12.21.2005 | Praying for the President

Pray for the President. Seriously. If, as he claims, Bush is a man of faith, as I am, he needs our prayers. Many of my faith support the president blindly, as if he were God's representative on Earth and we must follow what he says. I, on the other hand, understand that he is human and is just as capable of making mistakes as we are. Regardless of your political affiliation, even if you believe Bush is a hopeless cause, pray for him. I urge you. His failings and human fallibility only means he needs our prayers just that much more.

I was originally going to launch on a rant about how supporters of the President who claim to have faith can't have true faith since much of what he does (tax breaks for the rich at the expense of the poor, invading countries as the initiator of violence) doesn't match what I believe are the true values of the Christian religion. But then I found this Web site, and I realized: one thing all Christians, and possibly even non-Christians can agree upon this Christmas is that the president needs our prayer.

And right at this moment, what I'm praying to God that Bush understands most are these words from our Constitution, our sacred ruling document that no man claim himself above:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This isn't just about upholding two centuries of human progress, individual liberties and making sure our government reflects the values of the country we've come to know and love. And it isn't just about Bush's personal political career or legacy, which would greatly be improved if he recognized the error of his ways. It's about Christmas, a time of coming together despite our differences in a spirit of reconiciliation, peace and love. Pray that Bush receives this Christmas message, and Merry Christmas to all. To all a good night.

4.26.2005 | Faith and conservatism

Why does Christianity in this country automatically have to be assoicated with radical conservatism? Or I should say, why are conservatives hijacking the Christian religion to serve their own ultra-conservative interests?

Normally I wouldn't care -- we all know President Bush is a man of faith, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But now we've got the Family Research Council calling the Democrats' filibuster of Bush's extremist judicial appointees a filibuster "against people of faith and conservative values" -- basically implying that Democrats oppose anyone who believes in God. A picture shows a young person holding a Bible and a gavel, saying that "he should not have to choose."

Well of course not! No one is saying that you can't be a Christian to serve on the judiciary. What should exist, however, is some sort of understanding that your commitment is to the law first, your faith second. We don't live in a theocracy, and it's fine for us to have whatever religious beliefs we want under the freedom of religion. But freedom of religion also means not forcing other people to have the same beliefs you do.

It's not just the false appeal to faith that bothers me -- it's that it's being exploited to get rid of the filibuster, an institution as old as the Senate itself. That we would consider undermining our very form of government to achieve an objective as narrow as confirming a few out of Bush's hundreds of judicial nominees boggles the mind.

And what exactly are "conservative values"? I'm a person of faith, but I want my government to guarantee my religious freedom, not undermine it by injecting anyone's religion into the law. The conservative values here aren't even about Christianity; it's about using the judiciary to destroy the legal framework that's built up over the last century to allow Congress to provide basic guarantees regarding (for instance) labor and the enviornment.

I really don't mind if people get rid of the filibuster or lobby against labor or the environment -- that's part of freedom of expression. Just please don't exploit my faith to do it.