Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Blessed Are The Arrogant

Kathleen Parker is an opinion piece writer. She used to be buddy-buddy with conservatives until she started taking a lot of shots and the GOP and Sarah Palin. Now she's on the outs. You can find her latest piece here. It outlines her view that the Republican Party needs to dump religious people as their base because religion is dying. Her opening:

"As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.

I'm bathing in holy water as I type."


Cute. But not hateful. Had she been mudslinging at anyone but Christians, then she would be a hateful person. But those Christians are such deserving little targets.

I'm not sure if I should fall into her trap of reacting too strongly. Something about Ms. Parker's writing smacks of desperation, and I have a feeling she's going to be penning a lot of publicity stunts like this from here on out. She's being shunned by conservatives, but that is no guarantee for being loved by liberals (unless Parker is pro-abortion, in which case she'll do fine; I have no idea if she is or not and can't be bothered to search for the answer).

The language in her piece is downright bigoted to a people that have a first amendment right to believe whatever they wish. Some examples:

Christians are lunatics: "So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners."

Christians are morons: "Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows."

Christians are creepy: "To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn't soon cometh."

Christians should shut up: "And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party -- and conservatism with it -- eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one's heart where it belongs."

Christians are old and ill: "Suffice it to say, the Republican Party is largely comprised of white, married Christians. Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can't have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting."

Though not a religious person, I've never fallen into the "hate religion" pit. It's bogus on its face. When people say they despise religion, they aren't talking about religion. They're talking about Christianity. I don't know how Parker wound up feeling the way she does about that faith. It would interesting to hear the explanation. In any event, she believes the problem with the Republican Party can be summed up with two words: "white and Christian."

I wonder if she gave any thought to black Christians? Or Asian Christians? Or Latino Christians? Certainly she must know they exist, as she is very fond of quoting all kinds of numbers like how many Jews voted for Barack Obama. So let me ask: if blacks and Latinos voted heavly for Obama, and their main religion is also a form of Christianity, how can Christianity be the problem for the Republican Party? If she wants to make arguments using base politics, shouldn't she be more concerned with race than religion? And why would such a bright light as Parker not see the opposite of the argument: if the Republican Party managed to bring all Christians under their umbrella, they'd win every election by a mammoth landslide.

Ah, but I forgot: Christianity is passe. Loopy. And once completely private, dead. Or so Parker would hope.

For all of her bigoted remarks (and make no mistake, they are bigoted; writing similar screeds about Jews, blacks, gays, or women, and telling them to shut up, would be received with daggers drawn), Parker's most revealing line is this: "But nonwhites won't get whiter. And the nonreligious won't get religion through external conversion. It doesn't work that way. Given those facts, the future of the GOP looks dim and dimmer if it stays the present course. Either the Republican Party needs a new base -- or the nation may need a new party."

That's pretty heavy stuff. She's advising a political party to cut itself off from a loyal part of the population for political expediency. Her solution to GOP problems? Put the loony grandma in the attic and lock the door.

According to her, white Christians, especially evangelicals, need to be dumped. Nevermind what they have to contribute to the national dialogue, or that they may want to be heard in Congress. They're dying out anyway, so they might as well just take a seat and do it quietly.

Kathleen Parker is a strange person. Though 24-hour news may make politics seem like a meaningless game, some people still think it matters that they get to be heard. For her to declare that the winning formula for the Republican Party is to betray millions of their supporters overnight is incredible. For her to claim that Christians are becoming a minority, but that this minority should be silenced and shunned by the political system is shameful.

But not hateful. No, not that.

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