5 August 2011

I was dressed and prepared for work quicker than usual this morning, most likely because “casual Friday” affords me the opportunity to slacks off a bit in my attire.

With the extra time, I scrolled through Twitter to read the latest news and came upon a story about Texas Governor Rick Perry preparing to hold a revival tomorrow “to pray for what he calls ‘a nation in crisis'” according to NPR.

Let me put aside my belief that no one in a governmental leadership position should ever lead by or speak about religious beliefs publicly while in office. (Rick Perry and others calling on God’s guidance to lead public policy is no different, although perhaps worse, than me calling on the spirit of Jacob Marley to lead our economic policy. Either one is beyond poor policy-making.) Let me instead, if you will allow, speak to the fact that Mr. Perry and his ilk are completely off-base with the entire point of their rally.

The US is not in a shit hole because gay people exist, or people have sex outside of heterosexual marriage, or people get divorced, or people are atheist or women can use birth control or hold public office. The US is in a shit hole because we believe in business over humanity. We value corporations more than human life.

I seethe when I read ignorant, damaging rhetoric. Part of it may be a proclivity toward self-affliction casting outward because I used to be dogmatized. I used to walk around and spread the cheer of the Gospel (because only Cheer gets your Gospel whites whiter) and try to convince people to accept Jesus. Maybe that’s the problem. We’d rather have people accept Jesus than accept themselves or each other.

I got a card from my friend today. He wrote the card five years ago, but just mailed it. He mentioned a tethered, oppressed mind. That’s where we are as humans in the US. We are mentally tethered to ideas that are outdated, outmoded and outrageously devastating to our humanity.