You write that this Christian nationalism you are concerned about is hastening the demise of a functioning democracy (that of the USA). It does not seem to bother you that the sentence makes no sense: it cannot be in a state of demise if it is functioning. That careless usage aside, your piece does nothing to demonstrate anything in the Heritage 2025 Plan, or in the past Trump presidency, that blurs the line between church and state. You offer nothing by way of proof.
On abortion you express concern that Plan 2025 includes an effort to make it illegal at the Federal level, but rather than any evidence you add nothing useful nor helpful. An abortion is not just any old thing--not a new pony or a contract or a bank account-- and it is not clear how it is evinced in the famous "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That the Constitution makes no mention of it, it is, by default, not a matter that belongs to the Federal Government. Only an Amendment to the Constitution can change that. Meantime, the idea that is it a Right makes matters worse as it only confuses things further. The inalienable Rights, spelled out in the Constitution, are there for all of us to read, and abortion is not on the list.
That said, many good-hearted people who do not wish to interfere with the legitimate decisions of others, as abortion is largely a private decision, have an increasingly difficult time seeing their way clear to some useful disposition of the matter because of the kind of talk you engage in. In other words, your talk erodes your base of support and makes things worse.
Aside from being vague and offering no proof and doing a lot of saber-rattling about fundamentalist tendencies, it seems you veer towards the blurring of morality with religion. One can imagine you coming out for the repeal of our criminal codes because not murdering and not stealing are encroachments upon the state by the church. The founding fathers were educated in Christian values, ethics and morality, in many cases by distinguished Christian scholars. Some of them also read Hebrew and Greek scholars. The values that even secularists, such as I, live by, came down to me burned by God into a piece of stone on a mountain. The wise in our midst cherish those values and would no more give them up than their bipedalism, their opposing thumbs, or their ability to speak. Amen.
What a phenomenal interview. Thank you for reaching out to him and getting such valuable information and insight.
I am astonished to learn there is even something like the Freethought Caucus. There might yet be hope for Congress and our nation.
I'm glad you enjoyed it and found a sliver of hope!
You write that this Christian nationalism you are concerned about is hastening the demise of a functioning democracy (that of the USA). It does not seem to bother you that the sentence makes no sense: it cannot be in a state of demise if it is functioning. That careless usage aside, your piece does nothing to demonstrate anything in the Heritage 2025 Plan, or in the past Trump presidency, that blurs the line between church and state. You offer nothing by way of proof.
On abortion you express concern that Plan 2025 includes an effort to make it illegal at the Federal level, but rather than any evidence you add nothing useful nor helpful. An abortion is not just any old thing--not a new pony or a contract or a bank account-- and it is not clear how it is evinced in the famous "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." That the Constitution makes no mention of it, it is, by default, not a matter that belongs to the Federal Government. Only an Amendment to the Constitution can change that. Meantime, the idea that is it a Right makes matters worse as it only confuses things further. The inalienable Rights, spelled out in the Constitution, are there for all of us to read, and abortion is not on the list.
That said, many good-hearted people who do not wish to interfere with the legitimate decisions of others, as abortion is largely a private decision, have an increasingly difficult time seeing their way clear to some useful disposition of the matter because of the kind of talk you engage in. In other words, your talk erodes your base of support and makes things worse.
Aside from being vague and offering no proof and doing a lot of saber-rattling about fundamentalist tendencies, it seems you veer towards the blurring of morality with religion. One can imagine you coming out for the repeal of our criminal codes because not murdering and not stealing are encroachments upon the state by the church. The founding fathers were educated in Christian values, ethics and morality, in many cases by distinguished Christian scholars. Some of them also read Hebrew and Greek scholars. The values that even secularists, such as I, live by, came down to me burned by God into a piece of stone on a mountain. The wise in our midst cherish those values and would no more give them up than their bipedalism, their opposing thumbs, or their ability to speak. Amen.