Cuz, you know... we Neocons hide our other "inadequacies" with oversized flags.
An instructor friend of mine, among several others, is suing the Board of Trustees and the Chancellor of the school district in which he works. It seems that this BOT has repeatedly made, for many years, Christian prayers to open their board meetings, ceremonies, and other such functions. Many faculty and committees are required to attend these functions. Recently, the extremely right-wing and Christian board majority has taken to expanding their Christian agenda upon the ears of those who want nothing to do with it.
I'm not writing this for a tirade against Christianity. I'm not really bothered by it (though I AM in favor of the church/state separation). What I am bothered by is something else that was said at one of the latest board meetings. The chancellor presented some slide show to faculty at the beginning of the semester. From "Dissent the Blog":
I’ve been trying to locate the sappy patriotic video shown by Chancellor Raghu Mathur two weeks ago at his fall opening extravaganza. It presents a series of more-or-less patriotic images—including bald eagles and Americans experiencing hard times—and is accompanied by Lee Greenwood’s execrable “God Bless the USA,” a clumsy, bombastic anthem that seems to be “de Bomb” in Redneckville and environs.
I haven’t located the exact video.
I tried to remember the troublesome sentiment with which the video ends, and it appears that it is the following:Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you—Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
That’s right. Jesus Christ. This inarticulate blather ("defining forces" that make "offers"?) is making the rounds among the usual suspects.
That's right folks. Forces have offered. Two, defining forces that is.
Read that again. Jesus and Soldiers have offered to DIE FOR YOU. You know, because, we just can't wait to raise our right hands and off ourselves in combat. We're just dying to roll out on patrol to find a bomb to throw ourselves onto.
I take great offense to any "patriotic" boob who has never served and suggests that myself or my battle buddies are willing (OFFERING?!) to die for "insert cause." We are NOT willing to die and I am not your disposable hero or one-use condom.
None of these soldiers have offered themselves for you, or for your causes. So, FUCK YOU, Chancellor Raghu Mathur.
6 comments:
Yep, they feel very entitled to push that crap on everybody. I hate the mixing of politics and religion. Unconstitutional, annoying and tacky. Twenty some years ago I experienced a strange happening at a small Church of Christ where the children I was babysitting four days a week attended church. They had a pledge to the Christian flag as part of their service. Freaked me out. Evangelism always worries me. Christian soldiers and all that.
The Bushies mobilized the freaks who see nothing lurid about it. Karl Rove's true talent was figuring out which precincts contained an adequate number of them to achieve his goal. I'll never forget the bumper sticker I saw in NKY during the 2004 campaign. Waving flag stripes in the background, W in living color in the center, and underneath the words Thank God for President Bush. Nearly lost my lunch over that one.
Ken Blackwell in Ohio tried to put together a coalition he called Patriot Pastors. Fortunately his campaign failed to win -- probably ran for governor against Strickland, but could have lost in Republican primary. I forget the big stuff sometimes when the details are so stunning.
We live in interesting times. I am thankful this Thanksgiving that you are acive on a campus and not deployed. I'm eleven pages into the Chasing War piece. Should finish it in a couple of days.
One of my favorite all time bumper stickers, seen in faculty parking at NKU "Support the troops. Stop sending them to stupid wars."
Also liked, because I am weird, "Support the magnetic ribbon industry" printed on one of those ribbons.
I've searched far and wide, and I've not yet found the version of the "God Bless the U.S.A." video that ends with this remarkable sentiment. Allegedly, the SOCCCD has video of the August 2009 "chancellor's opening session" that ends with the video, but I can't find that either. Natch.
This is one of the things that make me inarticulate with frustration.
I have never wanted or expected anyone to die for me.
I do not believe is necessary for people to be killed in the middle east, ours or theirs. It was greed and a failure of leadership that got us into this.
The hype that is put on kids to sign up in the name of patriotism is corrupt.
I am really sorry what has happened to you guys. It happened in my generation, too. I have done the pathetic little bit that I could to divert this disastrous juggernaut, to little effect.
BUT I am proud of you guys, not because of patriotic reasons. I am proud of you because you're making a huge effort to work through the bullshit; because you're working hard to be resilient and heal; because you have the balls to examine your experience and learn from it. I am proud of what you did with what you were handed. I know it's not easy, I think what you guys write may be the best of what you are. The day-to-day stuff has got to be hell; but you're trying.
What's the matter, you don't want to be patriotic meat? z
Nobody wants our soldiers to die. They are supposed to kill the bad guys and then come back home.
Yes, but the overpaid man said that defining forces are offering to die. And the PowerPoint message doesn't work for political and religious agenda if those forces don't offer to die. Therefore, to meet the neocon agenda, they must offer to die.
Back to the front, you will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front, you will die when I say, you must die- Metallica
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