Hypocrisy

One thing that really angers me about the Religious Right, aka The Republican Party (because, after all, the GOP is now practically a religion as well as a political party since it's largely been taken over by fundamentalist Christians) is their hypocritical views on so many things. They claim to be oh so pious and yet when it comes to certain things, they are not beyond showing absolute contempt for certain kinds of people or situations. For example, at a recent GOP Presidential debate, when asked about what to do in the instance of a 30 year old comatose man with no health insurance, the answer given was, let him die. Nothing was said regarding trying to save a life despite lack of insurance. No, the fact that the hypothetical patient was uninsured meant that no extreme measures should be taken to save this life. You bet your bottom dollar that if said patient was a billionaire, every measure possible would be made to save this person's life, but the fact that the example given was an uninsured young man meant that he didn't deserve to live. Another question asked, by the debate moderator, was to Texas Governor Rick Perry regarding the fact that under his administration, 234 people have been put to death in their prison system. The audience actually applauded when that number was given and Perry basically said that if you commit crimes against people in his state, you pay the ultimate price. OK, so these so called Christians of the right wing stripe claim to be oh, so pro-life until it comes to end of life questions, then it's "off with their heads!". And I always find it interesting that the most strident pro-life advocates aren't women, they are men, who don't have to carry around a fetus inside their body for 9 long months and experience all the discomforts of pregnancy. Now, once the kid is born, their concern for the welfare of the child disappears. These pro-lifers will stick up for an unborn baby, but once it's born, tough luck, you're on your own, kid. Some Christians these people turn out to be. Unfortunately, they've been so influential as to inject religion into politics. Notice that Presidents are now required not only to be very open about how Christian they are and provide a religious resumé (meaning that they in essence are required to pass a religious test in order to hold the highest office in the land, which is completely unConstitutional), but once elected, every time they speak to the public, they are required - yes, required - to end each and every speech with "God bless you, and God bless the United States of America." They are also required to wear American flag lapel pins, and anyone who doesn't is regarded suspiciously. These TEA Partiers especially wrap themselves in the American flag, the church and the Constitution as if they are the sole owners of those things, and yet if they read their Constitution, they will find that it specifically indicates that there shall be no religious test to hold the highest office in the land, "..no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." (Article VI, United States Constitution). In other words, you don't have to be a Christian to hold any office, be it Senator, Congressman, President, a member of the Cabinet or any other high federal office. But certain forces have made sure that you must be a Christian in order to do so, at least within the GOP ranks, but it is strongly encouraged in the Democratic ranks as well. There are still people out there who view President Obama through beady suspicious eyes because they believe he might secretly be Muslim, as if that somehow disqualifies him to be President. And no matter who wins the GOP nomination (and it's either going to be Mitt Romney - not likely since the Religious Right is also very suspicious of Mormonism, or Rick Perry, that fake pious Christian Texas cowboy who believes in offing anyone who commits a crime in his state and who has the gall to call Social Security a "Ponzi scheme", thus pissing off thousands of elderly and disabled voters who rely on that social safety net for their existence), you can bet your bottom dollar that the religion issue is going to come up again somewhere down the line. I just hope that if and when it does, that someone quotes Article VI of the Constitution that no religious test is required to be President or anything else for that matter. I also hope that people remember the simple verse that everyone should use to guide their life, from Micah 8: "Do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God." Not GOD, as in, only the one in the Bible. YOUR God, meaning whatever higher power guides your life, and that is what I believe that says. Do justice. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly. Good rules we should all live by, in my opinion. The world would be a far more peaceful place if that was the case.