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09/30/2009
We don't want to ruin your days, Linds. We also don't want you to ruin our marriages/truths/families/rights/protections
Yesterday we showed you how the Concerned Women For America's Lindsey Douthit is prone to misrepresent the lay of the political land. Today we show you that she's also prone to fits of dramatic hyperbole regarding people of faith, and the evil, villainous, swarthy liberals who are supposedly hellbent on ruining the days of "traditional Christians":
On a typical weekday morning in Washington, D.C., lines of zombies (aka “commuters”) sleepily glide to Metro stations, armed with the promise of another day and another round of politics. One particular morning, I was unexpectedly reminded that all believers should center each day on one crucial thing: prayer.
As usual, I stumbled out of bed and joined the legion of not-yet-caffeinated masses heading to their respective places of employment. That week seemed particularly daunting, as the news never seemed to cease reporting the latest political assaults on Judeo-Christian values. Ever since Obama’s presidential win, it seemed that traditional marriage, family values, and fiscal restraint were now as outdated as hair scrunchies. Christian conservatives found themselves watching in horror as homosexual activists, pro-abortion groups, radical leftists, and environmentalists pushed their agendas forward with nods of approval by the new commander in chief.
As I made my way to the Metro station, preparing myself for another day of legislative difficulties and setbacks, I passed a café and noticed three men sitting at a table near the window. But they weren’t just drinking coffee — they were huddled together, with their heads bowed and eyes closed. Thankfully, since they couldn’t see me staring, I was able to look more closely and witness something truly inspiring. With a Bible open in the center of their table, the men were praying.
Surrounded by the insanity of politics, frenzied power grabs, and competitive ambition, those men were quietly starting their day with prayer. They achieved something quite remarkable, namely, carving out a haven of calm in an otherwise tempestuous D.C morning. That sight alone calmed my own soul and seemed to put the approaching challenges of the day into perspective.
As a Christian, it is tempting in these political times to feel outnumbered, overpowered, and just plain outdone. The giants of the left seem to march by, stopping only to wag their fingers at conservatives and chant, “Yes we can!” as they hack away at the foundation of America — those traditional values that Christians hold so dear.
KEEP READING: Prayer: The Calm in the Storm of Politics [CWA]
Geez, why are we progressives who seek freedom and justice for all always said to be "hacking," "assaulting," "hijacking," or engaging in some other militant action?! And why are we, the ones who want both civil fairness and religious freedom (including the right of conservative Christians to condemn us from the rooftops of their churches) the ones who are supposedly the aggressors who are robbing evangelicals of the right to deny us justice?! And how does Lindsey know that these men weren't praying for socially conservatives to stop judging their LGBT neighbors and to quit casting stones at their lives, loves, and liberties?
These are of course rhetorical questions, as we obviously know that the answer is that the socially conservative movement is fueled by making their opposition look like the "evil doers," and that their working definition of "faith community" begins and ends with a by-the-letter interpretation of Leviticus 18:22. But as we carry on in this world of far-right-iness that is growing at a frighteningly intense rate due to oddly fallacious rand short-sighted reasons, perhaps it is time that we all rise up and start demanding answers from these self-appointed moral authoritarians. They certainly have no problem demanding that we "prove" our worthiness as human f***ing beings!
Your thoughts
Maybe they were praying that people like her would get a clue. I mean, I sometimes do that, so why not?
Posted by: Bill S | Sep 30, 2009 6:08:50 PM
I love how these fundamentalist Christians talk about Christianity like they are the only ones.
"That week seemed particularly daunting, as the news never seemed to cease reporting the latest political assaults on Judeo-Christian values"
Since my values as a Christian have more to do with respect, taking care of our earth, and actually STUDYING the Bible, including the historical reasons for different passages, which make the Bible much more complex and fascinating, (long rant there I know) I don't feel that Obama is "trampling" on my values.
And they need to stop using their Religion as a crutch for their issues. Believe me, I'm pretty darn religious, I love my faith, but I don't use the Bible as a weapon, and I can't stand those who do.
Posted by: Piper | Sep 30, 2009 6:58:33 PM
I would bet that if those three were huddled around a copy of the Koran, or the Torah, or the Bagvadhgita, or one of the Buddhist sutras, that she would have doubtlessly had an entirely different and viscerally repulsive response. The Christianistas are all about religious freedom, but only when it relates to their particular faction's dogma. The only ones that they universally despise as much (or more) than us, is every religious group that is even marginally different than the one they individually identify with.
Posted by: Dick Mills | Sep 30, 2009 8:21:42 PM
It must be difficult feeling outnumbered, overpowered and just plain undone being a Christian in this country, just like the other 76% of Americans who identify as Christian. What a poor, disenfranchised minority they must be.
