Governor Mike Pence – IN
Photo: Robert Sheer/The Star
Reading time – 39 seconds . . .
This was a tough week for Indiana Governor Mike Pence. He took major heat from private citizens, corporate movers and shakers, liberals, conservatives – pretty much everyone but those who identify with pandering, hate-spewing, Joe McCarthy wannabee Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). It was all about the new legislation in Indiana that enshrines into law the right to practice outright discrimination against certain citizens and even provides the protection of the courts for offenders. Didn’t we put away America’s original sin with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965? Didn’t we agree as a nation that discrimination wasn’t okay, that it was blatantly unconstitutional?
Side note: Somebody please explain to me why we need a Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The way I heard it was that the First Amendment covers that.
Clearly, I don’t know what is in Pence’s heart. I don’t know if he really believes that his Bible thumping, not-very-Christian fundamentalist primary voters really should be able to practice discrimination. I don’t know whether Pence thinks he and his viscerally motivated, neo-cortex-light state legislators believe their own self-righteous proclamations of religious purity. I couldn’t know if Pence would get off on hearing some Indiana florist proclaim proudly, “I’ll serve who I damn well please and the rest can go to hell, ‘cus that’s where my religion says they’re headed.” We all want to feel powerful and in control, so maybe Pence would go for that.
Margaret Atwood
Regardless, discrimination is wrong. It sucks up to the most ignorant among us and makes us all stupid.
“Stupidity is the same as evil if you judge by the results.” Margaret Atwood
Have a nice day, Governor Pence.
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Ed. note: There is much in America that needs fixing and we are on a path to continually fail to make things better. It is my goal to make a difference – perhaps to be a catalyst for things to get better. That is the reason for these posts. To accomplish the goal requires reaching many thousands of people and a robust dialogue.
Copyright 2024 by Jack Altschuler
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4 Responses to Stupidity
Dan Wallace April 5, 2015
Jack, I’m going to write something about the history and impact of RFRA. Short answer – I agree with you. . .totally unnecessary and actually harmful.
Jim Altschuler April 5, 2015
Personally, I feel that Mike Pence is fulfilling a basic biblical warning: “He who troubleth (his) own house shall inherit the wind.” See how religious he is?
I, however, am a bigot … an anti-bigot bigot. I have despised bigotry since I was old enough and wise enough to understand what it was and why it was wrong.
Even as a very young man I tiraded against even the use of bigoted words (you know what they are). As a teenager I got in physical fights (as teens will do) over the use of such words and over the treatment of some because of their (fill in the blank) by others. I could never discern whether those who treated others badly were bigoted or just stupid, or maybe it was both.
As I got older I stopped hitting people over such things but continued to rail against them. I never learned to be peaceful about it like Dr. King or Mohandas Ghandi.
Mike Pence, outwardly, seems a descent, personable guy. Obviously, such is not the case on the inside. When called to task on the new Indiana law by Rachel Maddow, and I’m sure a number of others, all he could do was splutter and babble incoherent excuses that weren’t even applicable to the questions that were raised.
Shame on you, Governor. You belie the precepts of the very religion(s) you profess to be trying to spare from being put upon.
Joni Lindgren April 5, 2015
If I hear one more “Religious Liberty” comment or see one more “Religious Liberty” bumper sticker, I will have to control my impulse to not rear end the car!
Religious freedom means the freedom to worship (or not) according to your beliefs. It is NOT the freedom to pass laws to hide behind your bigotry nor to impose your beliefs on others!!! It does not extend to refusing goods and services to those who offend you or don’t agree with your beliefs.
Here’s a solution that doesn’t impose a law on the rest of society…..a shop keeper should post a sign on his/her door to their home and business that says, “My beliefs dictate that LGBT have chosen their lifestyle that goes against my beliefs…..so you are not welcome here”!! Then just watch that business tank.
God help them if they ever need a heart, lung or other body part and that perfect match comes from an LGBT person! Actually, if they had to replace their heart, the chances are pretty great that their new heart would be a lot more tolerant!
And one more thing: Religion does not supersede Constitutional law and civil rights!! When did hate become a Christian value??
The Religious Right are sounding a bit like the dictates of sharia law….in the Islam religion, the radicals kill anyone who does not believe in their religion.
Joni Lindgren April 5, 2015
If I hear another person say or see another bumper sticker with the words “Religious Liberty” again, I will have to really control my impulse to rear end them.
Religious freedom means the freedom to worship (or not) according to your beliefs. It is NOT the freedom to pass laws to impose your beliefs on others. It does NOT extend to refusing goods and services to those who don’t follow your religion or agree with your beliefs!
Here’s the solution to this issue: Instead of running to a politician and getting him to pass a law in favor of your beliefs, just put a sign on the door to your home and business that says, “My beliefs dictate that I do not have to serve any LGBT person or same-sex person. So, you are not welcome here”!!!
That way, everyone will know where you stand and those people who are on your hate list will stay away……then watch your business tank! Who wants to patronage a store that discriminates or stands in judgement of others??? I know for sure that the Religious Right are not without imperfections…..we all know that at the top of that list is a word that defines the reason I am even writing this response.
What ever happened to ‘Live and Let Live”???