Up Periscope.
As is happening more and more, the political discussion on The McLaughlin Report this Sunday morning got around to issues faith and the American presidency. The jumping off point: Mike Huckabee and his statement,
The host posed the question, ‘Should a presidential candidate wear his religion on his sleeve?’
Well, yes and no. On the yes side, I want to know what a candidate thinks about things beyond politics. So I like knowing that Mike Huckabee thinks gay people are damned to hell and he doesn’t believe in evolution.
On the no side, when questions of faith cross over into the political arena as a litmus test for qualification, my heart starts to race and the beads of sweat start forming on my brow. My fear is deep and visceral.
I fear being forced to wear MY religion on MY sleeve.
If our Commander-in-Chief proclaims that the U.S.A. is a ‘Christian nation,’ do we all fall into lock step behind him? And will the government ask me to identify my theological perspective as a way to determine my rights as a citizen…or, more likely, as a tool for the suspension of those rights?
Not in ‘my country,’ you think? I beg to differ. Ask a European immigrant to bear witness to what it mean to wear a ‘yellow star’ when Hitler was in power.
Food for thought.
Down Periscope.
As is happening more and more, the political discussion on The McLaughlin Report this Sunday morning got around to issues faith and the American presidency. The jumping off point: Mike Huckabee and his statement,
"… what we need to do is amend the Constitution so it’s in God’s standards rather than trying to change God’s standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."—Mike Huckabee
The host posed the question, ‘Should a presidential candidate wear his religion on his sleeve?’
Well, yes and no. On the yes side, I want to know what a candidate thinks about things beyond politics. So I like knowing that Mike Huckabee thinks gay people are damned to hell and he doesn’t believe in evolution.
On the no side, when questions of faith cross over into the political arena as a litmus test for qualification, my heart starts to race and the beads of sweat start forming on my brow. My fear is deep and visceral.
I fear being forced to wear MY religion on MY sleeve.
If our Commander-in-Chief proclaims that the U.S.A. is a ‘Christian nation,’ do we all fall into lock step behind him? And will the government ask me to identify my theological perspective as a way to determine my rights as a citizen…or, more likely, as a tool for the suspension of those rights?
Not in ‘my country,’ you think? I beg to differ. Ask a European immigrant to bear witness to what it mean to wear a ‘yellow star’ when Hitler was in power.
Food for thought.
Down Periscope.
