Oklahoma: OK means only white fundamentalists who think Jesus was a Christian and hate gays

June 30, 5:03 PMDC Ethical Issues ExaminerLaura Harrison McBride

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Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern (R.) has proposed the “Oklahoma Citizen's Proclamation for Morality,” an almost hilarious document but one that, nonetheless, deserves some scrutiny in the vicinity of the nation’s capital; apparently, it got none in the capital of Oklahoma. Or at least, it got no scrutiny from anyone with a brain in his or her head, a modicum of education under his or her belt, and a scintilla of compassion…never mind knowledge of modern mores and values of the nation the author thinks she lives in, and the Bible.

On all these counts, Kern’s legalistic diatribe is emblematic not of anything good to be found in America’s heartland but rather, as Dave Weigel at the Washington Independent called evidence that Oklahoma is a “petri dish for wingnuttery,”as he was quoted by Huffington Post.

Here, in normal type, are parts of Kern’s proclamation, which is based on an almost completely unreliable understanding of both the U.S. Constitution and Christianity; in italics, some thoughts about it, based on fact.

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

There is definitely a national moral crisis. That, at least, she has right. One need look no further than governors cheating on their wives and not being man enough to admit it, scampering away to the arms of the floozie on another continent and coming home with crocodile tears to tell that tale; no further than Bernie Madoff; no further than Norm Coleman endlessly contesting an election he lost fair and square (and showing us what a Bush juggernaut might have looked like without the convenient hanging chads and even more convenient Diebold paperless voting machines in 2004); no further than a nation that allows crass and erroneous gasbags like Rush Limbaugh on the airwaves, or mean-spirited henchmen of abuse like Hannity. Yes, Kern is right; we do have a national moral crisis; did I mention the morals of all those bankers and hedge-fund scammers, the mortgage debacle kingpins and assorted other god-fearing folk? No? Shame on me. She is just wrong about wherein that moral morass lies.

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

Last time I looked, USAID did not send doctors to foreign nations to perform abortions, nor has our government offered stipends to advertising agencies that would promote abortions, pornography, (gasp) same-sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse and other forms of debauchery.

(Lady, I have to tell you, child abuse is way beyond debauchery. Debauchery is the odd lap dance, which may offend some and not others.. Child abuse is an abomination, and not to God, but to every living creature…and to God if you like.)

Nor is abortion debauchery, although admittedly it may result from a little debauchery. Abortion is a tragedy for the mother forced into that corner by circumstances, her own ill-considered activities, the complete failure of society ? including most especially the fundamentalists who condemn her and refuse to care in any numbers for the offspring of incest, rape or youthful misalliance ? to care for either mother or child, born or unborn. The debauchery lies not in the illegitimate child of a beleagured mother, but in the hubris of the fundamentalist condemnation of the situation and concurrent failure to hold themselves in any way responsible for the conditions that bring it about. That is, in their failure to provide sex education, failure to consider women/girls the equal of men/boys (thereby condeming the girls/women to low self-esteem and the belief that they have fewer life options), failure to forgive, failure to accept responsibility as members of society beyond their own Bible study group.

Pornography, in case Rep. Kern hasn’t heard, was defined a long time ago by the U.S. Supreme Court as any image that offends local morals and standards; there is not single, incontrovertible, universally agreed upon definition thereof.

Same sex marriage is not debauchery. It is a fact of human relations. Within those marriages there might be some debauchery…or there might not…as in any marriage.

Sex trafficking, too, may go way beyond debauchery, depending on what Kern means. Selling women across national borders for sexual/slave activities? Or simply hookers? If the former, it’s way beyond debauchery. If the latter, Kern needs to move to some rational nation where prostitution is legal and regulated and where there is virtually no crime because of it. Lots of European nations would suffice. Perhaps she could stand down from her pulpit for a minute, the one in which she supersedes God and all creation, and see how the planet actually works.

Divorce is in Kern's sights. So, if a man is abusive to his wife -- even forces her to become pregnant and abandons her -- Kern would not want a divorce to ensue, at least not if she thinks divorce (and not spousal abuse, which she has nowhere mentioned) is debauchery.

What about illegitimate births? Debauchery? Hardly. Tragedies, much of the time. Unfortunate results much of the time. Sometimes even desired results.

There is not one point of Kern’s first contention that is either true or logical, not to mention ethical.

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

This nation was not built on a rich Christian heritage. It was built on a bunch of English religious misfits escaping a relatively locked down attitude toward worship in the Old Country, and then by a bunch of Roman Catholics also escaping persecution, and by Jews escaping persecution. Oh, and by the way, the American Indian/Native American was not a Christian until missionaries (see above) brought both holy water and fire water, and destroyed not only the old religion of this continent?the religion of the American Indian/Native American?but the society itself. Doesn’t Oklahoma have a license plate design featuring Native American things? I wonder how that part of Kern’s constituency feels about our complete ignorance of their original presence on this continent?in this nation?she would like to create as Christian by dingbat fiat.

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

Grieve on, Rep. Kern. It’s about time our POTUS stopped pandering to the clergy, and mostly right-wing clergy at that, in complete circumvention of the secular nature of his office and our government.

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

One can only assume Kern means gay lifestyles. Please see above; while some gay people may engage in debauchery from time to time (as may some non-gay people), their lives are not a priori “debauched.” They can be as clean and pure as anyone. ( Oops, maybe this proclamation was actually Kern’s personal inventory. Nah.) Anyway, in case Rep. Kern hadn’t heard, St. Paul (whom she also probably believes to be Christian, although he was a Jew, Saul of Tarsus, before he first heard of Joshua ben Joseph) was very likely homosexual. There are those who also believe Joseph of Arimathea was homosexual, and probably took the young Joshua, during the lost youthful years, to England to study druidry. How can that be? Ah. Again, Rep. Kern’s knowledge is shaky and her conclusions are wrong;her exhortation is idiotic.

***

It is unethical in the extreme for any representative in any state in the union to presume to issue a proclamation based on knee-jerk Christianity and misinterpretation of both the U.S. Constitution as written and the intention and personal beliefs of the signers of that Constitution. Elsewhere in Kern’s rather lengthy proclamation, she makes references to all the Big Daddies ? Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Patrick Henry. Indeed, my favorite among her misreadings is this:

WHEREAS, "This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians" (Patrick Henry);

It might help her to know that she is exactly the person Patrick Henry was warning us about, a religionist. She is not a Christian; Christians do not, by definition, defame others…any others…including gays and those who bear young out of wedlock. It might shock Rep. Kern to realize that Joshua ben Joseph, known to her as Jesus of Nazareth and erroneously thought by her ignorant cohort to be the first “Christian” was conceived out of wedlock (whether in the ordinary way or supernaturally, but that’s another discussion.) Whether you believe in the virgin birth or not*, the fact is (according to that collection of twice-told tales known as the Bible), Mary and Joseph were not married when Mary conceived, and so, Rep. Kern would necessarily need to lament their lack of morals and lump them into her category of “debauchery” labeled “illegitimate births.”

Rep. Kern needs a few refresher courses before venturing onto the national stage again. Those would include Biblical studies, humanities, law, the Constitution, famous Founding Fathers, Native Americans, modern science/sociology regarding sexual preference, word definitions and usage. Probably more. I’ve had all the fun I can stand for one day, so I’ll have to leave Rep. Kern to stew in the juices of her own addlepated religiosity.

* The doctrine of Mary never having been with a man did not develop until the second century after his birth. Indeed, the words used in old Hebrew texts to describe Mary, both before and after the birth, is the word for young woman, not the word for virgin.

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