Reloaded: The Holy United States Of America

(Updated below)

Here's what I wrote back in August 2008, during the last Presidential elections in the US (emphasis added):

For decades now, especially since the late 70's-early 80's, it has become a ritual of sorts for candidates seeking the Office of the Presidency of the U.S.A. (POTUS) to make profuse declarations of faith while seeking the public support of pastors, preachers and priests.

Pious demonstrations of belief in God (the Christian one, of course), humble statements of abundant praying for guidance from the Divine Will, public displays of church attendance, etc. - all such things have become nothing more than par for the course in the (democratic) process of choosing the next POTUS.

Through it all, the political/governing functions of a POTUS have likewise become intimately intertwined with all matters of faith - whether it is the expected utterance of the incantation of "God Bless America", frequent references to God on any and all subject matter (policies, decisions, etc.), the White House prayer breakfasts, the lighting of the White House's Christmas Tree, attending Christmas mass, yet more public displays of piety and praying/church attending, and so on and so forth.

In short - the POTUS has come to acquire an increasingly preeminent function of "Christian faith representative" in the eyes of Americans throughout the years.

Why else would Americans have elected three openly-declared Born Again Christian Presidents (Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush) out of the last five who have held office since the 1976 elections?

No wonder then that so-called "moral values" and "moral issues" have come to dominate the American political landscape in the last three decades or so - especially with regards to school praying vs. no praying at school, a woman's right to choose vs. criminalizing abortion, same-sex marriage allowance vs. interdiction, teaching safe/protected sex vs. promoting abstinence, teaching evolution vs. also teaching creationism/intelligent design, etc., etc., etc.

And I will spare you the all-too-known details of the (waning) George W. Bush administration's embrace of fundamentalist Christian "values" and consequent attitudes/actions with regards to all things secular and scientific (see also this recent post of yours truly).

(I remember cringing at that little piece of news when I first read about it some three years ago - that one as well)

Then came 9/11 - and since that tragic day a majority of Americans have apparently locked themselves in a mentality of "Christianity vs. Islam" - what some like to call the "Clash of Civilizations" - a mindset which appears to stubbornly persist to this day, overriding all rational considerations (one more recent example here).

Indeed, 9/11 was in good part responsible for the re-election of George W. Bush, the "War President" fighting the evil islamofascists ...

Which brings us to this year's primaries and the current contest between John McCain and Barack Obama for the Presidency of the U.S.A.

Never before have I witnessed such profusion of declarations of faith from candidates left and right, being asked questions on all matters of Christian faith, morals and values, including whether they believe in evolution or not.

Never before have I witnessed a democratic party presumptive nominee speak more like a pastor as Barack Obama has been speaking throughout this election year - even more so than the born again Christian Jimmy Carter (and I remember a good part of Carter's campaign and his Presidency, because I had "come of age" enough as a teenager to start paying attention to such things already then).

Never before have I witnessed such lingering (ill-informed, uninformed, or deliberately mendacious) questions concerning the "purity" of the Christian faith of candidates - especially regarding Barack Obama ("Is he Muslim or Christian?", "Is he Christian enough?").

Then came last week's Saddleback Civil Forum on Presidency, whereby McCain and Obama got to be vetted on matters of Christian faith, morals and values by an "influential" evangelical pastor, Rev. Rick Warren (yes: that Rick Warren), in a live broadcast to millions of Americans to see, hear and judge.

Since then, many have parsed through the questions posed by Warren in this so-called Faith Forum and the answers given by McCain and Obama - however, it appears that the sheer precedent enormity of such an exercise has been lost entirely.

Think about it - before McCain and Obama got to face each other for a first time to debate their political ideas, ideologies, visions and solutions, they got to be quizzed/tested by a pastor first about their Christian faith, morals, values and visions.

In other words: they had to demonstrate first and foremost their Christian credentials to the American people above all other (political) considerations.

In addition to the relatively recent instance whereby a POTUS was actually forced to talk openly of his (supposedly private) Christian faith and beliefs, here's a definite note added in proof of my (persisting) contention that we have indeed well entered the Age of the President-Pontificate of the U.S.A. (emphasis added):

41 Republicans Demand President Obama Issue A Correction Of Speech Omitting ‘In God We Trust’ Motto

On November 10, President Obama addressed a crowd at the University of Indonesia about a “shared humanity” in the face the deep tension between the U.S. and Muslim communities. “In an age of rapid change and colliding cultures, what we share as human beings can sometimes be lost,” he said. “But I believe that the history of both America and Indonesia should give us hope. It is a story written into our national mottos. In the United States, our motto is E pluribus unum — out of many, one. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika — unity in diversity … our nations show that hundreds of millions who hold different beliefs can be united in freedom under one flag.”

More than shared humanity or diversity, the big takeaway from this speech for the Congressional Prayer Caucus was Obama’s choice of motto. Yesterday, in a letter obtained by Minnesota Independent, 41 Republicans — including Reps. Michele Bachmann (MN) and Mike Pence (IN) — and lone Democrat Mike McIntyre (NC) took to their bully pulpit to lambast Obama for forsaking the official U.S. motto “In God We Trust” in favor of E pluribus unum. Finding a “pattern” of subversive omittances among Obama’s speeches, the outraged lawmakers slammed Obama’s “disservice to the people you represent” and demanded Obama “issue a correction” to his speech:

E pluribus unum is not our national motto.[...]

As President of the United States, you are our representative to the rest of the world. By misrepresenting things as foundational as the Declaration of Independence and our national motto, you are not only doing a disservice to the people you represent you are casting aside an integral part of American society.

John Adams said, “It is religion and morality alone, which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.” If Adams was right, by making these kinds of statements to the rest of the world, you are removing one of the cornerstones of our secure freedom. If we pull the threat of religious conviction out of the marketplace of ideas, we unravel the tapestry of freedom that birthed America.[...]

We respectively request that you issue a correction to the speech you gave, as it does not accurately reflect America and serve to undercut an important part of our history. We are willing to meet with you to discuss this further if you would like. As President Ronald Reagan warned, “if we ever forgot that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

My oh my oh my - the President-Pontificate faltered in his expected show of zealotry in promulgating God and Christianity, especially in favor of a (gasp!) secular axiom?

Blasphemy!!!

The President-Pontificate surely has offended God, whose consequent wrath before such insult to His Holy Name is sure to descend upon His Holy United States of America!!!

Hence, the President-Pontificate must immediately make the proper corrections to his speech in order to placate God and His self-righteous and devout Christian flock which comprises the entirety of His favorite compassionate and selfless Christian Nation!

For In God We Trust! Always and forever! (And ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever)

And may God bless America!

(And what about that whole separation of church and state thingie, you ask? Pshaw!!! Double-pshaw!!! Triple-pshaw!!!)

(Ergo: the primitive minds are winning).

(Q.E.D.)

(By the way: I am officially tired of continually being proven right over and over again, here. I am also officially tired of having to put in constantly "Q.E.D." in my posts relating to such matters as herein. I am so looking forward to the day when I will be proven wrong again and again about these things ... but alas, I fear this will not happen soon enough, if at all)

(Oh, well ...)


Update (12/08/2010): Meanwhile, the War on Christmas Secularism rages on (emphasis added):

Dallas Baptist Church Pastor Starts ‘Grinch Alert’ To Shame Businesses Not Celebrating Christmas

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) kicked this year’s War on Christmas into high gear last week when he announced that he wouldn’t participate in Tulsa’s annual “Holiday Parade of Lights” because the city reanamed the parade, replacing “Christmas” with “Holiday.” This week, First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress joined the war effort. Jeffress announced on a local radio station this morning that his church is launching a website — the Grinch Alert — “dedicated to showcasing businesses that do not show outward signs of supporting Christmas.” The top of the site reads: “Help us keep Christmas everywhere!”:

Have you encountered a “Grinch” this Christmas season? Share your experiences here at GrinchAlert.com! Here, you can nominate businesses and organizations that shut-out expressions of Christmas in their interactions with the public via marketing, advertising and public relations. When companies use misplaced political correctness to halt the celebration of Christmas, they belong on the “Naughty List.”

We also want to know which companies are celebrating Christmas with excitement and meaning–especially those who keep Christ in Christmas where He belongs! Those companies and organizations will be placed on our “Nice List.” Help us preserve Christ this Christmas.

The Dallas Observer reports that every morning on KCBI-FM radio, Jeffress will read the names of businesses submitted to his Naughty and Nice lists:

[I]t all started last week with the public shaming of a bank in Southlake that decided not to put up a Christmas tree in its lobby; says the morning-show host, the bank has since changed its mind due to the divine intervention. To which Jeffress adds: “I wanted to do something positive to encourage businesses to acknowledge Christmas and not bow to the strident voices of a minority who object to the holiday.”

There’s no word on how far Jeffress’s crusade will stretch geographically, but perhaps the Florida State government may be next. A spokesperson for the Florida Turnpike Enterprise said the agency banned all holiday decorations two months ago after some Christian groups complained about Halloween decorations.

Holy USA? President-Pontificate? Primitive minds? Q.E.D. yet again.

Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil ...