Religious Liberty?

I believe in religious liberty.  If you want to worship one god or a pantheon, you should be able to do that in peace.

As a teacher, I believe in neutrality.  I want every student and their family to feel supported by me regardless of their household faith.  I feel the best way to do that is to keep my own cards close to the vest.

But...

If you force me to pick up a Bible in my classroom... 

Understand, Christian Nationalist, I know your Bible better than you do.  In your churches, Bible studies, and Sunday schools, you have been given a carefully curated version of scripture.  There are 31,000 verses in the Bible but only a small fraction of those are ever read from the pulpit.  You are used to your scriptures being read in a devotional manner.  They are presented in a way to support your narrative.

But outside the four walls of your sanctuary, the Bible is read critically.  It is no longer read through your filter.  We start reading stories about a sensitive deity who slaughters kids because his prophet was teased for his male-pattern baldness.  You encounter a God who insists on human sacrifice before he will bless the harvest.

Using political power to force-feed your scriptures outside your church may cause you to reap the whirlwind.

No Hope for Fox

On my podcast list I have David Frum, Jay McFarland, David French, Bill Kristol, etc.  I listen to these guys because I want to hear a calm articulation of the conservative viewpoint.  I also eschew liberal voices that tend toward the sensational.  I want to try and understand reality as best I can.

I know I have friends and family who have a steady diet of Fox News, OAN, Newsmax, Breitbart, and the AM radio talk show circuit.  Their view of reality could not be more tilted.

Folks on the Left, Right, and Middle who deal in reality are hopeful that the revelations these past few weeks - that the folks at Fox knowingly and willfully engaged in falsehoods in order to appease their viewers- will bring some change.

I don't have that hope... at all.

No Place For Reagan

There is no place for a Reagan Republican in the GOP right now.  Oh, like Jesus, they will use his name... but they would have no interest in implementing his ways.

The Democrats have their extremes... and they often grab headlines.  But the election of Joe Biden shows that Democrats have formed a coalition.  Biden went out and sought the vote of all Americans and in the process, he even got many conservatives to join its big tent.

Meanwhile, the GOP under Trump focused on a much narrower field.  They pushed away their moderates and focused on their extremes.

It is time for a new conservative party in America... one based on policy and principles.  I know there is hesitancy with some on that idea because they believe it will hand America to liberals for the next 20 years.

I really don't think that is the case.  Right now, there are folks voting on the Democratic side who do so ONLY because the GOP is so crazy presently.  They pine to vote "Republican" again.  Also, there are folks voting with the GOP who are doing so only under duress.  They hate what Trump has done to the party... but fear speaking out will just get them "primaried".  Decades of loyalty can be wiped away in an instant right now in the GOP for failing to lick the boots of the leader.

Democrats have conservatives, moderates, leftists, and their extreme.

The GOP has sidelined everyone but their extreme.

This Next Time It Is Really, REALLY Real!

Some of my friends who were raised secular stare in awe as Trump supporters cling to a new date for when he will be declared the election victor (first came December, two in January, next one is in March).  Then I explain growing up with televangelist end-time preachers and all the rapture dates that were set.

"Sure... but when it didn't come to pass, they all knew the preacher was a grifter... right?"

I shake my head.

"But... but... the evidence... it's right there!"

I continue to shake my head.

For those of us who grew up in fundamentalist religion, seeing people STILL cling to Trump and Q-Anon fantasies borders on nostalgia.

Donald "Biff" Trump

There was a story in the news today about someone sending Ricin to the White House.  It occurred to me that I would never think well of that action or the person who did it - and I hate Trump (something I have never felt toward any President).

It made me remember how Trump gloried in that journalist getting shot in the knee the other day.  It was a "beautiful thing" Trump chortled to the crowd at his rally and got a laugh.

Trump behaves this way because he is, at his foundation, a bully.  He really is Biff Tannan, looking for someone to pick on so he can get a laugh from his toadies.

Trump does not want to be President because he loves America.  He wants to be President so he can bully people.

That's it.

If you support him, do some soul searching.  There is a part of you that is ok with that, maybe even longs for it.



I never realized in the 80s when the Back to The Future movies came out that a third of America was rooting for Biff.

Baby Killer?

I have friends and relatives who come at the abortion debate the way Mia Love did against Representative Ben McAdams - throw around talk about "murdering babies" and the thinking is done.  This is one of the reasons why Trump can literally get away with anything.  For some, once a candidate has said "pro-life" nothing else matters.  

They wonder why "baby killer" does not affect me more.  It is simple.  I know they are wrong.

They are focused on the optics of being pro-life.  To them, a lot of it is about the piety they get from the phrase... and the fact that it costs them nothing.

Recently, the Supreme Court upheld keeping some women from getting their birth control through their insurance.  Conservatives cheered this move.  They don't feel they should have to pay for women's "immorality".

This WILL cause abortion rates to go up.  If conservatives are against abortion, why support policies that increase it?  They are against it for the optics and piety part and in this scenario, those do not get touched.

Abortion threads its way into many issues - sex education, housing, wages, insurance, equal pay, child care.  How we handle these things as a society directly influences whether abortion rates go up or down.  

Conservatives tend to be loudly opposed to abortion rights and yet consistently back positions on issues that will cause abortion rates to rise.

Liberals tend to be loudly in favor of abortion rights and yet consistently back positions on issues that will cause abortion rates to fall.

This topic always reminds me of a question Jesus posed - “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

This is why I went to the "other side" after being "Pro-life" for a lifetime. I still have the same wish to reduce abortion, I just find that supporting women is more effective.

Bernie AND Kasich for Biden

It was interesting seeing Bernie Sanders AND John Kasich speaking for Biden last night. I know that sent some folks on the edges into stress. For progressives, seeing Kasich confirmed their worst fears about Biden. For Republicans who don't wear a Maga hat, seeing Bernie makes them nervous.

As someone who works with the public daily, I take away a more hopeful view of Biden being book-ended by those two. As a teacher, I get students who are all over the academic map. Some start 2nd grade reading Harry Potter while others find Clifford the Big Red Dog to be challenging. They have different temperaments and learning styles. Beyond that, each of their parents has different ideas about academic priorities and engagement.

I can't be everything to everybody. However, every kid can know that I support them and will work at meeting their needs. Every parent can know that I am on their child's side in this effort. They can all be confident that I will move this class along the path from point A to point B.

I know Biden cannot completely satisfy Bernie or Kasich. However, he is showing that he will hear them, that he will work with them to meet the needs of Americans.

That is a 180-degree different message than the Trump team is putting out there. Looking at their convention's developing speaker list, it is clear they do not want all Americans with them. They have their narrow following and they are set with that. Their goal is to accentuate the gap between their base and the rest of America.

For me, this is an easy choice.

Four More Years of Trump

We will have Trump for four more years.

And we may get worse after that.

I don't want to be a pessimist... but I just think that is where we are at the moment.

Many Americans simply have no interest in being good, doing right... they just want to WIN (whatever that means).

There is a post going around again at the moment... the one where "Andy Rooney" or "Paul Harvey" (it varies as to authorship) talks about how Christians aren't going to "take it" anymore. They are going to fight to make everyone pray in schools and so forth because this is a "Christian Nation". Love it or leave it.

I wrote a response, which I have been pasting in anytime I see this piece. It says -

"But no one is asking you not to pray... pray away. We are just asking that you don't grab the microphone and put it over the loudspeaker.

If I am not mistaken, Jesus was all for that idea.

If I go to a believer's home and they desire to pray over a meal, I will sit quietly while they do so. It is their home.

When they come to my house, they are welcome to pray quietly over their meal. I don't mind.

However, when it comes to government and schools, I am not ok with someone grabbing the mic and praying for the reasons I listed above. When a Christian grabs the mic at a school football game, they are saying it is THEIR home... and I am just a guest.

