Oh and I just re-read everything you are (hopefully) about to read and I could see how this part might be offensive. You'll know it when you read it, if you make it that far (again fingers crossed). But just know I wasn't trying to offend you, I hardly know you. I never intentionally offend on the first date, you have to wait until the third to really find out what offends them! How I got my wife to marry me I'll never know.
That's Messed Up!
4/1/13
In today's post I want to talk about some sure-fire drama starters (hopefully):
Religion and Politics (gasp!)
More specifically about what happens when religion and politics are discussed...from the pulpit!
Now, if you were raised south of the Mason-Dixon line (Washington, D.C. excluded) you were taught by your grandma that there are two things you don't talk about at the dinner table; and those two things are politics and religion. Why that is the case I do not know. To me, those seem to be perfect topics for dinner conversation; they are great for making unwanted dinner guests feel uncomfortable so that they will leave sooner. Just kidding, (I'm not kidding). No but seriously, who wouldn't want to talk about our national deficit as baby Carl spits up his peas on your political-party-colored silk tie? (A must for any good political conversation Red=Republican Blue=Democrat Anything else=No one cares!)
Well anyway, for whatever reason it has become the norm for politics and religion to be separated. We have the famed "separation of church and state" argument (which, by the way, isn't really what you think it is) and the instant criticism of any pastor, rabbi, jedi knight, or various other religious leader that speaks out about his political beliefs from the pulpit. Get this, it's actually illegal for pastors to talk about politics in front of their church! Ever heard of the 1954 Johnson Amendment? It says (I'm paraphrasing here, so don't sue me) that any non-profit, tax-exempt organization (that's a church by the way) will lose its tax exempt status if the pastor uses his position in the church to endorse or oppose any candidate or political idea or any party and jazz like that.
There is actually a movement in which pastors record themselves violating this amendment and then mail it to the IRS hoping that the IRS will act on it, which would eventually bring the matter to the supreme court in which it would be struck down as a 1st Amendment violation (you know the thing that guarantees free speech?). So I guess the only good thing is that this law isn't enforced, but isn't it crazy that we even have laws like this? No, it's not. Considering the society we live in today that lets everyone say what they want to as long as you don't offend some minority (sorry white males age 18-45, you can be offended without repercussions) it doesn't surprise me at all that we have laws like this. Now granted, this was passed in 1954 and was created by then Senator Lyndon B. Johnson who was probably trying to keep non-profits from meddling in politics, more likely to keep them from assisting his opponents. But the amendment was hi-jacked from its original purpose and is now known as another separation of church and state tool.
Now, I said all that to lead up to what is messed up.
On Easter Sunday an Episcopal reverend named Luis Leon (who looks like he could be a brother to Geraldo Rivera. But don't get them confused because Geraldo is Catholic. Wait, that makes them harder to tell apart!) gave a sermon in which he called out conservative religious leaders and spoke out pretty harshly against them. Here's the actual text:
"The captains of the religious right are always calling us back, back, back. For blacks to be back in the back of the bus, for women to be back in the kitchen, for gays to be in the closet and for immigrants to be on their side of the border."Uh....well good sir, and with all due respect (in which case there is little respect due) that's messed up. There is so much messed up about this that I don't even know where to begin. I'm definitely no captain of the religious right, maybe a 2nd lieutenant at best, but I still think he's outta line with those comments. I'm religious and and on the right and I don't want any of those things, and I don't know anyone that does. If I were allowed to be offended, I would be!
Firstly, some of those "religious right" are his own Episcopal brethren. The Episcopal church is know for supporting gay marriage and being liberal and all that jazz, but there are still plenty of Episcopal reverends that are conservative and aren't saying that they are sick of their liberal brethren. So the first thing this guy messed up on was causing dissension in the Episcopal Church. And I think they should call him out on it, but they won't and that's cool.
Secondly, isn't what he said kinda I don't know illegal under the Johnson Amendment? I know that no one really does anything about it, but still. Breaking a standing law while our standing President (who was at the time sitting down) is in the room, doesn't seem very smart. But then again that's exactly why he said that. On a normal Sunday afternoon there wouldn't be any cameras in that church, but it was Easter and his church just happens to be one that presidents visit all the time on such occasions as Easter Sunday. Little reverend Geraldo look-a-like wanted some publicity, and he got it.
Lastly and probably most importantly, he took the focus off God on Easter Sunday. Now it's a good thing I'm not God, because if I was, I know exactly where my next lightening bolt would be. Now I know a lot of you aren't in to the whole "God thing" anymore because you're too enlightened for that and religion was soooo 90's, but for those of us who are believers it is kind of a big deal when you take the focus of one of our biggest holidays (pronounced holy-days) and make it political in front of a camera.
So in short, when we look at what the reverend did in context to what we discussed, it's pretty clear that that's messed up.
Oh, and I re-did his comment from his sermon:
"The captains of the religious right are always calling us back, back, back. For blacks to be back in the back of the public transportation vehicle (why it gotta always be a bus man), for men to be back in the living room waiting on their wives to cook them dinner, for gays to be in the closet color coordinating our neck ties (they do have good taste) and for immigrants to be on their side of the border plotting to come back to the United States and work the jobs we won't work!"That was intended to be humorous by the way, so don't come at me with all this "you're a racist, sexist, anti-gay, racist person," because I'm not.
This is the reverend This is Gerlado
Tell me they don't look the same!
Well that'll do it for my first issue of "That's Messed Up!"
Do you agree with me?
Do you think I'm messed up?
Tell me!
I honestly want to know!
Comment and share how messed up you think I am!
Or how much you like what I said, that works too
