A FB Rage Page

Because I'm friends with certain types, got a page recommendation, so I paid a visit.

OMG, Rump.
White Supremacy.
LGBTQ hatred.
Obama hatred.

Now, with some folks talking about "getting along" with those of another persuasion, I'm clueless, I will admit.

Maybe a cuppa would help.
Some face-to-face.
But I don't think FB, or any other social medium can promote communication, or communion. Information, yes; encouragement, for sure. Friendship and hope, always.

I looked carefully over the page for any sign of decency.
Found none.

The writer is self-listed as single.
He's a guy.
His brain is awash with hate.

I quickly left the page.
It left me nauseated.

I keep forgetting how bad it is.

I think of our forebears and the question of slavery.
They fundamentally knew there was no compromise.
Either yes or no.
Up or down.

Paul the Apostle understood there could be no compromise with some elements.
So did Luther and Calvin.
So did Jeremiah and Micah.

Of our own nation:
Washington.
John Adams.
And Lincoln.
FDR
Johnson.
And with regard to schools, Eisenhower.

All were leaders of great mind and energy.
Striving to build the Union.
But understanding that some ideas were inimical.

Some would have been more than happy to dismantle the fledgling Union in order to promote their own interests.
Then, or now, States' Righters, and White Supremacists.

A few moments on that page was enough.

The Four Freedoms

For the health of our nation.
Voices, rich in color and tone.
Voices diverse in thought and concern.

Sure, conservative voices are a part of the mix.
And so, too, progressives of all stripes and flavors.

We're in trouble now.
Because we had a single-tone choir.
Only certain voices.
Only a narrow band of sounds.
Limited ideas.

It won't help if suddenly progressives take it all.
Though I'd love to try that for awhile.

But we need balance.
Not the kind of balance that goes nowhere.
But a balance sufficient.
That every voice can be heard.

Yet, like so many things
It has to move along.
It can't just spin in circles.

Conservatives have made it clear.
They don't like change.
Nor diversity.

They're white and don't like color.
They're afraid of gender questions.
And they don't trust women.
On anyone out of their small sense of "ordinary."

Let their voice be heard.
But, for heaven's sake.
Let's get one with the program.
America on the progressive road.

Rights, they're called.
The four rights of FDR would be just fine.
To head the list.
On top of the program.

The first is freedom of speech and expression.
The second is freedom of every person to worship god in his own way.
The third is freedom from want.
The fourth is freedom from fear.

Let the conservatives offer their own set of values.
Their vision for tomorrow.
For sure.

But as for me and my house.
I want a progressive America.
A nation that exalts in liberty for all.
And justice, too.

A nation that trusts women in all regards.
A nation not afraid of Transgendered people.
A nation that despises the symbols of fascism and slavery.
A nation determined to provide for all of its citizens:

There's much we can do.
And we need everyone's voice.
Not to shout at one another.
But to seek a harmony of sorts.

And to move the song along.
Perhaps some will slow it down a bit.
Others to keep it going.

We need the conservative voice.
But more than that, we need
The progressive voice.
To look to the future for its advice.

And the future always speaks.
It beckons us to leave behind.
And so to press on.

And in the doing,
The brave will find hope.
The world some peace.
And people, everywhere, the four freedoms.

Evangelicals, Crazy Mad in Love with Donald

Power!

That's the Evangelical Way - the way, the truth and the life.

The roots of it are deep, but in my recent memory, one has to go no further than the snake handlers of West Virginia and Kentucky ... in those deep and shadowy hollers, filled with the wreckage of mines abandoned and lives bent and damaged, the reading, the spurious reading, from Mark's gospel, about handling snakes, became a central element in worship.

To handle something evil and overcome it ... to dance with it, kiss it, play with it, and not be harmed by it - that's power, that's glory, that the Evangelical Dead End.

Because the snake sometimes bites, and people die.

And if the folks liked you, well, then, God called you home ... it was your time ... God said so.

And if they didn't like you, well, then, you failed ... you didn't have enough faith ... there was sin in your life and you didn't trust Je-e-sus ... and our god is a punishing god ... so, no tears shed - ya' had it coming.

And that's power ... power over evil, and power over death, and the power of judgment.

But on a more sophisticated level, Billy Graham and his crusades, his anti-union crusades, anti-communist crusades, his pro-capitalism crusades ... Jesus died for your sins, so that you can go to heaven when your brief span of years is done ... this earth isn't your home, but heaven is, and Jesus, the Jesus I proclaim, will get you there ... so, come forward now, and give your life to Jesus. You don't need your unions, your agitation, your FDR dreams of a better life; you just need Jesus.

And that's power ... ultimate power ... because you're heaven-bound, and your crummy relatives aren't ... and neither are those raucous Catholic neighbors next door, nor that Jew-boss of yours ... they won't get there, but you will ... you'll have the last laugh.

And that's power.

Then add to that the healers of every malady,  and the purveyors of wealth, health and happiness, and you end up with power ... and if heaven isn't quite the goal it used to be, then big homes and fast cars and Wall-Street-sized investments will do nicely. Heaven's bling, here and now ... Tammy Faye eyelashes and Jan Crouch hair ... and more miracles than you can shake a stick at.

Megachurches and Oral Roberts' Praying Hands ... miracle stories to keep the cash-cow happy and producing ... the woman who threw away her pills and the sweet little kid who no longer needs his wheelchair ... wow, that's power, too.

And do worship, of course, with the latest gimmicks and gizmos and trends and Twitter ... keep it thin and dazzling ... and preacher, wear those untucked shirts and pressed jeans ... but it's still the same ol' Je-e-sus who'll get you what you want - hey, you're a child of the King ... and if you think positive, if you give your tithe and then some, if you hate abortionists and if you despise homo-sex-u-als, well, then, you're better than they are, much better, and god loves you.

And that's power.

And so are guns ... bang ... there ya' go ... to protect my family and keep us safe ... and someday, when the Anti-Christ comes,  and maybe he's already here in that man in the white house ... we'll be ready with our bottled water and our guns ... and off to the woods we'll go ... no people of color, or course, just the White Bread, please ... whistling Dixie.

And that's power.

And if god hasn't punished anyone lately, then go after the Muslims, go after the poor, who are nothing but leeches on the godly system of Capitalism, leeches who make you feel bad, leeches who make bad choices, compared to your good choices, and they smell bad and do drugs.

And that's power.

So, no wonder, is it?

That Evangelicals are crazy mad in love with Donald Trump.