The Invasion Of The Theocrats
By Michael P. Tremoglie (11/16/04)
It is amazing how bizarre, fringe, lunatic liberal thought becomes mainstream philosophy among the liberal intelligentsia.
In 2002, commentators on Dogmatics Freethought Radio said President Bush was plotting to create a theocracy.[1] (Of course, they also said that Satan is not really that bad of a guy.) About this same time, Katrina vanden Heuvel, publisher of The Nation, made this same statement during the Chris Matthews’ Show – to his credit even Matthews thought her statement was bizarre.
Recently, however, this concept has gained currency among the liberal chatterati. David Klinghoffer, writing for the November 16, 2004 Christian Science Monitor asks, “Is the US in the process of being transformed into a Christian theocracy?”[2]
The “ Bush Theocracy” hysteria was represented in the Village Voice, which wrote, “The dream of a secular, liberal democracy is lost: Christians are stronger than ever.” I guess the Village Voice probably represents the thought of the affluent Manhattan West Side (and East Side for that matter). I am sure professors at Columbia University are conferring about what to do when they receive orders from the Bush theocrats to pray before class.
Why is this idea now a priority for liberals? It is a result of the election. The issue of moral values, and how they motivated people to vote for President Bush, provides a rationale for liberal Democrats as to why Bush was re-elected.
Of course, the whole issue of Evangelicals and moral values is really a red herring by Democrats. They do not want to say the actual reason Bush was elected was because the Democrats’ policies and ideas are vacuous.
Besides the “ moral values” issues provides grist for the liberal pundits. They can use it to claim conservatives are hypocrites.
According to liberal intellectual Noam Chomsky, the Bush administration does not apply the Biblical policies of helping the poor. Chomsky made this pronouncement while appearing on Bill Maher’s cable TV talk show November 15. Chomsky, who once denied that communists committed the Cambodian genocide, is merely parroting Democratic Party propaganda.
The purpose of identifying “moral values” as Democratic Party policies was making the rounds of the liberal media before the election. The purpose is to illustrate that true moral values have nothing to do with abortion or marriage. True moral values are helping the poor, preventing war and eliminating capital punishment - ergo vote for Democrats because they represent true Christian moral values – not Republicans.
Chris Matthews alluded to this while talking to Bill Donohue of the Catholic League about abortion and “the culture of death.” Matthews asked Donohue why the war in Iraq was not considered a sin among people of faith. After all, is not war part of the culture of death, he wanted to know – thereby proving that he must have majored in fallacious reasoning at Holy Cross.
What is not certain by this liberal hysteria about moral values is how much is genuine concern. Are some Blue Staters actually concerned about a theocracy (or actually an ecclessiocracy. In the former, the government conforms to God’s law. In the latter, the church is the government)?
If some are, they need not be. The idea that the country should be ruled by a church is rejected by even the most pious American.
Liberals fear and loathing of religion is understandable when one considers that they have a tendency to deify their leadership and their institutions. Liberals do engage in group think as a rule. They make their music practically a religious experience. Compare the performance of any rap singer or rock star with that of a preacher, and also compare the reaction of the audience, you will notice that both the singer/speaker and the audience behave in similar fashions.
When liberal pundits speak of theocracy, they are actually worried about a another religion influencing people. As is true with true religious fanatics, liberals do not want another belief to be considered with their secular religion.
Liberals do not want other political ideas considered by people. This is why they hate talk radio so much. It conveys ideas to the public that are the antithesis of what they want people to know.
For liberals, politics is their religion. If you combine a political idea with a religious devotion then you have the most dangerous thing a liberal can imagine – a popular political idea that is not part of the liberal canon.
Liberal hysteria about a theocracy is that another religion will be instituted to replace their secular political one.
[1] Broadcast of 6-10-02 12:42 pm EDT
[2] http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1116/p09s02-coop.html
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