MAGA is pure blasphemy, pursuing theocracy and the evil adversary of democracy.
The threat of WCN, or White Christian Nationalism.
Happy Wednesday to TAT readers,
Thank you for your patience since last week. I have been out of town with some of my Narrative Strategies colleagues working on some upcoming projects and also, enjoying some of the delights of the Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, historical sites. As regular readers well know, I have a deep and abiding respect for what our founders achieved in breathing life into our Constitutional Republic.
Today is a delicate topic, fraught with peril for discussion. Still, it must be said out loud: “The WCN or CN/ Christian Nationalism of MAGA, is the antithesis of patriotism and an acute threat to US National Security. In fact, it’s a threat to our very republic.
As good ole’ Benjamin Franklin said;
Introduction
I was raised to never debate politics and religion, outside of family and dear, trusted friends. In my youth in the Midwest, and before joining the Army in 1974, this was a very common sentiment for nearly everyone I knew. I have adhered to this rule all of my life… or until the Trump era. The reason for breaking with family tradition is that what is now considered politics in the MAGA movement dominating today’s Republican Party, politics and religion are synonymous with their party ideology. I will also say with absolute clarity, that the mixture as represented by that movement, is a most acute national security threat. If it were not, I would not be writing about it.
Every American of my generation was raised on the narrative of religious freedom, being a primary cause for immigrating to Colonial America, and eventually in our nation’s founding. This extended directly and adamantly into our new nation’s constitution from the very beginning. Some of our most prestigious founders were well known and internationally recognized as scholars regarding representative government, inalienable human rights and the highly progressive concept that religion, has no official role in democratic governance. Much of this stemmed from new and progressive French philosophical underpinnings and from the focus on human rights that shone brightly within the Scottish Enlightenment. Madison, Jefferson, Hamilton, Washington, Adams and more, were some of the most progressive thinkers of their time. All were deeply religious or spiritual and philosophical thinkers. Washington, the least formally educated of this core element of our founders, brought a solid, pragmatic philosophy to the group, which paid great dividends in willing our nation into existence.
Today, the only organization attempting to deny religious freedom to all, is the MAGA movement, controlling the GOP. That makes this version of the GOP, deeply unAmerican. The national trend in legislating incremental steps into state and local governance in so-called “red-states,” is a deep wound to the intentions of our founders and a death knell to our once proud republic. The most terrifying of this trend is that our activist SCOTUS, has recently begun imposing their religious beliefs on our nation, all the while, falsely claiming to be some sort of imaginary, conservative super-patriots. Although we have had several historical encounters with WCN, the Civil War was the only encounter that actually threatened the very existence of our nation.
Even during the Civil War, both the Union and Confederate sides wielded religious theological influence over the conflict. The difference was that the Confederacy’s version, was wholly based on WCN, as the tool to maintain slavery as the lifeblood of Southern culture. Even poor whites, though occupying the next lowest rung of the social ladder to slaves, had long incorporated white supremacy into their Southern identity. Of course, there were exceptions but none that had the slightest impact on their secession from an increasingly abolitionist North.
For more reading on Northern and Southern religious justifications for the Civil war, the following two links should be helpful:
Background
So, what is this often tragically misunderstood phrase? WCN is a racist version of CN but in my professional opinion, is most often, one in the same. Both are in direct conflict with our constitution and both include language that discriminates for a wide variety of reasons. The best explanation of either WCN or CN comes from a 2021 threat advisory from the National Council of Churches.
From the NCC/ National Council of Churches, policy statement:
Christian nationalism is characterized by the following religious affirmations:
- that the United States was founded as a Christian nation;
- that America is exceptional. - That is, God has given the United States particular blessings and privileges not available to people in other countries, and the nation must remain Christian in order for those blessings to continue;
- that only Christians are the proper custodians of this nation’s heritage;
that Christianity (or a particular form of Christianity) should have privileged status in the United States, particularly in matters of law and political policy;
- that, even when their presence is tolerated, people who practice other religions or none cannot be fully American — they are not welcomed, their voices are discounted, and they are not to be trusted with political and cultural leadership;
- that Christians in general and some Christians in particular should enjoy a level of legal protection not granted to those who practice other religions; and,
- that Christians have been made to suffer unjustly, leaving them no alternative but to respond with revolutionary zeal to preserve the United States as a great Christian nation.
- The Dangers of Christian Nationalism in the United States: A Policy Statement of the National Council of Churches
- 2021
The founder, primarily considered the “father of our Constitution,” James Madison, was a preeminent scholar of representative government. In preparation for our constitutional convention and to undo the fatal flaws of the Articles of Confederation, Madison undertook some remarkable research entitled; Notes on Ancient and Modern Confederacies. In this sense, he is not using “confederacy” as it would be known nearly a hundred years later during our Civil War, but simply a group of states acting in unison with a formal, governing structure.
He laid these historical examples out in detail, in order to determine what worked and what didn’t. Our success for the past two hundred plus years, shows the success of his scholarship.
Two of the issues most problematic to Madison in designing an enduring, effective constitution were:
A strong Federal government
Madison, Hamilton and our first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay wrote a series of articles called the Federalist Papers in order to help the general population understand their radically new government. They did this because the States themselves would have to ratify the new constitution. In Federalist 9 and 10, Hamilton who wrote 9 and Madison 10 saw a strong federal government as a tool to control the impulsiveness of “factions” which were the political parties of their day. Also, the Articles of Confederation with its weak federal government, was a primary reason they failed as a system of government. Federalist 1-9 were ironically, focused on foreign influence and stability between individual states. These issues haunt us, even as I write this.
Religion as having a significant role in government
“The first principle Madison enunciated was that any government embrace of religion violated the fundamental natural right to freedom of conscience which had been reserved by individual citizens when they left the state of nature to enter civil society.” - John Hutson writing for the Library of Congress - James Madison and the Social Utility of Religion: Risks vs. Rewards
At the embedded link from the Library of Congress, we find insightful and critically important personal perspectives from Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Madison. Madison and Jefferson in particular were the driving force in ensuring that there would be no official role for religion in our constitution, other than guaranteeing that everyone would have the constitutional right to worship freely and with the system of religious beliefs, of their choice.
Back to our threat today from WCN/ CN
Both WCN and CN are represented in depth, throughout today’s GOP and with deep red states like Texas and Florida being two glaring examples. Then there is an overtly anti-constitutional, religious agenda. Mike Flynn, the disgraced retired Army three-star general and briefly, Trump’s NSA/ National Security Advisor, is leading a holy war, underlaid by God, guns and Trump.
As we can clearly see in the background discussion, today’s MAGA movement is attempting to impose, anti-constitutional principles on our entire nation. In my home state of Texas, the GOP Midterm platform last year, reads like a “do-it-yourself kit” for undoing our constitution, and by extension our form of government, so hard won on bloody battlefields over the course of centuries. Today’s assaults, outside of the regular violence from MAGA ant-patriots and the infamous armed insurrection of January 6th, today’s battlefields are most often red-state legislatures and local governance. I will use Texas as my example again because… I abhor the un-American assault on my constitutional rights, being steadily stripped away by the TX GOP. You will find little difference though between Texas, Florida or any of the other deeply red-states.
Using the 2022 TX GOP platform as the example, I will share a couple of examples that violate the intent and actual interpretation of our constitution. First a short disclaimer. I don’t support any party. I am a true believer in the ideals of our nation, as expressed in our founding documents and via the actions of our courageous and brilliant founding fathers. Today I use the GOP because they are by far, with no close second, the most serious threat to our nation and for the sole reason, that they wish to undue our constitution in exchange for theocratic fascism. Although a close read of the entire document is laughable by any serious reader of US history and our founding documents, I will try and focus on the parts most connected to the issue of this essay, religious freedom.
Under the section labeled Principles, numbers, 4 and 8 are explicitly religious values and have no role to play in either the Texas or US constitution.
In the section titled, “Citizens’ Rights,” numbers 23 and 29 are easily interpreted as religious beliefs being imposed on the constitutional rights of all Americans.
These three screenshots from the TX GOP Platform are just a small handful of overt assaults on the US Constitution regarding religion, but a close read of the full 49 pages shows a tightly woven, far-right extremism, not US nor TX constitutional principles. There are so many challenges to other, long-established constitutional principles that each will require a full paper, just like this one to explain. One of the worst and a personal injury to me, is their decades-long assault on public education. I’ve written on this before but will soon return to the topic.
The GOP assault on all gender issues, is part of a global narrative of far-right governments and movements, with Russia often being ground zero for these false narratives. Even AJ/ Associate Justice Alito in his majority opinion regarding abolishing the right to abortion, quoted a 17th century English Jurist named Hale as a driving force behind his anti-abortion stance. Hale’s legacy is essentially wrapped up in two sets of opinions, both creating the basis for an assault on women’s rights. First, were his opinions that justified marital rape and two, provided the underlying justifications for burning witches at the stake.
Nothing in the preceding paragraphs describing the imposition of WCN/ CN principles on all US citizens is constitutional. Our founders, despite their mostly deep religious or spiritual leanings, never intended a state religion for our nation due to its potential to invalidate our actual principles of equality, freedom, opportunity etc. For example, our nation’s first Muslim congressman was sworn in on Jefferson’s personal Quran and Washington famously committed to protecting Judaism within our new republic, etc.
Should you scroll up to the TX 2022 GOP Platform examples, you will see a direct challenge to Washington’s statement in the section discussing religion in school. What an extremist disgrace for good, honest, truly patriotic Texans that actually stand for the US Constitution. This disgrace is being perpetuated in every Republican pursuit in the country. If this doesn’t equate to undermining the US Constitution, nothing does. If one opposes the constitution, then they are violating their oath of office.
Summary
When a nation is governed by a singular religious doctrine, it is called theocracy. You will recognize what a theocracy behaves like by watching nations like Iran or Afghanistan under the Taliban. Here in Texas, I have labeled Greg Abbott and his GOP the “Texas Taliban” because they are attempting to impose their WCN, onto all Texans. The MAGA controlled GOP, is attempting to do this nationally. They behave as if others are restricting their religious beliefs, but this is patently false. It is in fact they, who are attempting to restrict everyone else’s.
As a retired US Army officer, I also have sworn the same oath as those elected to our Congressional and State officials. That phrase: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God" is near and dear to me, even in retirement.
It is also one of the reasons that I write this TAT publication. It’s my way of not only paying it forward for our future citizens, but it is also one way that I honor my oath, which has no expiration date.
As I noted from the beginning of this piece, it is a delicate topic. It is also a topic that should be near and dear to every, truly patriotic citizen. Violating such an important founding principle and constitutional requirement is a direct assault on our nation. When the narratives that support such an assault are shared with our worst adversaries like Putin’s Russia, it is far worse. It is a subversive activity against the United States.
Now I am no lawyer, but a simple read of the US Code says:
Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government; or
Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts to do so; or
Whoever organizes or helps or attempts to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any such government by force or violence; or becomes or is a member of, or affiliates with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes thereof—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
If two or more persons conspire to commit any offense named in this section, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
As used in this section, the terms “organizes” and “organize”, with respect to any society, group, or assembly of persons, include the recruiting of new members, the forming of new units, and the regrouping or expansion of existing clubs, classes, and other units of such society, group, or assembly of persons.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 808; July 24, 1956, ch. 678, § 2, 70 Stat. 623; Pub. L. 87–486, June 19, 1962, 76 Stat. 103; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(N), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)
In my lay opinion, any GOP elected official that is advocating for theocratic changes to our constitution, falls into this category. I have no idea what the Department of Justice thinks on this topic, but it will become an inquiry that I make in the near future.
Like millions before me, I have served our nation in combat and am a product of a family, firmly rooted in our system of government. I’m also the product of a family that has far more than its fair share of preachers and teachers. None of us would stand for a hostile takeover by theocrats, especially those preaching the aberrant form of Christianity or WCN that is the foundation of the MAGA movement.
As a nation, we are better than tolerating this MAGA movement as anything but a threat. They are not patriots, if theocracy is a core tenet of their ideology. In fact, they are not patriots for a lot of immoral reasons. The morality of our founders was built on human rights and we will have to put our foot down at the ballot box, if we are to ward off this now, ever-present threat. I’m all in and hope you’ll join me.
My very best for the middle of your week,
Paul