Thankfully, Margot Ford McMillen (in “What Is Wrong With That Man?” 8/15/18 TPP) has reminded us of the huge elephant in the room while Trump’s presidency teeters precariously toward impeachment. Evangelical Christian Mike Pence is waiting in the wings (and doing more than waiting, perhaps). She paraphrases the truly fantastical evangelical end-times narrative. which he embraces, that most theologians read as allegory and most people today accept as summer blockbuster science-fiction.
Evangelical Protestants who believe in literal Biblical truth have been a rising force in Republican politics for several decades, tolerated and accommodated for political advantage rather than actually taken seriously. Presidential spiritual advisers such as Billy Graham and Norman Vincent Peale have served as a badge of a president’s moral compass.
How times have changed! A more virulent “Old Testament” bellicosity has risen to the forefront of evangelical testimony. The love and compassion of Jesus has been swept away by fire and brimstone in a fusillade of gruesome violence porn that has mesmerized followers.
No more frightening an advocate of this theology is Pastor John Hagee, leader of a San Antonio megachurch with his own TV program. While spiritual adviser to President George W. Bush, he admitted to an astonished Terry Gross (NPR’s Fresh Air from WHYY, Philadelphia) that he advocated nuclear war with Iran to usher in the apocalypse. He later became spiritual adviser to John McCain during the 2008 campaign in which McCain gleefully led an adoring crowd in singing, “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb — Bomb, Bomb Iran” to the tune of “Barbara Ann.”
Pastor Hagee and his ilk are not merely anticipating and preparing themselves spiritually for the second coming of Christ. They are actively taking the initiative to put in motion dangerous ventures that provoke global conflict in a perverted attempt to achieve their theological goals (i.e., moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem).
Previously, while pandering to the general chauvinism of this evangelical base, Republicans have been able to keep at bay their more odious excesses. Not so today in the age of Trump/Pence. The religious right recognizes its advantage now and is asserting its prerogatives.
While Trump has been instrumental in advancing their agenda circumstantially, he’s not a true believer. He’s a narcissistic huckster doing battle and creating chaos for his own advancement. His recent impulsive act to sanction and undermine the economy of Turkey, our NATO ally, to force the release of an American evangelical pastor may be an indicator of strengthening evangelical pressure. Risking further social turmoil in that already dangerous region certainly fits their agenda.
Mike Pence, however, as a true believer in end-times theology, poses a more malevolent and perilous prospect. Think what turmoil he could unleash on the world in the service of his religious cohorts if he wielded the executive power currently employed by Trump. It should scare the Hell out of us.
ROBERT McCALLISTER, Lantana, Fla.
Benjamin Fong and Dustin Guastella’s analysis is astute (“America Must End Class Privilege in Health Care,” 8/1518 TPP). Despite America’s great wealth, we’ve been fooled into believing that “How can we pay for it?” is the key single-payer question.
I think the authors’ strategy for gaining universal coverage is flawed, however. They reject entirely “the language of moralism and charity.” They argue instead for a political movement grounded in solidarity, unencumbered by a focus on helping the “less fortunate.” There are two problems with their approach. It reduces morality to charity, and it discounts the importance of moral appeals as motivators for political action. The strategy should be both/and, not either/or.
Morality is not only about charity, but also about justice. As Augustine reputedly said, “Charity is no substitute for justice denied.” The struggle to universalize healthcare coverage is also a moral struggle for justice. In addition, solidarity itself is arguably a moral value. The Catholic tradition, for example, has long appealed to solidarity in its ethical teaching.
Moral impulses of empathy and compassion for those with no insurance or bad insurance have led many to see the political need for universal coverage. The better off increasingly recognize that it is not just the less fortunate who are at risk. Such solidarity has political will and moral energy. An optimal Medicare-for-All strategy will seek to mobilize both.
DAVID McCURDY, Elmhurst, Ill.
A childhood memory of reading the story of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” reemerged recently with the awareness that our White House has an epidemic of “thievery” way beyond what Ali Baba was purported to have done and in the realm of a contagious epidemic (like Ebola). As I approach eight and a half decades of longevity and reflect upon the past five and half decades, and how our nation has been pillaged and corrupted by the likes of the thieves and charlatans that Trump surrounds himself with, there is no question in my mind the time is here — the time is urgent — the time is now for revolution. Let us heed the words of two of our iconic past leaders, Fredrick Douglas when stating, ”Power concedes nothing without a demand” and Thomas Jefferson, who said “God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.”.
Let us start by having every politician and those serving the citizenry in a “tax-funded” role (Local-State-Federal) upon swearing in state and agree to the following: “I (name) as a representative of the people of the (Local-State-Federal) shall not accept nor benefit of anything of value that directly or indirectly enhances me my family or friends other than the specified remunerations agreed upon for my tenure in office serving the people of (designated political area) and any other designated expenditures allowed by the people I serve.”
If this simple caveat were a part of an obligation to every individual serving on the taxpayers dime we may hopefully alleviate many of our outlandish and obvious thievery committed by “Trump and his good old boys” “making America poorer again”.
FRANK C. ROHRIG, Milford, Conn.
“Decision time” is here for voting age citizens in America — the greatest nation in history and the “Shining City on the Hill” for hopeful, freedom-loving individuals around the world.
This fall, will we citizens vote for leaders and representatives who are basically wise, unselfish, honest, inclusive, kind, competent, incorruptible, and stalwart?
Or, will we vote of individuals who are ignorant, self-centered, deceitful, intolerant, cruel, incompetent, corrupt, or weak?
These crucial voter decisions apply to elected positions at all governmental levels — local, state, or federal — regardless the issues involved and regardless the candidate’s political affiliation.
No candidate is perfect, but his or her character is the base upon which to build public trust.
No voter is perfect, but we can give it our best shot. The very soul of America is up for election this fall.
PAT V. POWERS, Utopia, Texas
Shame on Bibi Netanyahu for allowing The Baptist Pastor, Robert Jeffress, to give blessing to the newly opened US Embassy in Jerusalem. Did he not know that the same pastor had once said the “Jewish soul cannot be saved”? In the excitement of the new location of US Embassy the Israeli P.M. must not have remembered the pastor’s damaging statement of the past. Or was it that the P.M. figured out President Trump depended heavily on the Evangelical Group and he did not wish to ‘upset the apple-cart?
G.M. CHANDU, Flushing, N.Y.
The 2016 election saw numerous states showing Hillary the winner of the exit polls, but Trump the ballot winner. How could this be? Of course, the first conclusion to draw is that the Russians were able to finagle with the count.
But, there is a more likely explanation. Most of these states are controlled by Republicans. In many, if not all, the Secretaries of State conducted voter purges, resulting in many valid voters being purged—after all, that is what voter purges are really hoped to accomplish. The purged voter, when told he isn’t registered, is given a provisional ballot. This will only be counted if he follows up with the county clerk after the election, which very seldom happens. The voter dutifully answers the exit poll. Yet another way this country, and the Supreme Court, allows the GOP to cheat to win.
LEE KNOHL, Evanston Ill.
Re:“We are a Deeply Stupid Country,” by Dana Milbank (8/15/19 TPP) nnIn Cervantes’ masterpiece, his noble Don Quixote says:
“La alabanza propia envilece.”
(Self-praise makes one contemptible)
I’m sure Donald Trump, who elevates himself as “a very stable genius” never read Don Quixote. Or if he did, he failed to learn anything from it.
DAVID QUINTERO, Monrovia, Calif.
From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2018
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