God, Let the Religious See How They are Being Manipulated for Political Gain

This week, Kanye West took another turn on his recent bizarre path into politics. Perhaps one of the most unlikely supporters of Donald Trump, Kanye has decided to hit the brakes and change directions. He tweeted that he has realized he’s being used to spread messages he doesn’t really believe in. When I read this, I felt a mixture of relief and frustration. I’m glad Kanye seems to have had this epiphany, but part of me wants to grab him and ask what took him so long. Gee, what was your first clue, Kanye? But it got me to thinking that Kanye is just an extremely strange example of a lot of Americans who are being used by our current political leadership to spread messages they might not really believe in.

Earlier this week, Vice President Pence used a religious figure to try to score political points and he got caught in his attempt. Speaking at a campaign stop in Michigan, Pence attempted to condemn the Pittsburgh synagogue shootings and anti-semitism by bringing a rabbi to the microphone to offer a prayer. Rabbi Loren Jacobs’ prayer quickly betrayed him and it put a spotlight directly upon Pence’s agenda. Jacob’s spent most of his time praying that Republicans win their elections. He then ended his prayer “in Jesus name.” Not a very Jewish-y thing to do, huh? It turns out that Jacobs is a part of a movement called “Jews for Jesus”. There’s nothing wrong with Jews for Jesus, but there is a great deal wrong with the disingenuous nature of the staged scheme. Mike Pence couldn’t even bring himself to call upon the help of an actual practicing Jewish rabbi to deliver a prayer for 11 slaughtered Jews. Instead, he used a Christian in Jewish clothing to spread more propaganda. It all seemed so dishonest and slimy. But that has become par for the course.

Perhaps more than any group, conservative Christians have largely been blinded to the fact that they are pawns in a political chess game.

I was driving through rural Indiana just the other day and saw several signs in people’s yards that read, “If you support abortion with your vote, what will become of your soul?” It hit me hard that day just how much propaganda faces conservative Christians. They are placed under enormous pressure and guilt for even considering voting for anyone other than a Republican. They are faced with it every day. It’s stitched into their very core. They have long since lost sight of the fact that Roe v. Wade, in reality, means very little to most of the conservative politicians they support. Abortion is the best thing that ever happened to the Republican Party. It is their ace in the hole. As long as they can dangle that carrot in front of millions of guilt-ridden conservative Christian voters, they have a huge built-in base. Because of that one issue, the Far-Right can move forward with the agenda they really care about–deregulating the economy–making the mega-wealthy even wealthier at the expense of the poor and the environment– promoting white nationalism, etc. Just yesterday I came across a startling and alarming Twitter poll. The question was, “Do you think America should be only white?” At the moment I saw it, the poll had over 17,000 respondents. A shocking 25% of them answered yes. I was heartsick to see that. Yet, it seems that our current administration has rekindled that kind of mindset in far too many Americans. They are emboldened by the rhetoric coming from the president. They take his hints to heart and step out of the shadows. Most conservative Christians would cringe at this poll, too. Yet, they continually fail to see that they are joined forces with the most unChristian elements of our society. They deny their teammates but go on supporting their coach.

As a result, a most unChristian agenda gets a pass so long as there is a faint promise that Roe v. Wade might get overturned.

God, let religious see how they are being manipulated for political gain.

Amen

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