February 21, a Thursday evening, to be exact, we received a call saying that we should drive to Sioux City to meet her for the first time and to bring her home to stay.  

Lindsay on February 22, 1980.
The day that we first brought her home.
She was six weeks old.

We spent the next two days, Friday and Saturday, shopping with Lindsay for baby supplies and getting to know each other and to bond.  On Sunday morning, February 24, we decided that we wanted to share our good fortune with family and so we decided to take a trip to Windom, Minnesota so that my parents could meet their new granddaughter.  We were living in Cherokee, Iowa at the time and it was about a 100 mile trip, or just under two hours to Windom.  We loaded up our ’77 Dodge Charger and off the three of us went.  We had a great afternoon at my parents house and I remember being as proud as the proverbial peacock being able to show this adorable little bundle to Mom and Dad.  They were thrilled and both of them fussed over her quite a bit, something that wasn't all that normal for my dad.

We ate a late afternoon meal in Windom and headed for home just as it was starting to get dark. By the time we had made it to Worthington, just 28 miles down Minnesota highway 60, it had started to snow lightly.  But it seemed to be just flurries and nothing to worry about.  However, when we got to the Iowa border, just 10 miles south of Worthington the snow had started to come down more heavily and it was starting to accumulate just a little on the highway.  I had driven through some bad weather a number of times before and this snowfall certainly wasn't going to be anything more than a minor annoyance.  I was sure about that, so I wasn't at all worried.

Twenty two miles farther south, at Sanborn, Iowa things were not looking so good.  The snowfall by now was heavy and visibility was extremely limited.  As I recall, I was now only able to drive 35 to 40 miles per hour and, I'm sure, I was starting to grip the wheel just a little bit tighter.  If you've ever driven in a heavy snowfall I'm sure you know what I mean by that.  By this time LeeAnn and I were both starting to worry about the baby and I know that I was also questioning my common sense as well as my worthiness to be a father.  I started wondering how any responsible parent could bring their precious infant daughter out into dangerous conditions such as this.

Just to the east of Sanborn we turned south on Highway 59 and headed for Cherokee, just 35 more miles to go.  But this wasn't going to be an easy 35 mile drive.  The wind had picked up now and it was out of the west blowing snow across the roadway and causing white out conditions that were so bad that, at times, made it hard to see anything beyond the hood of my own car. Eventually we crawled in to the little town of Primghar and got some temporary relief driving through town.  The lights along the highway made it easier to see and I recall that we gave some thought to trying to find a hotel or someplace to stay and wait out the storm.  

The lure of the warmth and safety of home was evidently too strong, however, and so we pressed on.  Cherokee was now just 28 miles further and, if we had made it this far, surely we could make it 28 more miles if I was really, really careful.  Lindsay, was strapped in the back seat and sleeping through all of this.   Just six weeks old, she wasn't worried one bit.  Her new parents, however, were frightened and frazzled.

Just south of Primghar driving became virtually impossible.  The snow had accumulated on the roadway to the point that the car was straining to get through it.  There was no way to tell if I was in the right lane or not.  In fact, it was not even possible to be sure that I was on the road at all.  Everything was white and covered with snow.  I couldn't tell the roadway from the ditch and the snow was falling and drifting furiously making visibility impossible.  I could not see where I was going.

At this point I was dragging along at 5 miles per hour and both LeeAnn and I had our windows rolled down, me trying see where the road was and she trying to see where the ditch was, when I noticed a light in the window of a farm house on the left.   I inched along as slowly as I could, just enough to keep the car moving without getting stuck in the snow.  I was sure that I saw the farm driveway so I turned toward it and gunned the engine just enough to get the car off of the highway and up into the end of the driveway. I remember telling LeeAnn that I was going to see if whoever lived there could help, but I had no idea what I really expected.  I just knew that I couldn't go any farther.

As I walked up the driveway, stumbling through the piles of snow, I noticed that a man had come to the door and was watching my approach.  I remember that he shouted something to me, but I couldn't make out what he said, so I just hollered back at him telling him that I had my wife and baby in the car, we were on our way to Cherokee, and we just couldn't make it any further.  Thankfully, the man told me to get my wife and baby out of the car and come on in.

It was a young farm family that lived there.  We recounted the details of our driving adventure and they understood our plight and took pity on us.  They said that we should not worry about trying to get to Cherokee that night and they would let us stay with them.  They apologized that they had no spare room for us but said that, if we didn't mind sleeping on the living room floor, they did have plenty of extra blankets and pillows.  I can't even begin to describe the relief that I felt, and the gratitude.  We were safe and warm, all three of us including the baby, and that was most important.

The morning came and the snow had stopped.  We said our thank yous and goodbyes to the family that had been so gracious and hospitable and then the  farmer helped me dig our car out so that I could back onto the highway and proceed home to Cherokee.  The highway was treacherous as the plows hadn't been out yet, but the visibility was perfect.  It was a cold, crisp, clear morning.  With God’s help, and that of the family of "Good Samaritans" that he led us to, we had survived this ordeal.  

Over the years the memory of that night and the strong emotions that came with it, have vividly stayed with me.  Because of that experience, I'm smarter now. I always check the weather report before heading out on the highway and I just won't go anywhere in bad weather if I can help it.  Lindsay survived the whole thing quite well too. She grew up to be an incredible young woman. Smart, talented and beautiful.  Pretty much everything you could hope for in a daughter.  I can't help but think that there must be some memory of that terrible, cold, snowy night stuck somewhere in her psyche too, though, as she grew up hating the snow and cold of midwest winters and now lives in the warm and dry climate of Arizona. So you see, just like me, she’s smarter now too.

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