Irony (Or What Are We Really About)

It is difficult not to be somewhat consumed by the daily chaos of being a citizen of the United States right now so forgive me if my thoughts tend in that direction. We are all trying to make sense of the world we find ourselves right now. Certain ironies have been making themselves known for a while. In some cases maybe it’s less irony and more contradiction. It’s not ha-ha funny ironies unfortunately. It’s actually rather sad.

1. Patriot: In history, one who believes in the principles and values set forth in the Declaration of Independence and The US Constitution. Not so much in the past decade or so. It became someone who is a conservative Republican. That’s it. They are the patriots and liberals are the enemy to be vanquished. Republicans LOVED to expound on how they are true patriots, although I’ve heard less about this since the J6ers stormed the Capitol for their Darth Vader. Maybe they caught on to the irony. Or maybe they let it go after being called on their BS enough.

2. Life: Every pregnancy should result in a life of a child. Life is not something to be supported if you have committed a crime (unless you a gazillionaire) or if you are poor. You are not to have the life YOU strive toward but the life I say you get. I will also determine what you should be called. It’s not up to you. So basically it’s not really your life or decisions.

3. Liberty: You are supposed to let me do whatever I want. However, I get to tell you what you can and can’t do based on MY religion, gender, socioeconomic status, and race. If it doesn’t coincide with MY beliefs then forget about it.

4. The United States is a “Christian” nation.  No we’re not.  The Constitution doesn’t say we are. The Declaration of Independence used the carefully chosen “Creator” and avoided using a specific term associated with any religion. Not all the writers and signers were Christian. There is no law that sets forth Christianity as the “official” religion of the US probably because it would go against the “freedom of religion” bit.

   I once read an article that established the goal of Evangelicals to gain political power and specifically choosing abortion as the vehicle. Now, I guess the game plan is create the idea that we are a “Christian” nation, continuing their power play.

   
   

5. Republicans began to represent themselves as being morally superior to liberals. The irony is glaring and hardly needs explanation. It is widely agreed that being pro-birth but also pro-capital punishment is contradictory. Additionally, GOP public policies contradict social teachings of most denominations. Republicans have a reputation for denying equality across all demographics. So much for all [persons] being created equal.

Now we need to be clear on something.  No, Republicans are not morally superior but neither is anyone else. Probably the worst thing any person of any faith could do is to claim moral superiority. Lack of humility is frowned upon. So patting ourselves on the back isn’t quite the thing to do. It is always easier to see faults in another, that’s for sure.

What I believe will be most important in the coming months is for all of us to strive toward upholding the ideals and principles of our country’s foundational documents. That is what we need to be about and not so much about more money in one’s bank account. That’s just tacky!

3/1/25

Another irony...

Isn't it ironic that President Trump expects people to actually OBEY Executive Orders when he's not into following laws himself. So why bother??