In my 1/16/11 commentary entitled “Arizona and The State of the Union” I discussed the dangers of polarization in American politics. Two recent new articles illustrate how extreme the situation has become. “Court: Christian driver can sue Oklahoma over ‘rain god’ license plate” describes a man’s anger over the “pagan” image of a Native American shooting an arrow to the rain god on the Oklahoma license plates. Monotheism is relatively new in the human experience. Does this man forget that the days of the week are named after Roman gods? Or that many consider the E-I-E-I-O chorus of Old McDonald’s Farm to be an ancient chant to the Celtic fertility goddess? Or that the desires of the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt to destroy the pyramids has outraged people worldwide? Personally, I observe Deuteronomy 27:17: “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.” Isn’t respect critical to Biblical faith
On the other side of the spectrum I read an article entitled
“Children’s media use cuddly animals to reinforce ‘racist’ and socially
dominant norms,’ researcher says”.
“Young children’s media reproduces and confirms racist, colonial,
consumerist, hetronormative, and patriarchal norms” the article continued in
their objections to “The Berenstain Bears”, “Goodnight Moon” and “Five Little
Monkeys jumping on the bed”. While what they consider colonial or racist was
not defined in the article, their agenda is clear when they state “…bees
buzzing around a hive or ants in an ant farm can teach the importance of community
and teamwork…” Do they really think that the behavior of bees and ants is akin
to the values of individualism and responsibility necessary for freedom and
democracy? Or is this just the logical reverse of their objection to the
anthropomorphism of animals? They base their critique of this on the same
radical environmental agenda that says it’s OK to be mauled by grey wolves.
Are children pawns in someone else’s social experiments or
do they simply need to feel secure? Is there anything wrong with knowing that
daddy goes to work and pays the mortgage and that mommy is there with a hug and
a band aid when you scrape your knee? A secure childhood is the basis for
adults to later thoughtfully examine themes like colonialism or consumerism.
And extreme ideas do help to articulate the arguments and define the consensus
middle ground that most can agree on. But do objecting to “pagans” on license
plates or traditional roles in children’s books do this? I find them to not be
expansive to the mind, but rather defensive postures. They contribute to
polarization, not healing.
There may be hope. A broad coalition is emerging to oppose
Obama’s civil liberties sins. Many people are saying that while we can
disagree, we can all agree to play fair. A religious revival, another great awakening,
is a possibility to renew America.
Clearly, but perhaps not consciously, Obama’s war on religion (except for
Islam) is working to prevent this. Since
so many of us are being persecuted, it is natural to feel defensive such as the
license plate objector. Just as narrowly
the paper criticizing children’s books led the writer to academic advancement
in her ivory tower. But what are effects
of one’s beliefs and actions on society as whole and the ability of America to
thrive or to continue in decline?
Copyright 2013, Mark L. Bennett
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