Because of their support of him in the 2016 election, Trump has allowed conservative evangelicals leaders to gain access in his Administration. And due to this, many of them are out of control in terms of attempting to force policy on the rest of us. Many of them are blurring the lines between religion and politics.
None are more blatant about it than Franklin Graham. He has been supportive of Trump to the point of bending over backwards to dismiss his many faults. From time to time, he also sends proclamations to his over one million followers on twitter, like this one in which he sly infers that they should vote for Republicans in the upcoming midterm election or risk losing "religious liberty."
No one should buy the inevitable spin that Graham is merely taking advantage of his First Amendment rights. That is a lie and those who say it know this. Graham is exploiting his status as a highly prominent American religious leader to campaign for a political party. He is adding a dangerous component to politics, i.e. the notion that voting for the "wrong" party is tantamount to sinning and God will punish you if you do. It is unethical on all counts and may be illegal. But who is going to demand that he be prosecuted for it? Who will attempt to stop him?
If that's not bad enough, Graham is also exploiting his status as a religious leader to push Trump Administration policy, even if it's bad policy, such as the proposal to define the transgender community out of existence:
Graham is neither a scientist nor researcher. It's safe to say that he has done no work on the subject In common language, Franklin Graham don't know shit about the transgender community or the science of gender fluidity, biology, etc. And since when has he even cared about science?
Folks who are more legitimate authorities in matter totally disagree with him. Even the present head of the Centers for Disease Control, Robert Redfield, said that Trump's proposal was not in the interest of public health.
Graham's first tweet on the matter is an indication of where he stands and why he took the position he did. Apparently we are supposed to take his words that Trump's proposal would be in line with "God's design."
What kind of crap is that? This is a secular proposal Trump is pushing, not a religious one. It has the potential to damage the rights and lives of over one million Americans. Graham's interpretation of what "God's design" is as irrelevant as he should be in this matter. If anything, he is a reflection of the disturbing overreach of conservative evangelicals which is getting worse as time goes by with Trump in office.
Perhaps Graham needs to familiarize himself with Proverbs 16:18:
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
None are more blatant about it than Franklin Graham. He has been supportive of Trump to the point of bending over backwards to dismiss his many faults. From time to time, he also sends proclamations to his over one million followers on twitter, like this one in which he sly infers that they should vote for Republicans in the upcoming midterm election or risk losing "religious liberty."
No one should buy the inevitable spin that Graham is merely taking advantage of his First Amendment rights. That is a lie and those who say it know this. Graham is exploiting his status as a highly prominent American religious leader to campaign for a political party. He is adding a dangerous component to politics, i.e. the notion that voting for the "wrong" party is tantamount to sinning and God will punish you if you do. It is unethical on all counts and may be illegal. But who is going to demand that he be prosecuted for it? Who will attempt to stop him?
If that's not bad enough, Graham is also exploiting his status as a religious leader to push Trump Administration policy, even if it's bad policy, such as the proposal to define the transgender community out of existence:
Graham is neither a scientist nor researcher. It's safe to say that he has done no work on the subject In common language, Franklin Graham don't know shit about the transgender community or the science of gender fluidity, biology, etc. And since when has he even cared about science?
Folks who are more legitimate authorities in matter totally disagree with him. Even the present head of the Centers for Disease Control, Robert Redfield, said that Trump's proposal was not in the interest of public health.
Graham's first tweet on the matter is an indication of where he stands and why he took the position he did. Apparently we are supposed to take his words that Trump's proposal would be in line with "God's design."
What kind of crap is that? This is a secular proposal Trump is pushing, not a religious one. It has the potential to damage the rights and lives of over one million Americans. Graham's interpretation of what "God's design" is as irrelevant as he should be in this matter. If anything, he is a reflection of the disturbing overreach of conservative evangelicals which is getting worse as time goes by with Trump in office.
Perhaps Graham needs to familiarize himself with Proverbs 16:18:
Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment