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Dear Folks:
I am writing today to voice my concerns over current trends in our United States House of Representatives, by Religious Conservatives, and by front running candidates for the highest office in our land.
For openers, the Republican-led House has passed three measures which are religiously oriented in nature. The most outrageous of these being the posting of the Ten Commandments in public buildings and offices held by government. This seems to be in contravention of the First Amendment of the Constitution which clearly attests that the Government shall not sponsor a state religion.
However, there is certainly more here than meets the eye. Representative Bob Barr, Republican from Georgia, has been on something of a campaign to discriminate against Wiccans in the military by forbidding their right to worship on base just as others are allowed to do. This was further exacerbated by 13 major Christian organizations calling for a boycott of the Army until such time as they remove Wiccan worship from military installations and remove language regarding Wicca from the Chaplaincy manual. They called upon Christians to either dissuade their young people from enlisting in the Army, or those who were already in the armed service of this country to decline reenlistment. Among the groups involved were the Christian Coalition, Americans for Family Values, and others.
For approximately twenty years now, the Christian Coalition has sought control over the Republican party. It was obvious when George Bush ran for the Presidency of the United States against William Clinton, when he declined an invitation to address the NAACP in favor of accepting instead the invitation to address the Christian Coalition. Who can forget the incredible presentation rendered by Pat Buchannon as he illustrated the Republican platform, saying "We will bring this country back to God!" As he spoke, the camera focused in on Jerry Falwell, beaming down over the convention from the VIP section, with a feral grin that made blood run cold.
That the Republicans have crawled into bed with the Religious Right, mostly due to lucrative PAC money, was noticed by the IRS, which has finally stripped the Christian Coalition of their tax exempt status, having belatedly recognized that they are not a religious organization at all, but a political one! In truth, my believe is that the Christian coalition does not care about anyone's soul, nor their spiritual development, nearly as much as getting their own way.
So what is that way? What is the agenda of the Religious Right?
Jerry Grimstead, founder and president of the Coalition on Revival, stated it well enough for those with ears to hear. He stated that it was the intention that the Constitution of the United States be replaced by a Theocratic form of Government, with the Bible as the law of the land. Signatories to the Coalition on Revival include nearly 100 names that are the virtual "Who's Who" of televangelistic ministry. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Oral Roberts and many others have agreed with Grimstead.
So what would life be like when living under a Biblical Theocracy? When asked if that would mean death for homosexual people, Grimstead replied affirmatively. "If the Bible calls for death for homosexuality, then that is what should be." Note that the Bible also calls for capitol punishment for such heinous crimes as adultery, sassing one's parents, or being a believer in a different religious philosophy, such as Wicca.
This presents a terrifying spectre. Our representatives, who are elected by their constituents to serve the people who voted for them, have sold their souls to the Christian Coalition for 30 pieces of silver to by 30 second television spots. Worse, they have been fomenting an assault upon the Constitution which guarantees religious liberty for all Americans in their zeal to forward the Christian Coalition agenda.
It is no secret that the Christian Coalition has groomed 'hand picked' candidates to assume political office at every level of government from school boards to the Presidency of the United States. It is no secret that they have run and supported "stealth" candidates in all of the elections since 1980. It is no secret that their avowed aim is to force Christian beliefs upon every American in violation of Constitutionally protected rights of religious liberty.
When I hear both presidential front runners Bush and Gore state that it is important to bring religion into the government of this country, I cannot help but recoil with dread. The last time church and state got into bed together, thousands burned for refusing to join their cabal. Must we relive the mistakes of history?
Politicians point to a need for religion because of the Columbine shootings, the rising crime rates, and many other reasons to absolve themselves of responsibility for the state of affairs in the United States today. Let us not forget better than 95% of prisoners in the Federal and state penal systems were raised in good mainstream religious homes. Let us not forget that the horrors of molestation are almost universally perpetrated by people who were raised in mainstream religious homes. Let us not the horrors of cults such as the Branch Davidians, Jim Jones and the Guyana tragedy, the Heaven's Gate mass suicide, all had Christian themes or overtones. Is that the fruit we may expect of turning this nation back to [their] God.
The Republican party is leading a frontal assault against the First Amendment which defines the separation of church and state, and preventing our government from forwarding a state sponsored religion. They are chipping away at the very core of our Democratic foundation upon which this nation was created. They are doing everything in their power to undermine the Constitution in hopes that it fails in one area, it will fail in others too. With the erosion of each section of the Constitution which they have targeted, the easier it will be to topple the entire Constitution and pave the way for their dream of a Biblical Theocracy. I believe this to be the most perilous time in American history and the greatest threat to Democracy since the early emergence of Communism, and the espionage that led to the global cold war.
Yet, none dare call it treason. None dare point their finger at the House of Representatives and accuse them of the most insidious conspiracy in the history of the United States. None dare to expose the Republican agenda comes directly from the offices of the Christian Coalition. None dare openly claim that our elected representatives are in collusion with organizations that would seek to overthrow the government of the American people. None have courage enough to shine the light of truth on the dark deeds done in public places to usurp the power of the people, all the people, unto themselves. But I will. And I do!
No, none dare call it treason, despite the obvious direction the Republican party has taken. The true business of government has languished for nearly 8 years while the Republicans carried out a "Witch hunt" against the President of the United States. Now that it has become clear they cannot unseat him through the bloodless coup d'etat which was conspired amongst Republicans, they have turned their attention toward their objective... to enact a coup d'etat of the entire government through subversion.
So, that is what I believe to be true, and I am fairly apprehensive about the future of Democracy in the United States.
We need to start calling treason what it really is. Meanwhile, as you read this, the efforts to overthrow our Democracy continue, and we must never allow that to happen here. It is time for religionists to give to God what is God's, and for politicians to give to Caesar what is Caesar's! Somehow, the Christians seem to have missed that teaching from their Master, or are blatantly ignoring it altogether.
Thank you for allowing me to voice an opinion.
Truly Yours,
Mel Edington
(aka M-Taliesin)
High Priest of Wicca
Raven's Moon Coven
Aurora, Colorado.