Battle Him of the Republic
Those who consider themselves the Lord’s people work in mysterious ways. But the thing to remember is that they work. For decades, there’s been a religious war in America. Not so much a war between religions, but one between those pushing a right-leaning, politically-infused Christianity and secularists who pray at the altar of the Constitution. I say it’s a religious war, but for a long time, it’s seemed like only one side is actually fighting. Many on Team Secular assumed issues like abortion, gay rights, keeping religion out of schools, and the broad tenets of the separation of church and state we’re essentially settled. It’s not that the secular side brought a knife to a gun fight. They didn’t even know there was a fight. But, as you may have noticed from the rise of the Christian nationalism, the consistent decisions by the Supreme Court majority, the proselytising from administration officials, the attacks on women’s health and gay rights, the book bans, the push to get the ten commandments into schools, etc, etc, in politics, nothing is settled. And now, just as secular America is waking up to the idea that, Hey, you got your church chocolate in my state peanut butter, religious America pushing Theodicies Peanut Butter Cups through government, schools, media, and even the Oval Office. It might sound laughable to imagine Donald Trump as the tip of a religious movement’s spear—Little Lord Fauntleroy spreading the Lord’s word—but the merging of this particular brand of church and what’s left of our fragile state is no laughing matter. NYT (Gift Article): Behind Charlie Kirk’s Spiritual Journey That Fused Christianity and Politics. “Cabinet members and activists onstage Sunday repeatedly shared the Christian gospel message of salvation. Mr. Vance called him a ‘martyr for the Christian faith.’ Mr. Trump said ‘he’s a martyr now for American freedom.” Those two, it appeared, were one and the same.'” Most Americans believe in the separation of church and state. But the only way to impact the fight is to get into the ring. Can I get an Amen? Or at least an OMFG?
+ “The evil murderer who took Charlie from us expected us to have a funeral today, and instead, my friends, we have had a revival in celebration of Charlie Kirk and of his lord Jesus Christ.” Which televangelist said that? JD Vance. Trump lionizes Charlie Kirk, warns of dangers to America. And Stephen Miller: “The storm whispers to the warrior that you cannot withstand my strength and the warrior whispers back: ‘I am the storm.’ Erika is the storm. We are the storm, and our enemies cannot comprehend our strength, our determination, our resolve, our passion.” Onlookers horrified as Stephen Miller parrots Nazi speech.
+ WaPo (Gift Article): Kirk’s memorial was an emblem of the Trump era — and a sign of what’s ahead. “The five-hour memorial service for conservative activist/influencer/organizer Charlie Kirk that packed tens of thousands Sunday into a Phoenix-area stadium was a melding of religion and politics unlike any seen before. Or perhaps it was proof, if any more were needed, that the line that used to separate them may no longer exist, particularly on the right.”
+ And here’s a segue that’s so perfect, it’s got to be divine intervention. NextDraft will be off tomorrow in observance of Rosh Hashanah. As I’ve mentioned before, when people ask me if I’m a practicing Jew, I usually respond, “No, I just show up on game days.”
+ I’m also taking tomorrow off in observance of Jimmy Kimmel is back on the air day! The fight over free speech, and even over the Jimmy Kimmel show, is far from over. But a lot of people, and now Disney itself, passed the Jimmy Kimmel Test over the past few days. We’ll need a lot more. It’s not easy to stand up the pressure from the Trump admin, and Disney is certain to endure the wrath of fraud. So kudos to them for the spine stiffening. (It’s sort of perfect that Kimmel is returning to the airwaves to ring in the Jewish new year. Jimmy’s not Jewish, but he’s definitely funny enough to be.)
