Irrationals Warp Political Process

Now that John McCain has repudiated the Rev. John Hagee and Barack Obama has repudiated the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, maybe we can repudiate all the country’s leading religious freaks and irrationality in general.

McCain, the Republican presumptive presidential nominee, distanced himself from the bombastic Hagee this week after it surfaced the good Reverend said God actually planned the Holocaust. Hagee had earlier publicly endorsed McCain, and the Arizona Senator had already told reporters he disagreed with Hagee’s inflammatory remarks about Catholicism and God’s obvious “Katrina” wrath on New Orleans

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Obama recently had to distance himself from his Chicago pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who has some particular ideas about the government inflicting AIDS on African Americans.

McCain has tried to nuance his repudiation, arguing Hagee is not his pastor, after all. Republicans can spin that argument to death; it simply won't fly if Obama becomes the Democratic nominee for president.

Given the specifics, it is all a meaningless muddle, a diversion from real issues. But there is a much larger issue here. The truth of the matter is this country has an extremely serious religion problem.

As religious influence has grown in the political process in recent years, the ability of the American government to tackle the country’s serious problems has diminished. Religious thinking, simply put, can lead to irrational thinking because faith itself is based on irrationality.

Consequently, the country’s attention in recent years has been focused on non-essential wedge issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, supposed religious issues, as our country’s infrastructure and quality of life deteriorated. We are giving up our dreams and our children’s futures so the religious freaks can fuel their apocalyptic fantasies.

Meanwhile, an incredulous world waits, ready to pounce. The number one security issue in this country right now is the irrationality embraced by so many of our leaders.

Sure, there are plenty of rational, intelligent people willing to run for office on rational issues, such as restoring the infrastructure, solving the health care crisis, ending the long, gruesome military occupation and doing something significant about rising energy costs. I would even include a few Republicans in this group.

But how can they run on rationality when religious extremism tells us logic and science are dispensable, that fighting gay marriage is more important than, say, providing adequate health care for children?

McCain, in particular, has to kowtow to the religious-right in this country. Without the votes of the irrationals, he does not stand a chance. Consequently, he and other Republicans must take irrational positions to win votes. Meanwhile, religious extremism has influenced Democratic politicians as well, producing a similar, albeit diminished, effect. As the bizarre drama unfolds in the United States, the corporate media gives religious lunatics more and more space and credibility.

What if the country had a president and other elected officials who could actually focus on the country’s pressing problems without interference from religious ideologues?

Until that happens, this country’s fortunes will continue to sink.