He said, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Though when he spoke those words in 1933, he spoke of the fear Americans were feeling in the wake of a depression bank panic, his words ring true today as American Christianists call repeatedly upon the fear of God's wrath. Look what godlessness is doing to our country, the would-be theocrats say. This video is a great example of how insidious this thinking has become.
This choir is singing at the "Value Voters" debate, at which all the major Republican presidential candidates appeared. (They wouldn't deign to debate in front of black people, Hispanic people or gay people, but they all trotted out for the creationists.)
Fear seems to be the coin of the realm for the current administration. (I won't even call them Republicans anymore, as the Bush, Cheney and the neo-con crowd have become a cabal unto themselves.) Fear of terrorism, fear of sexuality, fear of death -- all are used to prop up the President and maintain his power. Ultimately, what they seem to want is for voters to put their trust in an invisible god and cede their power as citizens to men and women who pretend to speak for this distant deity. That leaves a lovely vacuum for them to seize even more authority of a government that was designed to be "of the people, by the people and for the people." Contrary to another great president's words, this ideal may indeed perish from the earth if those same people don't start using their brains.
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1 comment:
yeah, interesting that the repubs won't debate in front of, or discuss racial issues in minority led settings, but have no problem using them as props to push their agenda with this (mostly) black church choir.
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