There is another quote that is apropos here (I have seen this in various forms): “when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”. Many “Christianists” feel that they are being discriminated against simply because they used to be first among equals, and now they’re not (certainly not to the same degree). For example,…
There is another quote that is apropos here (I have seen this in various forms): “when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”. Many “Christianists” feel that they are being discriminated against simply because they used to be first among equals, and now they’re not (certainly not to the same degree). For example, it wasn’t all that long ago, that many states had Blue Laws that prohibited non-essential businesses from being open on Sunday. Clearly Sunday wasn’t picked as a random day. If back then, someone would have put the 10 Commandments on the courthouse lawn, no one would have blinked an eye. That stuff doesn’t fly today, and they don’t like it. And they fail to see that all it is is just trying to even the playing field and actually follow what the Constitution says.
But this feeling of oppression leads to feelings of resentment and anger. And the right-wing media is ready, willing, and able to stoke those feelings. That’s where things like “the Great Replacement” theory come from. And that’s why we get these wackos shooting up bars and stores and religious buildings (I think the wackos who shoot up schools are in another category).
It sounds like you had a front-row seat to The Troubles, and I worry that your insights will prove prescient. One thing is for sure – the GOP base and its hierarchy won’t do anything to tamp it down.
You’re forgetting something else that Christianist’s are taught: martyrdom. If they’re in a state of resentment and anger and want those 10 Commandments on that wall, they will not back down until they get their way or are dead because they know they will be ‘martyred’ for their faith. They act exactly like they are a victim, then lash out like a cornered animal daring someone to stop them knowing full well that if someone does they are STILL furthering Christianity as they see it. I know - I’m a recovering Catholic.
I think your comment on martyrdom is true. But my "10 Commandments" comment was intended to point out that back then no one even thought about the fact that they were allowing a religious symbol on a public square in clear violation of the Constitution. And those in charge, a.k.a. WASPS, were fine with that. But it's not that they sat down and really thought about it and had an argument for why it was OK. In their minds, it was OK because it had always been OK. It was the natural order of things. And once society and the courts started pointing out to them that it really wasn't OK, they felt under attack. And the resentment started. It never occurred to them to acknowledge that they had been given a privileged position all those years. For many years, they had been giving the orders. Now they were being forced to take some orders, and they didn't like it one bit. When I was in high school (a long time ago) a group of local churches sponsored an out-of-town Evangelical group to come and speak at the local churches. Then those same Evangelicals came and preached at my high school the next day during an assembly. And no one (including me) thought that was out of line. It was just the way it was.
And, in my opinion, this mindset continues today with the various "religious liberty" arguments. They want their religious beliefs to "trump" the duly passed laws of the various states. So a business can't discriminate against anyone in the general public for any reason - race, sexual orientation, sex, ethnicity, you name it. The one exception is religion (not the customer's religion, but the owner's). Why is that OK?
"Christianist" is an apt term. It's political, not having to do with Christ. All the religious wars are fought over false "causes". The founder and still leader of Christianity had nothing to do with governments, and nothing to do with splashing his name around on billboards or political parties. His work was on individuals who wanted his influence, and still is. The one time one of his disciples lashed out with a sword, the Christ repaired the man's cut ear, and said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, then would my servants fight." People always lord it over each other and then blame the only sinless person to ever live.
I lived however with my grandfather, a man who left after the Irish Civil War. Both of my grandfathers fought for independence and the Treaty as did many of their friends and they all left after the Civil War. (My father used to say their hearts were broken.)
In the 1960s, this was a topic much discussed in my house.
I was not raised by men who had romantic illusions about either side. Especially after the bombings started, there was a real feel of "a pox on the lot of them."
My aunt said after 9/11 that the beauty of Americans is that we have no historical memory. We're not holding grudges against one another from before our grandparents were born. We made alliances with the British and the Germans and the Japanese after our wars were over.
That was a sentiment my grandparents expressed often. There is no greater country because our eyes are on the future.
The rise of a Confederate loving faction in this country would have broken their hearts.
One more comment…. CS has said several times that if you truly believe that the election was stolen, an armed insurrection is a reasonable response. There’s a corollary to that: if you truly believe that you are losing your country (and these people clearly do), then violence is a reasonable response. I think that sums it up pretty nicely.
