Wondering why I still do this and whether or not it's worth it.

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/11/wondering-why-im-still-doing-this-and.html

There have been times, in the circles of relationships in my life, when I have wondered if I was the only person who thought the way I did.

While there have been some temporary departures from my original purpose, sometimes to chase rabbits, sometimes to address something that became part of the political-religious narrative, I've had two main purposes for writing The Signal Press:
1.To defend American democracy, and more specifically, to support and defend the first amendment right to freedom of conscience, with an emphasis on the preservation of the Establishment clause of the first amendment, which is the right to have a free church in a free state, the principle of separation of church and state that was the clear intent of founders James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. This is for the benefit of both church and state.

2.To oppose the conflation of Christianity, primarily the conservative, Evangelical branch of American Christianity, with the extremism found in far right wing Republican politics, and to support and defend politicians who see the danger and error inherent in this perspective and have the courage to oppose it, knowing the accusations and criticism that their opposition will cause. To help those within the Christian faith, and specifically within conservative, Evangelical churches and denominations to know that they do not have to minimize their religious convictions to be members of the Democratic party.

To be honest, prior to the midterms, I was thinking of just giving up. It wasn't looking good for this cause, and in the barrage of fake news polls and all of the ridiculous flood of rhetoric that came from some of the extremists, I wasn't sure of where to go. Then I read the piece from Michael Moore. Whether you like the guy or not, he's not someone who puts his credibility on the line by making statements of pollyana optimism in the face of certain defeat. By 11:00 p.m. on November 8th, I was back in business.

[Joinfortmill]

1. Yeah, when I heard him, I believed him because I had HOPE.

[wnylib]

3. Such audacity!

[Joinfortmill]

6. Yup.

[Beartracks]

2. Interesting: "The Christian church... has failed to follow its own gospel principles...

"... and has been lured into the temptation to use worldly, political power to preserve its own influence, something that Jesus was tempted to do, and rejected."

I just posted a related thought on another DU thread the other day, suggesting that Trump's MAGA allure to evangelical Christians is like Satan tempting Jesus Christ in the desert -- except that many evangelical Christians, unlike Jesus, give in to the temptations of selfish desire and earthly power. WWJD, indeed.

So many evangelical Christians think they are some sort of embodiment of all that is good and holy, doing "what Jesus would do," but they fall way, way short in living a Christlike life. Very, very hypocritically short. They're practically worshipping a golden calf.



==============

[lees1975]

7. I think that is an exact characterization of what's happening.

That's a photo that says it all, btw.

There probably aren't a lot of DU'ers who get too much into what's going on in the world of the conservative Evangelical personal empires that some of the self-appointed and frequently quoted "leaders" run, but it's a mess. Not much in the way of "Christian" values or virtues, but a whole lot of sniping, fighting and some genuine crime to deal with, a major clergy sexual abuse scandal among Southern Baptists that rivals the Catholic child sex abuse scandal, and the kind of infighting that occurs as revenue declines because the whole constituency is collapsing.

On top of that, Donald Trump Jr. and Charlie Kirk, with their "Turning Point" rallies, are throwing the teachings of Jesus under the bus, telling conservative Christians that turning the other cheek and being meek and humble won't get them anywhere in this world and to "win the culture wars" they have to use hate and violence. The fact that this rhetoric even gets a hearing, and the response from those who disagree is silence, not repudiation, says a lot about who they're worshipping, like that golden calf. The fact that those who see this for what it is and call it out put their livelihoods on the line, and risk violence, is an obscene distortion of the Christian gospel, and of American patriotism and the constitution.

[Beartracks]

9. I appreciate your reply. Your description is very spot on.

[soldierant]

8. plus immeasurab;e.

[lees1975]

4. I had hope, and also a couple of clues from different sources, and should have been more confident

but I do this on my own, not as a career, and didn't want to have to walk back on the day after.

What I was able to observe among Democrats in Southeastern Wisconsin, specifically Racine and Kenosha Counties, where I did some phone canvassing and door to door knocking for Mandela Barnes, since I live not far from there any Democrats in my own state had things well in hand, was encouraging and ran counter to the polling data. I also noticed that at least one of the right wing radio media outlets, USA News, which is mainly a news feed for Christian radio stations, was not confident in polling data during those last weeks before the election, and sounded somewhat unsettled and alarmed.

But Moore's confidence was the clincher.

[Joinfortmill]

5. Yup.