John McCain, Rod Parsley and the Politics of Hate

A conspiracy of “international bankers” was responsible for the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II, and a host of other ills. Who said that? And who are those “international bankers,” anyway?

I just spent the last ten minutes watching a YouTube video of a well-known Christian preacher and “moral compass” of a particular presidential candidate spew forth with incendiary words — words of a “Christian patriot” that sent chills down my back. As his fiery rhetoric spewed forth about the “international banking conspiracy” and its manipulation of financial markets, I physically recoiled at the all-too-familiar code words that hearken back to the darker side of history and into hateful anti-Semitic diatribes like Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Words that can be found on neo-fascist and “Christian patriot” websites cultivating hate and suspicion of Jews, Muslims, and other minorities. And who said these words? Shouted them in a packed-to-the-gills church? His name is Rod Parsley, and he is head of the World Harvest Church.

This is what one presidential candidate said of this man, introducing him at a campaign event event just a couple of months ago: “I am very honored today to have one of the truly great leaders in America, a moral compass, a spiritual guide… thank you for your leadership and your guidance. I am very grateful you are here.”

Who would say such nice things about a hate-spouting preacher? None other than John McCain, presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Backtracking later, McCain insisted that he didn’t mean that Parsley was his (McCain’s) spiritual guide; just a spiritual guide — drawing a distinction between his relationship with Parsley and Barack Obama’s with the Reverend Wright. But, if not his own, then just whose spiritual guide might Parsley be? Much was made at the time on the Internet, on the mainstream news, and in other corners of the political world of the difference.

But never mind the “a/his” controversy. I’m much more concerned that McCain has called this guy anyone’s moral compass at all. And a “great man.” Like John Hagee, another of McCain’s spiritual soul mates, Parsley uses the international money-lenders diatribe to great effect as thousands of rapt congregants hang on his every word, every week.

And even though Parsley may prefer euphemisms and code words about Jews, he uses outright incendiary language speaking about Muslims. In his book Silent No More Parsley says: “The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion (Islam) destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.”

As I consider Parsley’s rhetoric, I wonder then, for whom McCain believes the Reverend Parsley is a “great man” and “moral compass.” Did he mean for this country? Because if so, we’re in a whole lotta trouble. Is this the direction McCain wants the country to travel? Really? Or was McCain simply pandering to the right? I only imagine what the reaction would have been if Obama introduced his old pastor as a “great man” and “moral compass” in the heat of this presidential campaign.

Interestingly, much has been made of Obama’s “choosing” Wright as his pastor. Obama has explained himself well, and has called Wright’s heinous remarks for what they are. McCain can choose to associate himself with a lot of different campaign and spiritual advisers along his presidential trail. And he has chosen to embrace hate-mongers like Parsley. Where’s the moral outrage for that? Where’s the 24/7 coverage of that? Those are my questions for the day.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not defending Reverend Wright. There should be no place for him within Obama’s political framework. He is an old and bitter man who, now retired, has found new (and more public) pulpits from which which he can spread his bitter and cynical hatred. And he is no less to be disparaged and denounced than Rod Parsley and others like him, with his talk of America’s destiny to squash Islam and rid the world of Muslims. To quote Shakespeare: “a plague o’ both your houses.”

On Patriotism and lapel pins

There have been two time periods in my life during which I wore an American flag pin on my clothing. The first was back when I was in high school.  In protest of the Vietnam War, I wore an American flag pin upside down, a symbol of distress.  I wore it along with other buttons, badges and pins, including my home-made “I am an effete intellectual, nattering nabob, snob for peace.” (It repeated the unforgettable adjectives for war protesters uttered by that paragon of virtue, Vice President Spiro Agnew).   My wearing of the upside down flag pin got me kicked out of typing class during a mid-term exam, which resulted in my only “D” during my high school years (not that there were so many “A’s” either.)

 

The second time I wore an American flag lapel pin was in the days after 9/11.  Bound together as a nation, facing a national tragedy, we were united across political, social and generational lines in our collective grief, not just that 3,000 innocent people had been intentionally and brutally murdered, but that our country could be attacked like that, so easily, on a cloudless September morning.  Powerless to do anything individually except watch “breaking news” coverage and talk about it among our friends, we banded together under the flag, wearing it proudly, as sign that, despite our differences, we were all Americans, and, in this at least, we were unified.

 

Everyone was wearing them: liberal, conservative, independent, rural Americans, big city Americans.  We needed to show the world that we stood together, and wearing a flag pin—a sign of unity under the principles that have bound us since our founding—was a very visual way to do that.  I stopped wearing the pin when the flag began to stand, not for the principles that make our country great, not the least of which is freedom of speech, but for a view of patriotism that has more to do with the flag and allegiance than to the ideals behind it.

