Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, a supporter of the invasion of Iraq, had dinner last week with Sayyid Iyad Jamaleddine, who is a "liberal" Iraqi Shiite cleric. Jamelddine brought along a guest-- Sayyid Hussein Khomeini, the grandson of the famous Ayatollah who led the overthrow of the American-supported government of Iran.
Jamaleddine is in favour of separation of church and state. He wants a secular constitution that takes power away from the clerics and gives it only to elected officials.
George Bush, on the other hand, wants to bring the church back into the government. He wants a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He wants to make abortion illegal. He wants faith-based organizations to receive government funding. He wants the 10 Commandments posted at the front of every classroom. He wants to appoint justices to the Supreme Court based on whether they hold the religious belief that the instant sperm meets egg, a human soul is created.
Jamaleddine observes, about Islam, that "The state dominated religion, not the other way around. It used religion for its own ends." That sounds almost like getting elected with the devoted support of the Christian right so you can pass a huge tax break for the rich, ratchet up the war machinery, and gut environmental regulations. It's almost like you could count on people to vote for you because you represent "family values" while simultaneously enacting economic policies that undermine the integrity of the family.
It looks to me like this. George Bush supports freedom and liberty as long as it's not his religion they're trying to shove down peoples' throats.
Copyright Bill Van Dyk All rights reserved.