Religion, Sex, and Politics

Turns out your pastor is a right wing radical worthy of government monitoring. I might as well play the role to the fullest, build a bunker in the backyard, and collect bottles of Diet Coke and Mentos to combine into dangerous carbonated foam-spewing weapons. All joking aside, I find it chilling that the Department of Homeland Security, under the leadership of Janet Napolitano, has identified a list of characteristics that make one worthy of being watched by the government that would pretty easily take in most conservatively-thinking people.

For instance, Napolitano says you might be a Right-Wing Extremist if you...
- harbor opposition to the government
- are extremely concerned about a single issue such as immigration or abortion
- are concerned about the size and scope of government
- are a returning military vet from Afghanistan or Iraq
- oppose increased gun control

(Are Democrats required to appoint scary women named "Janet"?)

So now having a dissenting voice or being concerned about the security of our nation's borders makes you a potential threat. I thought that was one of our protected Constitutional rights, a celebrated American liberty, rather than a way of earning special government oversight. I thought the left was supposed to be the champions of free speech. Clearly not. Am I paranoid, or do others find this very scary and chilling?

Where are the voices of those on the left who were opposed to Bush's Patriot Act? I will admit that I worried the Patriot Act sacrificed liberty for safety. Lump me in with Rom Paul and Neal Boortz on that. But those on the left who were shrill in their criticism then are silent as lambs now. Hmmmm. Maybe it's the "right" in Right-Wing Extremist that's comforting them.

What is also interesting and telling is that there is no report about Left-Wing Extremism. Shouldn't we also be concerned about people who have connections to admitted left-wing extremists like Bill Ayers? Shouldn't we also worry about the kind of people who would burn down homes and set vehicles on fire because they don't like developers building new homes (i.e. the Earth Liberation Front)?

We're supposed to watch out for the people who listen to Rush Limbaugh, but not the folks who listen to Al Franken?

Every continuum has two extremes, not just one. And to single out those on the right (and not even the far right, I might add), seems Orwellian and, again, chilling to civil liberty.

I am reminded of the words of Pastor Martin Niemöller:

In Germany they first came for the Communists,
 and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
 and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
 and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
 and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
 and by that time no one was left to speak up.

It sounds like the title of a movie (definitely an independent film), but something with Johnny Depp in the lead would have been much less troubling. Our new President confronted an international hostage situation last week in his role as Commander in Chief. The results: Captain and crew are safe, three of the pirates were killed, and the fourth who was aboard a US ship seeking medical attention and also negotiating the ransom, was taken captive.

I must say that I appreciate that the President has not, in my observation, politicized the crisis or the rescue. They were very quiet on the front end, and didn't seem interested in taking bows on the back end. That, to me, demonstrates respect for the people involved and the gravity of the situation. So many politicians now will turn even the most tragic of situations into a campaign commercial. I do appreciate greatly that the President didn't do that.

I am also appreciative of the skill and carefulness of our military who were on the front lines of the resolution of this crisis. I am sure that doing what they felt was needed was not just physically and mentally demanding, but emotionally difficult for those involved.

It disturbs me to hear that the estimated age of all four pirates is between 17 and 19 years. It reminds me that, when I get frustrated with the state of affairs in our own country, I need only look around the world to find places of intense desperation. Handing your teenagers automatic weapons to risk their lives for ransom money, knowing that they will have to threaten the lives of others to succeed. Assuming a successful robbery, even after you get your big payoff, what do you have left, other than pure physical survival? What does your life mean if it is only sustained by threatening the lives of others?

I don't want to sound Polyanna-ish or preachy or fomulaic, but it's just another reminder of how desperately our world needs the inside-out transformation that comes through Christ. If the compassion and mercy and peace of our Savior were turned to permeate those who rule Somalia, and those who walk the streets of Somalia, what a different place it would be. What a different life they would have.

It reminds me just how important our church's ministry to children in South Africa is. It reminds me of the importance of the mission work we do through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to address hunger, poverty, and spiritual lostness. And it reminds me of the importance of faithfully being a channel of God's mercy and compassion right here at home.