 

People seem to use those little flag pins to express their patriotism.  Fine.  No problem with that. But does not wearing one mean that you’re not patriotic?  And by whose definition?  Is it the unwavering support of an administration regardless of what it doing in our name?    When patriotism comes to mean silent acquiescence and not thoughtful consideration, we have gone astray of the ideals of our nation.  When questioning the validity of a policy is labeled unpatriotic; when exposing the lies told by an executive branch run amok with delusions of absolute power is deemed subversive under someone’s ideas of “national security;” when questioning the continuation of a dubious and ill considered war is deemed to somehow being unsupportive of the soldiers on the front (when in fact the opposite may be true), we are weakened as a nation for the suppression of necessary debate.   

 

The flag does not stand for blind allegiance, and it does not replace (by a long shot) the urgent need of everyone to understand (to the best of their knowledge) the issues, all sides, and judge—and question.  Our flag stands for the healthy skepticism for government power and wisdom, and certainly not for the notion that our nation is run by an all-powerful executive branch with the other branches in existence to support and cheer lead.  It stands for the Constitution—that body of laws  and principles that govern  and define us.

 

Patriotism is certainly not defined by the wearing of a lapel badge (more than likely manufactured in China) American flag.  And to ask, (as one questioner asked during last week’s ABC democratic debate) whether Barack Obama “believes in the flag” does nothing but show the ignorance (yeah, call me an elitist) the of the questioner.  Believing in the “flag” doesn’t mean believing in a piece of metal affixed to a blazer.  Was she really questioning whether Obama believed in our country?  Questioning his patriotism?  She said she was not; what, then was she calling into question because Senator Obama does not happen to wear a flag lapel pin?  The flag is merely a symbol, meaningless except for what it represents—“liberty and justice for all.”  The Bill of Rights: free speech, right to assemble, due process, habeas corpus.  That’s what the flag stands for.  Believing in the flag means supporting the government when it is right, and having the courage to criticize and otherwise speak out when it is not.  It sometimes means being a cheerleader, but so often means being a opponent, although the former is a far easier variety than the latter.

 

Upon reflection, I wonder if I shouldn’t re-pin the flag pin on my lapel. Affix it with the appropriate dash of righteous indignation, refusing to allow the far right to hijack very notion of patriotism, and its most visible symbol.   Or maybe design a new lapel pin—a miniature of the US Constitution, with its oversized “We the People…”  To me, that’s really what we’re protecting…and what we stand for:  for ourselves and as a symbol for the rest of the world. 

Stormy weather usually brings colder weather.  Yesterday’s brought practically balmy breezes towards Chicago, and I awoke to 60 degrees (never mind that it’s supposed to snow tomorrow.)  I’m ready for spring.  Really.  My irises and lilies of the valley are ready for spring.  Time to put the old car window scraper back in the garage for the season.

What’s with American Airlines?  All those cancellations and service problems.  I’m told that it’s the inspecting agency who’s been lax all these years.  Imagine that!  A regulatory agency of these United States lax during the Bush Administration?  Hard to believe, I know.  Glad my daughter is coming home for Passover on United next Thursday.  That’s all I can say.

And speaking of Bush.  New poll numbers put him in Nixon territory. ‘Bout time, dontcha think?  What amazes me is that 28 percent of Americans actually think Bushie’s doing a good job.    approve (better word?) of Bush’s performance.  On WHAT???!!!!!  On lying? On dismantling the Bill of Rights? On emasculating the House and Senate? On declaring himself king? (oops, sorry–head of a “unitary” executive branch).  I guess you can fool some of the people all of the time.

And speaking of Passover.  So this will be the first time, ever, that we’re doing a (mostly) vegetarian seder.  I say “mostly” because for the carinvores and traditionalists in our family, I do want to have something familiar for them to eat.  After all, they’ve always accomodated our need to only have kosher (and now meat-free altogether) food in their homes, so it’s only fair.

The menu: (always subject to change)

• Mock chopped liver
• Pareve chicken soup (I have a recipe that the writer swears is indistinguishable from the real stuff)
• Home-made gefilte fish (just like grandma made–my mom never has had a clue about how to make it)
• Magic roasted veggies (magic, because there just too easy to make)
• Gingered orange sweet potato casserole
• Matzo farfel with mushroom kugel
• Veggie terrine
• Turkey breast (for the meatatarians)

 Any other ideas?????  We’re new at this vegetarian thing. Our teenager spent a high school semester in Israel last year and came home a vegetarian in June…we decided his reasoning made sense, so we followed him, albeit a bit lest strictly (we eat fish, he doesn’t).    I’m really hoping to get a knockout passover main course that will knock everyone’s socks off, so I’m open to suggestions, as I begin to prepare for the holiday.