There is another quote that is apropos here (I have seen this in various forms): “when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression”. Many “Christianists” feel that they are being discriminated against simply because they used to be first among equals, and now they’re not (certainly not to the same degree). For example, it wasn’t all that long ago, that many states had Blue Laws that prohibited non-essential businesses from being open on Sunday. Clearly Sunday wasn’t picked as a random day. If back then, someone would have put the 10 Commandments on the courthouse lawn, no one would have blinked an eye. That stuff doesn’t fly today, and they don’t like it. And they fail to see that all it is is just trying to even the playing field and actually follow what the Constitution says.
But this feeling of oppression leads to feelings of resentment and anger. And the right-wing media is ready, willing, and able to stoke those feelings. That’s where things like “the Great Replacement” theory come from. And that’s why we get these wackos shooting up bars and stores and religious buildings (I think the wackos who shoot up schools are in another category).
It sounds like you had a front-row seat to The Troubles, and I worry that your insights will prove prescient. One thing is for sure – the GOP base and its hierarchy won’t do anything to tamp it down.
You’re forgetting something else that Christianist’s are taught: martyrdom. If they’re in a state of resentment and anger and want those 10 Commandments on that wall, they will not back down until they get their way or are dead because they know they will be ‘martyred’ for their faith. They act exactly like they are a victim, then lash out like a cornered animal daring someone to stop them knowing full well that if someone does they are STILL furthering Christianity as they see it. I know - I’m a recovering Catholic.
I think your comment on martyrdom is true. But my "10 Commandments" comment was intended to point out that back then no one even thought about the fact that they were allowing a religious symbol on a public square in clear violation of the Constitution. And those in charge, a.k.a. WASPS, were fine with that. But it's not that they sat down and really thought about it and had an argument for why it was OK. In their minds, it was OK because it had always been OK. It was the natural order of things. And once society and the courts started pointing out to them that it really wasn't OK, they felt under attack. And the resentment started. It never occurred to them to acknowledge that they had been given a privileged position all those years. For many years, they had been giving the orders. Now they were being forced to take some orders, and they didn't like it one bit. When I was in high school (a long time ago) a group of local churches sponsored an out-of-town Evangelical group to come and speak at the local churches. Then those same Evangelicals came and preached at my high school the next day during an assembly. And no one (including me) thought that was out of line. It was just the way it was.
And, in my opinion, this mindset continues today with the various "religious liberty" arguments. They want their religious beliefs to "trump" the duly passed laws of the various states. So a business can't discriminate against anyone in the general public for any reason - race, sexual orientation, sex, ethnicity, you name it. The one exception is religion (not the customer's religion, but the owner's). Why is that OK?
"Christianist" is an apt term. It's political, not having to do with Christ. All the religious wars are fought over false "causes". The founder and still leader of Christianity had nothing to do with governments, and nothing to do with splashing his name around on billboards or political parties. His work was on individuals who wanted his influence, and still is. The one time one of his disciples lashed out with a sword, the Christ repaired the man's cut ear, and said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, then would my servants fight." People always lord it over each other and then blame the only sinless person to ever live.
I did not have a front row seat - Thank God.
I lived however with my grandfather, a man who left after the Irish Civil War. Both of my grandfathers fought for independence and the Treaty as did many of their friends and they all left after the Civil War. (My father used to say their hearts were broken.)
In the 1960s, this was a topic much discussed in my house.
I was not raised by men who had romantic illusions about either side. Especially after the bombings started, there was a real feel of "a pox on the lot of them."
My aunt said after 9/11 that the beauty of Americans is that we have no historical memory. We're not holding grudges against one another from before our grandparents were born. We made alliances with the British and the Germans and the Japanese after our wars were over.
That was a sentiment my grandparents expressed often. There is no greater country because our eyes are on the future.
The rise of a Confederate loving faction in this country would have broken their hearts.
A very interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing.
One more comment…. CS has said several times that if you truly believe that the election was stolen, an armed insurrection is a reasonable response. There’s a corollary to that: if you truly believe that you are losing your country (and these people clearly do), then violence is a reasonable response. I think that sums it up pretty nicely.