But no, it is not their home... and it is not my home. It is our home. We both have every right to be here... and I will not be made to feel like a visitor in my own home.

I think most people, theists and non-theists, can get along fairly well... we just need to respect reasonable boundaries."

I got this reply yesterday -

"Andrew Hackman phuck off...if I have access to the mic and you don't...poor baby!
You damn Snowflakes-R-Us minions think being offended is somehow a crime.
News Flash: this is a Christian based nation and here you are...deal with it."

To varying degrees, that is where a lot of America is today. This person has no interest in fairness, understanding, empathy, discussion. He wants to win and he wants you to lose. There is so little thought in his worldview that he is viciously standing up for his "Christian Nation"... with behavior Jesus would rebuke.

Trump didn't happen by accident. He reflects America. Until we change that, "Trump" will be our consequence.

Coming Out Atheist

I read a good article written by someone who grew up without faith in an area where that was fairly normal. It was not until she was older that she realized it is not the experience of most folks.  She addresses "when" to announce one is atheist.

I like to use the word atheist because it draws a line in the sand. I think that is important in American Christian culture. I was talking with an evangelical relative one day and I realized through things he said that he really didn't mind if people were not Christian... just as long as they understood that, in America, they were second-tier citizens. Really, you may think I exaggerate, but no... he said that "these people" just need to understand that "Christianity comes first".

I think this is why Evangelicals like Trump so much. He, more so than any previous president, is willing to use language that aligns with my relative's 2nd-tier perspective. Evangelicals (and those of similar conservative religion) see two Americas and so does Trump. When they speak of unity, they do not mean in a pluralistic way, rather they want your conversion or submission.

I use the word atheist because I like to stand in direct opposition to that. I will not convert or submit. However, I am privileged in that regard. I don't pay any particular cost to be "out". There are plenty of folks who, if they announced their atheism, could lose their marriage, their job, their standing in the community, their family relations, etc.

Think about it. In America, someone can announce that they are a serial adulterer, an absent father, a sexual predator, a bully, a racist, etc. and still be elected president.

Announce you are an atheist? You wouldn't even be considered in either party.

We still have a ways to go.

Keep It Secular

Do you want freedom of religion? Then keep religion out of our governmental system.

I am secular, but I would protect your religious freedoms more than most religious people you know.

See, I don't care if you beseech Thor or Yahweh. Whether you follow the teachings of Joseph Smith or the Dalai Lama is all the same to me.

The only thing I ask is that you do not make me join you in this.

You would have trouble getting some of your fellow theists to grant you such liberties.

They want the schools to pray their way. Read their scriptures.

They want laws to reflect their pious predilections.

They want taxes to fund their projects, their evangelistic efforts.

If you really want religious freedom, keep our system secular.

Christianity in America

I wrote an article back in 2012 about a conversation where I found myself defending the teachings of Jesus to a bunch of Christians.  I had recently started identifying as an atheist so this was a surprising turnabout.

Nowadays, I am no longer surprised. American Christianity is drowning in members who have little interest in the Way of Jesus. They want the team membership that comes with name association, they want an imparted sense of morality (while eschewing the work of adhering to an ethical code), they want a Hell escape route; but they find the actual Way of Jesus (if they even know it) to lack the control they desire, the power they crave, or the practicality they believe they need.

I watch Christian after Christian defend taking screaming children from their mothers. When asked if they could really picture Jesus doing that, they happily admit that Jesus wouldn't... but Jesus lives in heaven and we live here. If we follow the Way of Jesus, we'll be taken advantage of. Let's leave Jesus at the church building and Bible study so WE can get done what needs to be done.

These Christians have taken their walk in the desert and were offered the same bargain as the Nazarene.

The devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

I don't believe in the supernatural. There is no Devil. However, this is a poignant allegory for our time.

Christians have weighed the offer and have chosen the kingdoms of the world.  They rally behind the name of Jesus but want nothing to do with his Way.