Secular Theocracy: There is no such thing

One of the favorite mantras of the Religious Right, and those GOP candidates that are running for President of the United States, as well as talking-head politicians that like to get their face on television, is that they can insert religion into our government, by mandate, based on the fact that atheist, Satanists, and otherwise other evil people have created a Secular Theocracy.

Thus, by the air-tight logic of "I can do it because you did it," they can create their own theocracy, using the One True God, rather than whatever they deem the atheists, Satanists, and otherwise nefarious blokes consider their god/s. Only, if you ask them if they plan on creating a theocracy, they will waffle around, deny it, then turn the conversation back to the fact that the secularist (atheists, Satanists, and otherwise naughty peeps) community has successfully created a Secular Theocracy, etc., etc.

There's a small problem: There is no such thing as a Secular Theocracy.

By definition, it just isn't possible.

Secular

Denoting attitudes, activities, or other things that have no religious or spiritual basis.

Theocracy

A system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god.

God or god

The biblical creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

or...
  
A superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity.

As you can see, the definition of 'theocracy' needs a god. By definition, 'secular' cannot have a deity. Thus, you cannot have a Secular Theocracy.

But then, the slippery blokes claim that government is the atheists', Satanists', and otherwise horrid mindbots' god, thus smugly concluding that the American government is, in fact, a secular theocracy. But, the definition of 'secular' doesn't even remotely account for that probability.

What the Religious Right and their allies truly desire is what I alluded to in the second paragraph - the ability to statutorily mandate all sorts of theocratic laws - "because Johnny did it too."  Except, Johnny didn't. Johnny...well...Washington, Jefferson, et al, divined a form of government that actually protected the religious from persecution by specifically not mandating a favored creed, even though many of them actually believed in God and spoke of him at length!

Religion (God/gods) have no place in our government, and yet our system of government provides a place for religion to flourish.

So flourish!

Oh wait...you are!

 

The Effects of Mental and Emotional Abuse

That cold, January morning, was an exciting day, not only for me, but for the entire state of Minnesota. We, as a state, had always suffered, immeasurably, under horrible sports teams. 

The Minnesota Twins were coming off eight or nine losing seasons with stars like Alex Ochoa, and...well...Kirby Puckett had lost vision in his eye, so there wasn't anyone else. The Vikings had hung around mediocrity for so long, everyone expected them to stay there - until that year.

Fresh off a 15-win season, the Vikings were in the last round of the playoffs. Win this game and they would go on to the Big Dance. Randall Cunningham was our quarterback, tossing touchdowns to the best receiver in the history of football - Randy Moss. Number 84.  

I loved this team. At the time, I could name every player, knew every face, and could dictate to anyone who asked, every single play of every single game, for the entire season. I knew this, because I had listened to every game, under my pillow, on an old transistor radio.

Every Sunday, I would sneak up to my bedroom, hoping my abusive mother wouldn't catch me going upstairs, crawl into the top bunk, take the radio out from under the mattress, turn it on so quietly that it had to be right up to my ear to hear the calls of the game, and listen, racing back downstairs on the commercials.

This January morning was different, though. For some reason, I was in the dank, damp basement, listening to the game under the stairs. I could hear footsteps above me as the Vikings marched down the field. I knew which footsteps belonged to whom. My single mother's were very distinct. She was obviously sitting on her couch, reading her Christian reading material, lost in the conflicts of the Middle East, seeing the only solution as, "everyone needed Jesus."

The Vikings lost the ball. Atlanta marched down the field, getting into field goal range. They kicked the ball and the entire state held its collective breath, hoping beyond all hope, that the nearly perfect boot man would miss. The ball sailed through the uprights as time expired. 

The state shrugged.

Another season. Hopes dashed again. Except, this time, our hopes were raised up to a level we hadn't seen (or remembered) since the 1970's. 

I was crushed. I had fallen in love with this team. Every Sunday was an exercise in three hours of terror, thinking I would be caught, red-handed, at any moment, coupled with the sheer joy of circumventing my mother's inconsistent rules, and dodging the inevitable, nearly life-ending beating I would incur, should I get caught, just to feel the camaraderie of millions of other souls, being just like me - watching a game. And now it was over.

Nonetheless, my childhood was just beginning to flower. My independent spirit lit a small spark inside me, deep down. I was going to be somebody, someday, uncontrolled by my mother, far from the beating hand of the one who called herself, "authority, by God." I had proven that through the grueling season, never getting caught, learning new ways to hide, enjoying what I wanted to do.

I was 19.

Please Help Brianne Buy An Ergonomic Chair - $178.00

From time to time, I ask my readers to help me buy things for people. In the past, we successfully purchased a lawnmower for Darcy, an ex-fundamentalist, struggling in rural Montana, raised more money for Darcy, when her husband was in a severe car accident, made note of a new book, written by Katy-Anne, to help her with funds for her fledgling family, as well as varied other campaigns to help normal people with living expenses, and even a sweatshirt hoodie for a single mom.

Now, I'm asking for donations for another individual. $178.00 to be exact. I want to get her an ergonomic chair. The description of the campaign is below:

Brianne is a single mother, working full time, and is in chronic pain, currently undergoing copious medical testing to arrive at a diagnosis.  

The company she works for has finally given her the go-ahead to work from home, and yet has not provided much in the way of ergonomic comfort for her condition.
She cannot change jobs, due to the need to maintain medical insurance.  

Currently, Brianne is working from her kitchen, sitting on a wooden chair for eight solid hours a day. Obviously, this would end up hurting any normal person, but, for Brianne and her chronic pain, it hurts even more. 

All I am asking is to contribute enough to purchase a very good ergonomic chair, including shipping. I found one on Amazon.com for $160 + $17.99 shipping. It was originally over $400, so is good quality. 

Please help one person feel better.

Please donate here.

Love,

I. C.