The Republican Party has been consolidating more and more around Christian theology in the last decade. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this – religion or philosophy informs moral principles which in turn informs some political principles – the issue has become one of imposition of those principles on others.
The breakdown of what constitutes religious law versus moral law continues to shape arguments concerning social policy in the United States. Liberal attitudes have in some way triumphed with greater freedom being granted nationwide for people to pursue what they judge as morally right.
The Supreme Court or individual states harbor responsibility for most of these changes in a telling indictment of the inability of national legislators to achieve anything. The result has been a growing sense of cultural warring. Many Christians, rightly or wrongly, feel that their way of life has come under fire.
The result has been an ideological hardening in many instances. Combined with the inability of their national representation to stop this assault, discontent with the establishment grows daily.
Racial and religious discrimination, the last bulwark of the disenfranchised and angry, appears on the scene with ugly and disgusting results.
Ben Carson and Donald Trump, the two Republican front-runners for president, recently created controversy concerning Muslims.
Trump failed to confront a man at a New Hampshire town meeting who called Muslims “a problem” and asserted that President Obama both adheres to Islam and comes from outside the United States. Trump then stated the presence of “a very severe problem” with Muslims and declined to say if he would support a Muslim for president.
Carson outright stated his disapproval of any theoretical Muslim candidate for president. He continued his disapproval by stating that Islam comes into conflict with the values and principles of the United States. He was swift to qualify that he would have no problem with a Muslim in Congress, though.
Hate is the only viable for these kinds of statements. The Republican Party has given itself finally and enthusiastically to hate-mongers, xenophobes, racists.
These discriminatory remarks come hot on the heels of Trump's misogynistic and racist comments. Some of his highlights include saying that Mexican immigrants bring “crime... drugs... and [they] are rapists,” and calling debate moderator Megyn Kelly “a bimbo.”
And there are more where those came from.
What happened to policy matters? What happened to the Bill of Rights? Is the American public really going to tolerate open discrimination? This is isn't the 1950s.
Yet the Republican Party eats up this kind of garbage. Trump and Carson continue to lead polls.
At least one Republican candidate has issued a contrary statement – Carly Fiorina remarked on the importance of religious freedom and tolerance. At least it's something. The hypocrisy of the Republican Party in protecting Kim Davis on religious grounds and then condemning an entire religion as unfit for office boggles the mind.
This is the United States of America. People are certainly entitled to their opinions, but the freedom to state those opinions doesn't convey protection. Espousing bigoted opinions in the 21st century should be an end to any presidential candidate. The surging of candidates saying such callous statements points to a worrying attitude in our country.
The editorial board can be reached at editorial@ubspectrum.com.
