Overheard (May 2022)
These punches from Texas and Florida aren’t about sexuality or gender. They are about the mainstreaming of Christian nationalism and its attempt to break down the separation between church and state. This is a well-organized segment of the far-right that is flush with cash.
Anita Chabria, in her column, “Christian nationalists are behind LGBTQ+ laws. California isn’t immune.”
Los Angeles Times, 3-24-22
Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah, in a statement, about why he vetoed a bill targeting transgender kids, which was overturned by a supermajority in the state Legislature.
Governor.utah.gov, 3-22-22
Those toxic messages confirm that when you believe God is on your side, nothing is off limits. And that’s the problem, one that could shatter American democracy.
Mary C. Curtis, in her column, “Can we just leave God out of it?”, responding to the text messages between Ginni Thomas and Mark Meadows regarding the overturning of the 2020 election.
Roll Call, 3-31-22
Conspiracy theories are more about values than about information. Debunking statements might occasionally be effective, but does little to tackle their root cause. . . . It is important to examine the structures that make conspiracy theories appealing. A focus on individuals’ perceived deficits diverts attention from the social realities — displacement, alienation, repression — that make false theories resonate.
Elzbieta Drazkiewicz in her column, “Study conspiracy theories with compassion.”
Nature, 3-29-22
Young Earth Creationists don’t like orthodox science because it goes against what the bible says in most cases. Their main purpose is to blow up science as a way of knowing, and they want to go back to the bible as a way of knowing instead.
Geologist and author Sharon A. Hill, as quoted in the article, “Why Darwin-hating Christians are hunting for a ‘living dinosaur’ in the Congo.”
Inverse.com, 4-4-22
Don’t pray for Ukraine. Act for Ukraine.
American Evan Lisinski, who is living in Lviv, Ukraine, and is asking for people to donate (supportukraine.co) to help Ukraine.
KitsapSun.com, 4-4-22
As you mentioned, free exercise of religion and the Establishment Clause — which prevents the state, the government, from preferring [one] religion or another — is foundational.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, during her Supreme Court nomination hearings after being asked a question by Sen. Jon Ossoff, who said his family had fled Europe due to anti-Semitism.
CSPAN, 3-23-22
To a wide array of civil rights, civil liberties and free expression groups, these restrictions represent an effort to enshrine the values of one particular group of parents — conservative whites — over the priorities and experiences of an increasingly diverse society.
Ronald Brownstein, in his analysis article, “Book bans move to center stage in the red-state education wars.”
CNN, 4-5-22
The devil, in fact, doesn’t exist. This was a fundamentalist speech that we should neither hear nor see. . . . You don’t defend or protect the family with your fists, and no, the devil doesn’t take advantage of key moments to do his work.
Movie director Pedro Almodóvar, who was in the audience at the Oscar ceremony, taking issue with Will Smith’s Best Actor Award acceptance speech when Smith said that Denzel Washington had cautioned him in the aftermath of the slap of Chris Rock, saying: “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.”
The Guardian, 3-31-22
