Politics as Religion
The similarities one sees when faith is lost
I read an intelligent piece by a Cornell professor about how a recent Supreme Court decision will impact democracy.
What struck me was the similarity to things I read in the early 00'’s because I wanted to know more about Calvinism and Roman Catholicism.
But when you’re no longer interested in those faiths, their theologians, no matter how smart, no matter how diligent their research, can become dull.
And when you don’t have faith in Democracy, the commentary on it can also become boring, no matter how wise the scholar. “Get rid of the Electoral College,” “Get rid of the Filubuster,” etc. Likewise, when you don’t have faith in republicanism, the commentary, most often about the Constitution, can also become tiresome.
I don’t have faith in either of them because they are forms of Statism, which was founded on violence and is sustained by the threat of violence.
And I don’t even have faith in “freedom” either. Freedom, to me, isn’t a faith, it’s the practical moral principle of the non-initiation of force. It is the state of being when one is not attacked or threatened with violence. It has nothing to do with speculations about how a “free society” would be better than the status quo. It is most definitely not an excuse to start wars, except in the Orwellian sense.
The Crusades and post-Reformation wars in Europe are often touted as the reason for the separation of Church and State. But it hasn’t stopped war, especially not by the United States. Why is killing “in the name of” abstract Democracy or Freedom any better than killing for one’s religious faith? Wouldn’t that mean political ideology has become one’s religious faith?
James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. He is the author of Ron Paul is a Nut (And So am I). Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. Support through Paypal is greatly appreciated. Permission to reprint is granted with attribution.
