Culture wars: Ideologues taking away your rights

Culture Wars, part 2 of 2

(link to part 1)

Part 1 concluded that it is fair and reasonable to revoke the tax exempt status of religious organizations that engage in political advocacy. This is the rationale.

The level playing field

The courts say that spending money is constitutionally protected free political speech for legal entities (Citizens United v. F.E.C., 2010). Legal entities include for-profit corporations and non-profit charities. Given that, there is no longer any reason to use the tax code to protect any charity that is involved in any kind of political advocacy. Anything less is unfair and immoral to the rest of us who have to pay their full tax load to play the political games. As we all know, American politics is a pay to play system, despite some attempts to change that perception.

Religious beliefs are generally viewed as sacred, infallible and not open to question. That is true regardless of adverse effects on America or Americans. Religious zealots will no doubt find it hard or impossible to see any rationale of cutting support to secular charities as applicable to religious charities.

Snowballs in a hot place

That is just a manifestation of the awesome power of strongly held beliefs (political or religious) to blind the believer to things like counterarguments and reality itself (facts). This phenomenon has been remarked on before. It is just part of human nature and it isn't going away. Leaving fairness in government spending and defense of our rights up to religious zealots is like asking snowballs in a hot place to not melt for a few months. It won't happen.

Our defender is . . . . . ?

So, who does that leave to defend the constitution and our rights? Secular people with common sense for the most part. Which entity will try to vindicate our rights? Certainly not the Republican party. They are the ones attacking us. And, not the Democratic party. They are largely constrained by religion as well. That leaves no powerful political entity to defend our rights, including our right to have our tax dollars spent fairly and equitably. What we get now is unfair and inequitable. Religion is a major force behind the inequity.

That's what the Republican attack on Planed Parenthood is. Because of Republican party religious beliefs, they don't like it. Therefore, there is no tax support for it. They can try to disguise defunding Planned Parenthood as "fiscal responsibility", but that is nonsense. This attack comes from the white hot guns of religious culture war and nothing else.

Fine, bring on the war as long as it is a fair and an honest competition of ideas in a free marketplace. That's what Republicans claim as a source of their ideological legitimacy. Unfortunately, they don't walk that walk. They just talk the talk. Under the circumstances, it is more than fair to take away the tax protected status of any religious organization as the fair and reasonable price of waging war in politics.

A new political party

It is time for the rise of a new political party. The old ones are broken and refuse to be fixed. If nothing else, common sense says that human nature, including religious beliefs, usually can't be changed much. However, the governed can withdraw their consent. My consent is withdrawn.

End of Culture Wars, part 2

(link to part 1)