Chocolate Eggs, Faith and the Democratic Party

Chocolate Eggs, Faith and the Democratic Party
(Cross-posted at firedoglake, where I'm guest blogging.)

The Founding Fathers had ample opportunity
to use Christian imagery and language in the Declaration of Independence and
Constitution, but did not. At the same time, they were not absolute secularists.
They wanted God in American pubic life, but, given the memory of religious warfare
that could engulf and destroy whole governments, they saw the wisdom of distinguishing
between private and public religion. In churches and in homes, anyone could
believe and practice what he wished. In the public business of the nation, however,
it was important to the Founders to speak of God in a way that was unifying,
not divisive. “Nature's God” was the path they chose, and it has served
the nation admirably. Despite generations of subsequent efforts to amend the
Constitution to include Jesus or to declare that America is a “Christian
nation,” no president across three centuries has made an even remotely
serious attempt to do so.
- American Gospel,
by Jon Meacham (p. 22-23)

Now I've done it. Brought faith into the mix. Everyone is either
going to start ranting, raving or just running for the door. But those who remain
will still represent the majority. It's Good Friday, Passover, which means something
to some of us, though not
all, that's for sure. Nevertheless, it is a holiday weekend.

We may not be able to define what religion exactly means in this
country today. But most of us sure know there is something deeply spiritual
about this place we call America. Democrats may have lost our voice on religion,
while Republicans have found one, so it's just a matter of choosing whether
being mute or shrill is a better place from which to move forward.

Yes, we may get tongue tied at times, but at least Democrats have a rich history
of putting our spirituality into practice through policies that sing arias around
the Republican notion of government. What was it that Grover said? Oh, yeah,
“get it
down to the size…” …you know the quote by heart. Republicans want
to drown government because they believe it serves no common good. Never mind
we've got the most bloated government in 40 years. The contradiction is illustrative
as to how we got in the mess we're in today. And boy are we in a mess.

But since Republicans are supposed to be the religious ones, why don't they
ever infuse humanity into their policies? Why doesn't the religious morality
they tout make it into their foreign policy? What is it about the ultra-religious,
who espouse their faith so openly, but who remain wedded
to war first, talking reserved as a last resort? Why are Republicans so
conservative with their compassion?

Democrats want to find a way for illegal immigrants to make lives
in America as citizens earning a living wage. Republicans began by wanting to
felonize 12 million people through law. They still want to separate them into
groups according to time served in America. Then they want employers
who hire illegal immigrants to get off free. Talk border security, without funding
it.

Democrats want to find a way to provide health care for all Americans.
Republicans start paying the federal bill by yanking money away from programs
that aid the poorest among us, including children. Is that Christian? Is it
moral? For that matter, is it right?

When thousands were stranded in New Orleans, why didn't the federal
government jump into action, no-holds barred, all stops out, everyone rushing
to do what they could? Why did President Bush need a DVD of news clips to show
him what human suffering looked like in Louisiana?

Is saying you're a
Christian against gambling, then getting mixed up with a crooked lobbyist
in gaming illustrating leadership worthy of your professed faith?

Why is poverty not the first item on the agenda for a president
and a Republican Party who touts their religious roots? Why do tax cuts to the
top 1% matter more than the middle class?

Democrats want to raise the minimum wage. We want to provide health
care for all Americans. We want to put back regulation on corporations and others
who are destroying our environment. Democrats want to engage with the world
and solve our challenges together. And Democrats absolutely reject the notion
of any type of nuclear war whatsoever. But that's where we sit poised today.
Talking about nuclear war. It's nuts. Only the morally
weak and spiritually bankrupt would consider it. Nuclear weaponry released
in the Middle East is not an option. It is the end.

If spirituality and religion mean anything in public life it is
that we have the choice to infuse the answers we uncover in private meditations
into our public works. Where private faith and public works meet is a place
where lives can be changed, the world moved. It is a message of hope versus
the language of fear, war and almost certain doom.