"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Two great posts up over at Snarky Bastards, which you should definitely read, concerning faith and politics.  First there’s this one.

I wish I could say that this is a byproduct of the 2008 elections and the Republicans race for the evangelical vote, but sadly this is not the case. I can remember in 2004, listening to Laura Ingraham talk about how “all values stem from Judeo-Christian Faith” , which is patently absurd considering that great ethicists such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Epicurus were not Jewish and lived before Jesus. The current crop of candidates are simply latching on to a movement that has been fed by the lightweight pundits of talk radio for years.

As I’ve mentioned recently on the blog, I am reading Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion.  He makes some brilliant points about the nature of morality, and just how patently absurd the idea is that morality derives from religion.  The next time we get into a big debate in the comments over this subject I’m sure I’ll end up bringing them up.  I will say this—everyone, regardless of whether you are a believer, an atheist, or in-between, should read this book. 

The second post concerns the conservative radio host Dennis Prager, who is an extremely religious guy.  Here’s something he said recently, which earns him my eternal respect.

Theological beliefs of a public figure should matter only when one is choosing a theological leader, never a political leader — unless those beliefs form the basis of social and moral values that one abhors. It is very important to know the theological beliefs of one’s clergyman or the head of one’s seminary, but as far as the head of one’s country is concerned, only his moral and social values matter. I would much sooner vote for an agnostic whose values I shared than for a believing Christian or Jew whose values I did not share.

This ties in nicely with a point I made here recently—the conservative movement in this country has lost its ability to distinguish between politics and theology.  To them, the issue is the same.  They can’t see that an atheist libertarian like me, who will clearly stand up and defend their right to practice their religion as they see fit, is far more a friend than foe.  All I ask in return is that my right not to believe, to not be subjected to religious beliefs I do not share, are respected in return.  Keep your religion out of science class, and I’ll support your right to hold prayer meetings on school grounds (but not in class, and not as part of a curriculum).  Unfortunately, the tidal wave of fundamentalist lunacy that has been sweeping this country for the past thirty years or so is quite entrenched, and I don’t see it going anywhere any time soon.

I am reminded of a comment once made by a former university professor.  In the 1950s colleges were quite conservative places.  Kooky, weirdo beatnik Marxist professors weren’t hired, much to their indignation.  Eventually, though, the political tide turned and these individuals began making their way onto the faculty.  Then, as they got tenure, they began to hire only people like themselves.  As such, today we find a complete reversal of the zeitgeist—leftist kooky professors are the norm, whereas libertarians and conservatives are a distinct minority.

The inmates have taken over the asylum.  And, unfortunately, the exact same thing has happened to the conservative movement.  It’s gone topsy-turvy, from a party which respected religion to a party defined by religion.  And until the James Dobsons and Pat Robertsons of the world are gone, the religious buffoons in this country (i.e. Huckabee voters) will continue to run the party and sully the good name of conservatism.

Update: Proving my point, I literally, just this minute, received an email from the Huckabee campaign.

As we drive across the frozen highways in southern Iowa we are buoyed by the stunning news that CBS/NY Times poll as well as a CNN poll have us statistically tied for first place in the nation with Rudy Giuliani.

The dramatic upswing in our campaign is due to the tremendous volunteer effort of the friends who have believed in me and who did so, not because the conventional wisdom said we WOULD win but because our shared common convictions said we SHOULD win.

I write personally because I understand that you too believe in the core principles of our campaign: Faith. Family. Freedom. And I want to ask for your immediate help.

Note that “freedom” comes THIRD in Huckabee’s list of priorities.  Faith comes first.  Welcome to the American Taliban.