Right-wing fundamentalist Christians to dictate the U.S.A.

In last year’s U.S. American presidential election, we could see how several evangelist churches raised their voice in favour of the man who on June the first 2020 staged a photo op in front of the church across from Lafayette Square, the park in front of the White House that had been cleared of demonstrators by riot police using teargas, where he held a bible in his hand, and presenting himself as a man anointed by God to rule the greatest country of the world. His action came after peaceful protesters, priests and families among them, had been assaulted by national guardsmen and federal officers: gassed, shot with rubber bullets, forcefully cleared from the president’s path.

Several so-called Christians found they had to defend their country and their faith and therefore had to storm the Capitol. They were convinced the devil was playing with their nation and trying to get a God chosen president out of the saddle.

Strangely enough, lots of Americans let those right-wing fundamentalist Christians dictate to their country how they should live and what women should do and might not do. Over the past decade, there have been many attempts by an increasingly fascistic American right to abolish reproductive rights and render a woman’s status to little more than a domesticated breeder.

It was good that a few federal courts managed to block the demands of those Trump supporters and very conservative Christians, who also expressed their hate against people of another faith, in particular Muslims and Jews, who would have murdered Jesus their god. Trump had done everything to accuse all non-white Americans and non-Christians to be a danger for democracy and having all those in favour of Bernie Sanders to be dangerous communists. And among many North Americans, communists are people who would be against religion and in particular against Christianity.

For Trump and his supporters, there was only one way and that is his way. churches also were convinced they had to support Trump and warn their flock that in the United States there is no place for Marxists, Neo-Maoists or other sorts of communists, who according to their leader had infiltrated the press and were printing all sorts of misleading articles. And that misinformation was the language of the devil.

The whole world had to see how the Christian right was proud of their leader and was willing to fight and to die for him. So-called the majority of citizens of the U.S. found that there was no reason to impeach President Trump. for many Trump was not asking for enmity when he said,

“We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women.”

because he did not say “storm the Capitol, break things and hurt people”. Though we question if they did not understand Trump’s body language and did not remember all his previous words of the previous days?

Many also had put their hope on the Tea Party movement with Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz, going back to the old times, where women played the role of good housewives in a theocratic state, but had begun to decline in 2010. Those conservative Christians

For nearly fifty years, one of their primary reasons for existing was to abolish Roe v. Wade, and with it legalised abortion. To achieve it, they have abandoned all pretence of constitutionalism, and are willing rip their beloved parchment to shreds, and they are perfectly willing to do so because they know that banning abortion is just one part of their broader plan to turn America into a theocracy. {The long triumph of Christian fascism in America}

Even now Trump is not on, they are convinced he will come back and in the meantime, they keep putting their hope on the Republican Party passing a whole series of laws which they find in line with their interpretation of the Bible (which is for them mainly the New Testament).

It is for such dangerously authoritarian laws at the state level they have been already able to accomplish so far, we should be afraid,

including a law designed to criminalise protest in Florida, a law that makes it harder to vote with an absentee ballot and mandates voter ID in Georgia (the same law that bans offering food and water to voters waiting in line), laws that increase their power over election administration in 14 states, laws targeting trans access to healthcare and participation in sports (among other rights) in 10 states, and they are making moves towards gerrymandering their way into controlling the legislative and possibly even the executive branch for potentially the next decade (and indeed they’re admitting that this is their plan to win the mid-terms). {The long triumph of Christian fascism in America}

Trump did already arrange it that there is now much more division between Americans than was before his first presidency. Those fundamentalist Christians still look forward to even more exclusion, because in their America there is no place for transgenders, homosexuality or same-sex relationships.

We must be aware that the rise of Christian fascism did not happen overnight and that it could grow because many did not find it necessary to react or to raise their voice against the things that went in the wrong direction. For some, all of this may even be part of a broader plan that has been decades in the making.

This fascist movement, known as Christian dominionism, has been active since at least the 1970s. At that time, it emerged in reaction to the successes of the New Left and a broad liberalisation of public attitudes towards racial equality, sex, homosexuality and abortion. With that came desegregation, the legalisation of pornography, cultural acceptance (and later legalisation) of homosexuality, and of course Roe v. Wade, and the goal of the Christian fascists from the outset was to reverse all of that cultural and legal progress. {The long triumph of Christian fascism in America}

I have the impression that those who believe the Christian far-right is declining, are wrong and not seeing how the fundamentalists are gaining ground in several states. The rest of the Americans may have put faith in God at the side. It is even public disgust towards the Christian right that might be driving this trend.

Thus they have no other option but to force their vision for America through the state, and in this effort they are succeeding. {The long triumph of Christian fascism in America}

Please come to read more about this in: The long triumph of Christian fascism in America

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Published by Marcus Ampe

Retired dancer, choreographer, choreologist Founder of the Dance impresario office and archive: Danscontact-Dansarchief plus the Association for Bible scholars, the Lifestyle magazines "Stepping Toes" and "From Guestwriters" and creator of the site "Messiah for all". - Gepensioneerd danser, choreograaf, choreoloog. Stichter van Danscontact-Dansarchief plus van de Vereniging voor Bijbelvorsers, de Lifestyle magazines "Stepping Toes" en "From Guestwriters" en maker van de site "Messiah for all". View more posts