Political And Religious Hypocrisy-The Greatest Of All Whores

Thanks goes out to Rufus from Grad Student Madness, who sent me the link to this article in the New York Times by Frank Rich. It points out a great many things I have said all the time. All of this hoopla about the Reverend Wright fails to take into account that Wright is but one of a long line of nutty ministers, many of whom say things that are on a par with him. Yet, strangely enough, most of the people screaming the loudest about Wright seem to ignore a good many of these others. That could be well because, in a great many cases, many of them are sitting right in the pews where and when they spew their own particular brand of venom and don't seem to mind when politicians seek their support, while knowing all about their histories.

Following is a few sample snippets from the Times article dealing with McCain’s endorsement by pastor Ted Hagee, an endorsement McCain sought and received, which is covered in this Washington Post article. Please now, don’t take them out of context, I think there’s been quite enough of that lately-

"Since then, Mr. McCain has been shocked to learn that his clerical ally has made many other outrageous statements. Mr. Hagee, it’s true, did not blame the American government for concocting AIDS. But he did say that God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its sins, particularly a scheduled “homosexual parade there on the Monday that Katrina came.”

Rich goes on to say that-

"None of this is to say that two wacky white preachers make a Wright right. It is entirely fair for any voter to weigh Mr. Obama’s long relationship with his pastor in assessing his fitness for office. It is also fair to weigh Mr. Obama’s judgment in handling this personal and political crisis as it has repeatedly boiled over. But whatever that verdict, it is disingenuous to pretend that there isn’t a double standard operating here. If we’re to judge black candidates on their most controversial associates — and how quickly, sternly and completely they disown them — we must judge white politicians by the same yardstick."

Rich points out to great effect, in my opinion, that not only did John McCain know about the rantings of the late Reverend Falwell, and his latest Christian man-crush, pastor Hagee, but he purposely sought out their endorsements and support despite this-one might even go so far as to infer he sought out their support because of it. Yet, here is a YouTube video in which Hagee denounces the Roman Catholic Church, which he calls the “Great Whore”.


Here is what you will see there, in Rich’s words-

"What you’ll find is a white televangelist, the Rev. John Hagee, lecturing in front of an enormous diorama. Wielding a pointer, he pokes at the image of a woman with Pamela Anderson-sized breasts, her hand raising a golden chalice. The woman is “the Great Whore,” Mr. Hagee explains, and she is drinking “the blood of the Jewish people.” That’s because the Great Whore represents “the Roman Church,” which, in his view, has thirsted for Jewish blood throughout history, from the Crusades to the Holocaust."

Of course, McCain has distanced himself from Hagee’s comments, as well he should, but by the same token, he still sought out his support, despite the fact that Hagee’s beliefs are a matter of record, and in fact was, until recently, much more well known than Wright. In fact, here we see him as a featured personality on the Christian cable channel TBN.

Nor is Hagee the only such minister McCain has sought out. You also have the CNP, a somewhat secretive group whose membership includes or included Falwell, Robertson, Hagee, and Tim LaHaye.

Among their collective greatest hits are-

*God sent Hurricane Katrina to destroy New Orleans as punishment for the city’s collective vices and sins, and possibly out of anger for a scheduled gay pride parade.

*The Catholic Church is the “Great Whore” of Babylon and has the blood of the saints on its hands. The Pope is, in fact, the Antichrist.

*God will damn America because of these and other sins, including but not limited to abortion rights and gays, feminists, pagans, etc.-the reason he allowed 9/11, by the way, according to Falwell.

Here are a few more examples, directly from the Nola site.

– LeHaye once said that Catholicism is a “false religion” and called popes “antichrists.
– Weyrich has claimed that CNP is a group of “radicals working to overturn the present power structure in this country.”
– A speaker received a standing ovation at one CNP meeting when he suggested that AIDS was a sign from God that homosexuality was an “abomination.”
Is it any wonder John McCain has distanced himself from some of the more vociferous attacks on Obama regarding his association with Wright? He knows full well he is opening himself up to the same kind of criticism due to his own associations.

And look, I want to make it plain, people and religious groups have the right to support who they want, within the confines of First Amendment restrictions (something both sides have traditionally played fast and loose with), and they most certainly have the right to believe what they want. They even have a right to be self-serving hypocrites about it if they want. What they do not have the right to do is to expect to spew their bile and not be called on it when they attack others for doing what they themselves have done.

I don’t agree with most of Reverend Wrights crazy ideas. For example, I don’t believe for one minute that the United States government purposely developed the AIDS virus in some secret laboratory for the express purpose of killing gays, or blacks, or both, or whatever, because whatever target group they aimed it at are seditious troublemakers they felt must be eliminated for the social dangers they pose. Because I do not believe that, I will openly criticize Wright for promoting such an idea, regardless of his reasonings regarding and based on the Tuskegee Experiment.

On the other hand, I also do not agree, and will just as roundly denounce, those who promote the idea that God himself purposely created the AIDS virus for the express purpose of killing gays, or blacks, or both, or whatever, because whatever target group he aimed it at are sinners whom he feels he must punish collectively for their transgressions. Because I do not believe that, I will openly criticize them for promoting such an idea.

But, by the same token, I think I should ask what might be seen as an impertinent question to some. That is, if one of those two theories was the truth, just which one is the most likely?

Here is the simple fact. If you are an adherent of any religious group, be it Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Pagan, of any sect or denomination, I have some bad news for you. Sooner or later, you are going to hear some stuff you might find objectionable. Sooner or later, you are going to find that you disagree to some extent with the views of your pastor or priest.

Sooner or later, to be blunt, you are going to hear some crazy fucking shit. That’s just the name of that tune. I call it the flip side of Amazing Grace. Most people that notice it at all, however, usually hum this particular tune to themselves. It usually starts out with something like “Do they really believe this fucking crazy crap?”

There is a pretty good chance that at least deep down you do not. Or, it is very possible that, perhaps, you do. Whatever the case, you are probably going to get up at the end of the sermon, shake the pastor’s hands as you file out the door, and go home without giving it much thought. The next Sunday, you will be standing outside the same church, maybe smoking a cigarette while standing out talking to your friends and neighbors about fishing, the next football or basketball game, work, family, etc., until you finally all file in for the latest installment.

You go through this ritual because, social animals that we are, it is a way to connect with our communities in a way that gives human life some kind of deeper meaning-or tries to. If you disavow every person that attends a church service where nuttiness is preached, I hate to tell you, but you are going to be staying home, or at least away from religious services, all the time.

I should know, because that’s generally what I do. Do you want to vote for me for President? Yeah, that’s what I fucking thought. Of course, I’m not exactly the most sociable person in the world. Most politicians, by contrast, tend to be so by both nature and necessity.

On the other hand, just in case you might have some oddball idea I might make a great President, perhaps you might want to rethink your position. After all, even though I have denounced some of the late Reverend Falwell’s more incendiary remarks, I did on balance speak quite fondly of him in this post.

I was obviously being very sincere in these remarks, so just what am I up to now? One might be led to wonder just exactly who I am. Perhaps I have some dangerous, radical secret agenda unfitting for the highest office in the land. Yeah, it’s easy for me to denounce Falwell now that its politically expedient, huh?

Or, it could just be a matter of human beings being much too complicated to lump into one category based solely on a handful of issues and factors. Perhaps this applies to both Falwell and Wright. Maybe you have to look at a variety of factors and weight everything in the balance, and still they might not fit neatly into any one “good” or “bad” category-at least not all of the time.

Maybe things not always appropriately viewed in pure, stark, simple terms of black and white.

Sometimes, unfortunately, maybe they are.