I truly feel empathy for these poor souls being overwhelmed by the homosexual agenda.
Posted by: Mike | Sep 30, 2009 8:48:56 PM
One thing that strikes me about Christian conservative rants is how familiar they all are. It's like they have no new shtick.
"We should center each day around one thing: prayer." Well, no shit, lady, how about that? A fundie thinks we should center our day around prayer. Didn't see that coming. It's not like that isn't THE SAME GODDAMN THING YOU "TEACH" US EVERY DAY!
But they always present it like it's something new and revelatory. "Hey, you know what you need? Some churchin'!"
Really? How about that? You've never told me THAT before! WOW! I completely didn't expect that to be what you were gonna say. I thought maybe you'd say "porn," or "chili dogs," or maybe "The Jay Leno Show," but nope, you tossed me for a loop and said "prayer." Wow. Will the wonders never cease?
Note to fundies: Get some new material. This stuff is so far past stale it isn't funny.
Posted by: The Watcher | Oct 1, 2009 1:44:54 AM
I hope those guys were MCC pastors. That would be so right.
Her whining is like beautiful music.
@ the Watcher: Missed you!
Posted by: GreenEyedLilo | Oct 1, 2009 7:42:18 AM
Note the continuing theme throughout the Christian right's rhetoric: It's the liberals versus the Christians. The two are always presented as mutually exclusive. Not one of those praying men is gay, or a Democrat, or a believer that we should have public-option health insurance. The Christian right's definition of "Christian" includes those who believe Jesus is the savior of the world and voted Republican in 2008 (or at least feel guilty for voting Democrat).
The dirty little secret is that if indeed 76 percent of U.S. residents say they are Christians, and Obama won by a decent majority, that means a whole lot of Christians voted for him. That might be what angers the Christian right most of all. ChINOs--I'm amazed they haven't coined the term--Christians in Name Only.
Posted by: Brian | Oct 1, 2009 8:56:55 AM
I love that she included "environmentalists" in the group of evildoers eroding Judeo-Christian values. WTF?
Posted by: SPB | Oct 1, 2009 9:24:26 AM
Ms. Douthit's separation from reality is clear from this statement: "On a typical weekday morning in Washington, D.C., lines of zombies (aka “commuters”) sleepily glide to Metro stations, armed with the promise of another day and another round of politics."
Really, Ms. Douthit, every single commuter is going to deal with "another round of politics"? Because that's all DC means to you, doesn't it, Ms. Douthit, politics.
You see, those of us who actually live here know that the political scene is a small but showy piece of DC life. The vast majority of those commuters have nothing to do with politics. They may be, of course, government employees, but very few of them deal with the political side of things. Most are civil servants, making sure our roads are built, are farms have access to markets, our national parks are protected and improved and our environment is kept clean. There are also the thousands of non-government employees - cleaning people, bartenders, accountants, benefits specialists, human resources professionals, etc. etc.
Only someone who resides in DC, but doesn't really live here, would categorize the entire city as political, just like visitors to LA think everyone's in the movie business. Clearly to Ms. Douthit, it takes all her energy to avoid the contamination of DC, which she clearly sees as horrible, and as a result she doesn't know the people who live here - who BTW are not necessarily less religious than the rest of the country. Hell, just two blocks from Ms. Douthit's office, at 17th ST and Rhode Island Ave NW, is the largest Catholic church in the DC area - St. Matthews, from which JFK was buried, and which also saw the funeral of David Charlebois, the co-pilot of American 77 and a gay man who left a bereft partner.
But that's not the kind of religion, I am sure, Ms. Douthit thinks will "save" this country.
Posted by: CPT_Doom | Oct 1, 2009 9:51:21 AM
Three men sitting around a table having coffee and preying in DC? I live here, so I can probably tell you they are carpetbaggers sent here by some organization to spew some more hatred at the left. Or, they were 3 queer Episcopalians praying for more donations to support the Equality March in October.
Posted by: Mykelb | Oct 1, 2009 2:23:46 PM
Why does she assume the three men praying at the table were conservatives like her? I realize people of her ilk like to think only conservatives are religious/faithful but that's just not the case. I was a liberal Christian for 20 years.
What's ironic is that this woman sees great beauty in three guys praying at a cafe. Meanwhile she's probably ignored dozens of shelters for homeless people, soup kitchens, and other places that provide actual benefit to people--all because her "Judeo-Christian values" don't' include helping people, but instead pushing her distorted idea of "tradition" on others.
Posted by: Buffy | Oct 1, 2009 8:03:46 PM
Well said, CPT_Doom - you hit the carpetbagging nail on the head. People who are committed to living in DC have a completely different view of the city than those who are there to use it for a couple years, then leapfrog to a new city.
Posted by: DN | Oct 1, 2009 8:26:06 PM
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