The Religious Wrong

There is a pastor of a Baptist church in Waynesville, N.C., who took it upon himself to excommunicate all church members who will be voting democrat in the 2008 presidential election.

"Repent" or "get out" were the options dictated to any and all left-leaning members of the congregation, no matter their dedication to the church or Christian doctrine.

This incident is an extreme but telling illustration of a misinformed notion held by far too many Americans today: Faith belongs solely to those occupying the right margin of the political spectrum.

The religious right has rewritten the book on faith in the United States, guiding the aim from social justice and reconciliation to judgment and division. The right votes on so-called "moral values," supporting candidates who attack individuals based on a self-conceived moral high ground, but at the same time ignore their own contributions to economic inequality, environmental ruin and encouragement of war through support of hawkish candidates.

According to the Children's Defense Fund, right now in the United States a child is born into poverty every 44 seconds. Every three hours, a child or youth is killed by a gun. Here in the wealthiest nation in the world, every minute, a baby is born without health insurance, and 90 percent of these children live in working families.

There are three million Americans in prison, many of whom are drug addicts serving time but not receiving the help necessary to overcome addiction. In Sudan, innocent people are victims of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement at the hands of the government-backed Janjaweed.Yet the Bush administration and Republican-controlled Congress - the self-appointed stewards of Christianity - have yet to address these issues.

The number of Americans living in poverty has increased every year President Bush has been in office. The same goes for the number of uninsured Americans. Conservatives adhere to the tenet of law enforcement over treatment when it comes to drug offenders despite the fact that most studies show treatment to be more effective, according to the PBS Frontline special "Does Treatment Work."

For the most part, it is liberal America calling attention to these problems and feeling the moral responsibility to bring them to an end. The United States government cannot solve all the problems facing the world nor its individual citizens, and in many instances it should not.

Personal responsibility is a conservative tagline that gets thrown around quite often but is still an important principle to those with other political leanings.

However, the government can and should make life a little easier for the average American - make college tuition affordable for young adults who dream of a better future, ensure that every child receives care when ill, help those trapped in a substance dependence so strong that they cannot lead productive live and guarantee that every soldier who serves his country honorably receives a living standard and healthcare worthy to match his sacrifices.

And when an entire nation such as Sudan is suffering daily due to atrocities sanctioned by its own government, the United States has the moral obligation to condemn those responsible, not sit idly by and remain indifferent.

"Feed the hungry! Help those in trouble! Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you shall be as bright as day," the Bible tells us in Isaiah 58:10. We have the ability to do these things, to reach out to each other and help those in need. To hold this capacity and refuse to act may be our nation's greatest sin.

IF I was to believe in this shit.